Niël van Vuuren is a South African, cartoon, comic strip and contemporary artist.

Born in Namibia in 1968 into a family of artists, Niël is self-taught. From an early age his interest lay in history, politics and cartooning, and so he found a natural passion in political cartooning which combines these interests.

Niël graduated from the University of South Africa with an honours degree in International Politics in 1994.

He uses a combination of traditional techniques and computer technology to create a colourful end product.

Niël has been a freelance illustrator for the past 15 years and has completed a number of commissions for private and corporate clients.

His first comic strip “Losbek” appeared in Rapport’s weekly magazine (now “MyTyd). Shortly thereafter, his second strip “Hoipolloi” was published in the Afrikaans weekly tabloid newspaper “Sondag”. Both strips are weekly full colour strips.

In 2008 Niël completed a few cartoons for Rapport’s editorial page. In 2009 he became the co-cartoonist for South Africa’s largest Afrikaans daily newspaper, “Beeld”, where his cartoons appear on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

In 2010 he started working for the Volksblad (published in the Northern Cape and Free State). His cartoons appear in “Volksblad” on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Niël's cartoons feature amongst the best of the year in the 2010 'Year in Cartoons' collection; "JUST FOR KICKS!

In his spare time he enjoys painting and reading. He lives in Centurion with his wife and 3 cocker spaniels.