A Christchurch artist who positively portrays New Zealand stereotypes in an "incredible" comical series has gone viral.
Sam Moore, an art director at Harvey Cameron Advertising Agency in Christchurch, created a "People of New Zealand" illustration series, depicting numerous classic Kiwi stereotypes.
On his Instagram account @ugly_ink, Moore has created six Kiwi characters to date that every New Zealander either knows or can relate to, including everyone's gran "Helpful Beryl", dress code-breaker "Wedding Kane", the forever helpful "Office Jan", and rugged "Hilux Surf Drew" among others.
"Number five in the People of New Zealand series is helpful Beryl," Moore wrote, describing Beryl.
"It doesn't matter whether she's your gran, mum, auntie or friend, everyone should treasure the Beryl in their lives. She makes a mean shepherds pie and is always up for a natter over a cup of tea and a Cameo Creme. Beryls can be spotted helping out at most community fundraising events, wearing their uniform consisting of a red sleeveless polar fleece and sensible shoes."
Another of Moore's creations, "Wedding Kane", has been a fan favourite with many Kiwis admitting they either are a Kane, or know a Kane in their friend circles.
Moore describes Kane as: "Nobody ruins a carefully prepared wedding photo like Kane. Ignoring the dress code, Kane dusts of the old three-piece that he last wore at the Addington races in 2008. He teams it up with his best hightop sneakers and ever-present Dirty Dog sunnies. "
Fans took to social media to praise Moore for his "accurate yet hilarious" depictions of New Zealand stereotypes, with many wanting his creations to become a TV series.
"If NZonAir made this into an animated tv show it'd be on par with Family Guy without a doubt!" one person wrote.
Another said: "Love your work! These are all so true it hurts! Please never stop doing these. They are too good."
Others are suggesting Moore creates a book in time to gift to friends and family for Christmas.
The majority of Moore's fan base is US-based, but his following has spiked after his "People of New Zealand" series, with more than 88,000 followers on Instagram and 15,000 on Facebook.
Moore told Newshub he wanted to showcase "positive characters" and include "something in every character that we can all relate to".
To date, Moore has depicted six New Zealand stereotypes that include:
1. Shae, a man who enjoys energy drinks, cigarettes and doing burnouts in his 1988 Nissan Cefiro.
2. Office Jan, the lady who loves organising morning tea and participating in the walking group.
3. Hilux Surf Drew, the rugged outdoor bloke with his hunting jersey, CCC rugby shorts, and McDonald's in hand.
4. Wedding Kane, the man who ruins wedding photos by ignoring the dress code while donning Dirty Dog sunnies and hightop sneakers.
5. Helpful Beryl, the woman who everyone treasures and makes the best pies.
6. Big Jesse, the corporate manager by weekday, car cruiser by weekend all round nice guy.
Moore's feedback has been extremely positive, with the Christchurch artist revealing there is more to come.
One fan suggested he should depict the classic New Zealand road worker, to which Moore replied "watch this space".
You can view all of Moore's "People of New Zealand" series and other artwork on his Instagram page.
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