At just 23, Jonas Lekganyane has turned what started as a hobby into a business that has seen him collaborate with some of South Africa's biggest brands.As the creator and founder of 2D animation house Rams Comics, Lekganyane is responsible for popular characters including Noko Mashaba, who stars in The Adventures of Noko Mashaba.His cartoons have fronted campaigns for companies such as Aromat and Nedbank, and for Julius Malema's EFF.Lekganyane, originally from Limpopo and now based in Johannesburg, found his way into animation after he had to drop out of his biochemistry course."When I couldn't go back to school because there were problems at home with finances, I started studying animation," said Lekganyane.He turned to YouTube and online forums to teach himself the skills. "Drawing has always been my thing, it has always been in me," he said.story_article_left1In 2013, he took his work online. "I showed my first funny video to my friends and they loved it so I thought: 'Let me put it out there.'"Lekganyane is one of a growing number of "career YouTubers" who are generating income from video blogging.It only took "three to four months" for him to start making money off of the online video-sharing site, where his Rams Comics channel has gained a following of about 70,000 subscribers and more than 20million views.YouTube pays creators a 68% share of the revenue generated per advertisement run on a channel. Lekganyane's first cheque from Google was R16000, which he received after monetising his channel by allowing adverts.He is tight-lipped about current returns, saying only that he is making "enough".Three years down the line, most of his income now comes from clients. Currently he is working on a project with Telkom.While Lekganyane now employs voiceover artists and additional animators for bigger projects, his humble beginnings are never far from his mind.The first laptop he used to start creating cartoons is still constantly by his side or on his desk."I had this deal with my mom that if I passed my matric well she would buy me a laptop," Lekganyane said of his initial business start-up.All the comics were created on the laptop, including the sound. He would draw the characters on paper because he could not afford a digital drawing pad.Lekganyane used a scanner to import the pictures into the laptop, then used a mouse to complete them."It's difficult [using a mouse] but I still use it ... You get used to something, even when you get promoted to a better version of life," he said, laughing.Noko Mashaba, a prickly character from Limpopo - noko is Pedi for "porcupine" - was named best comedian in the Film, Art, Music and Entertainment Awards, held for the first time last year to celebrate talent from Limpopo. The character has been nominated again for this year's awards. One of the limitations of Lekganyane's animations is that they are mostly in Pedi, with English subtitles."In the future I will have shows in English or ensure they are dubbed," he said.Lekganyane said success on YouTube required hard work."Consistency is the key to building a reputable YouTube channel."The only way to achieve that is through hard work and dedication, and that means producing as much content as you can," he said.Earlier this month, Lekganyane launched an app with which fans can watch the comics and buy merchandise."I want Rams Comics to produce its own shows where we don't have to look for funding," Lekganyane said."I want to make it an independent studio where I am going to hire other artists."It's not just going to be about qualifications for me. It's also going to be about talent, looking at people who didn't have the funds to go to school but are talented."zulut@sundaytimes.co.za..