When Filipa “Pypah” Santos puts pen to paper, it’s only a matter of minutes before a whole universe begins to take shape. Santos’ experience ranges from character design and 2D animation to storyboarding, directing, and producing, empowering her to lead projects from conception to completion. As an illustrator and animator, Santos is in the business of bringing images to life: ink blots swirl to form calligraphic lettering, charming characters dance across the screen, crafting an enchanted, mystical aesthetic defined by dramatic features and earthy palettes. 

Born and raised in Porto, Portugal, Santos moved to England to study animation at Leeds Arts University. Upon graduating in 2020, she relocated to Manchester, where she has since worked on numerous projects for Kilogramme Animation Studio. Although her career is just getting started, Santos has already won awards like Best Character Based Short at the Los Angeles Animation Festival for “Ribera” and the Yorkshire Student Television Award for “Not Alone.” On the side, Santos runs a highly successful Youtube channel where viewers are given an inside look at her dreamy scenes that’ll make you forget the world around you, beckoning you to dive into hers. 

You can check out more of their work here. 

1. What is the first creative project you remember? 

I’m pretty sure I was at some sort of daycare and they asked us to draw our mornings that day. I had just come from the dentist, so I distinctly remember drawing myself in a dentist’s chair and having tons of fun remembering and drawing out all the detailed tools from the dentist’s office.

2. Describe your aesthetic in three words. 

Cozy, bright, cute.

3. What was the most fulfilling collaboration you’ve worked on?

I had the pleasure to work with a company called Archer & Olive last year on a collaboration. I had been a huge fan of theirs for years and when they reached out to work on a sketchbook and pen bundle set collaboration, I was overjoyed! It was one of the longest projects I’ve worked on (about a year in the making) so it was definitely the most rewarding one to see finished and launched.

4. What’s one creative project that taught you something fundamental about yourself?

I did a book cover illustration job recently that had been my first illustration work in a few months. It definitely reminded me of how much I truly love doing commissioned illustration work. I made it one of my resolutions this year to do more work in that realm.

5. Do you think creativity is something you’re born with, or something you’re taught?

I think it’s a bit of both! I was always a creativity-drawn child from the get-go and my family was not at all, so I was definitely born with a creative brain at least. That said, I think providing someone with a creative environment and exercising your creative side is very important. Everyone has a creative side, you just have to exercise it and nurture it.

6. What’s the last dream you had?

I had a dream that I was one of the Spidermans in the Spiderverse (I saw the latest film in the cinemas recently) and it was set in some theme park. It was super fun but just as stressful to try and fight all the bad guys. Needless to say, I love Spiderman.

7. One hundred years from now, what do you hope people write about your work?

It would be a dream for anyone to write about me in general, but I would love for them to describe how my style and techniques have evolved since my early years and that I’ve been telling a sort of story about my life through my portfolio. Hopefully I do more and more work about mental health that will hopefully become a prominent part of my body of work that people in the future will point out!

Follow @pypahs_art on Creatively

Creatively is more than a platform—we’re a creative collective. 

Questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@creatively.life