“My art teacher told me I would waste my life if I didn’t venture into art. I took a leap of faith and here I am!” says Alicia Souza. Shortly, the freelance illustrator from Bangalore will be one of the few to set up her own online store for illustrated merchandise such as stationery, t-shirts and gift items. The Communication Design graduate from RMIT, Melbourne, moved to India in 2010 and worked with a company for a little over a year after which she started freelancing. In the last one-and-a-half years, she has done many projects, including illustrated merchandise, illustrations for magazines, story books and communication illustrations for publishers, corporates and individuals with a business.
Finding a footing
This year, she had stalls at Sunday Soul Sante, the Comic Con at Bangalore and gave a talk at Google in Hyderabad. The response to the merchandise she displayed at the Sante was so good that she decided to set up an online store to sell items such as mugs, magnets, kiddie tees, greeting cards and notebooks.
But getting a firm footing in the profession wasn’t easy. “It took a while to gain momentum, but after it did, it’s been very satisfying.” Alicia especially loves drawing dogs and loves her dogs Charles-Brown and Lola-Bear whose photos frequent her Facebook page that has over 16,000 likes. Her dogs, she says, are her inspiration. “They inspire me to get up in the morning!” She has a very busy schedule since she works alone, but she makes time for doodles on Facebook every day. And, it’s all worth it when sees the feedback she receives. “I wake up every morning to the most heartfelt mails. Also, seeing my work around when I least expect it is definitely something to smile about!”
For details, visit her >on Facebook and >her website .
