Is it Adventure Time? Is it Billy and Mandy? Is it Steven Universe? It's none of those! It's just your eyes playing tricks on you because it's Sawyer Cloud's very own quirky, eye candy-ish art style for her first children's book "Under Lucy's Bed" and webcomic "The Cactus Fever" that will surely give you major Cartoon Network feels!
Sawyer's art is not the only thing remarkable about her — her gut is, too! Hailing from a country where a lucrative art career is certainly impossible due to the absence of both the structure nor the culture to run a business in illustration, Sawyer still took the leap in pursuing her passion to live as a freelance illustrator, with only books, articles, tutorials, and similar materials to assist her along the way. Her story definitely makes her work 100% more amazing!
Scroll down below for fun, pastel daydream illustrations you'd definitely feast your eyes on.
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Image credits: artistama.amafeed.com
1. A jazzy self-portrait ala Cartoon Network style
"I'd describe my illustration style like doodle/cute/cartoony with lots of pastel colors. I actually don't find the right genre for it but I like drawing boneless characters with big eyes and hairy legs."
2. The cactus you'd always WANNA cuddle
"I also published the first episode of my Webcomic 'The Cactus Fever' on Webtoon. It’s about 3 little cactus who decide to create a comic book in order to give a sense to their lives."
Image credits: artistama.amafeed.com
3. A Rejection-Proof Welcome Page
"I have a patreon creator page where I'm sharing most of my works in progress. It's also the place where I get supports from my fans for my webcomics and illustrations."
Image credits: artistama.amafeed.com
4. An imaginative excerpt from Under Lucy's Bed (not Gulliver's Travel, you guys)
"Two years ago, I wrote a story about a little girl who is sailing on a wide ocean to find the thing that she is afraid of. When I decided to turn into a freelancer, I wanted so much to work in the children book industry and I joined groups of people working in that field. I found a publisher there who is settled in the US and when she suggested me to show her my project, I thought about my former project. "
Image credits: artistama.amafeed.com
5. A simple sketch which is a completed masterpiece on its own
"I like roundy shapes and candy colors, illustrations that inspire kindness and happiness even in the darkest moments. I think that's what describes my illustration style more."
Image credits: artistama.amafeed.com
6. A street cat named Bob — as the name suggests
"I had rejections all along the way. I cry, and when I've finished emptying my sadness I stand up and do it all over again. The best advise I can give is to learn from mistakes and to always have a precise contract before doing anything."
Image credits: artistama.amafeed.com
7. A wallpaper-worthy montage
"What I want for my work is to bring a little kind of wonder to people who are watching it. I want to make people think wider and be opened to new perspectives through my illustrations. I want them happy to live because there are a thousand of possibility in the World waiting to be seen."
Image credits: artistama.amafeed.com
8. An allegory to Sawyer's employee-to-creative-entrepreneur career change
"Growing up I started to watch vlogs and tutorials of foreign illustrators who were talking a lot about pursuing dreams and running a business as an illustrator. I didn’t have the courage yet, then I realised life is too short to live 'as we should' and not taking risks. I left my job and I decided to go futher as an illustrator and author."
Image credits: artistama.amafeed.com
9. A day in a life of a freelance illustrator, simplified
"I think one of the most challenging situations I have to face almost everyday is when I'm completely broke but I don't want to look back to those days I had to work full time for someone else's goals. Everyday I have to make choices : should I go on or go back to where I found a kind of security. "
Image credits: artistama.amafeed.com
10. The pleasure of solitude
"I grew up in a tiny village in the capitale of Madagascar where trees grew all around. I’ve always dreamed about becoming my own boss and earn my life with something I’m passionate about. I love drawing, since my childhood I drew on walls with mud and a piece of wood on the ground."
Image credits: artistama.amafeed.com
11. A mile away from Neverland
"I think the greatest achievement of my career as an illustrator would be my first children book 'Under Lucy's Bed'. It's also the most unexpected thing I've done, I didn't plan to make it that early to be honest."
12. A cool and casual "waddup?" to the world
"I think being creative has made me 'versatile' naturally. Artists are creative souls above all. Afterwards they choose what artistic disciplines they want to use to express themselves. It's very important to nourish that creative part in you. "
Image credits: artistama.amafeed.com
13. A monster of your own making
"It is a challenge to find where to start. It's always difficult to see where is the right point to begin a business. I'm still learning a lot about the industry and who I am. And of course one of the biggest challenges is also to be courageous enough to stand among professionals who have already a client base."
Image credits: artistama.amafeed.com