My name is Alicia Souza. I am an illustrator who, in short, draws for a living. I was born and brought up in Abu Dhabi, did my graduation and worked for a handful of years in Melbourne and moved to Bangalore about four years ago. I currently have my own little company that manufactures gifting products for retail and I also freelance for big and small companies alike.
Tell us about any current projects you are working on
At this point, the most exiting new ventures coming up are a few licensing agreements which I’m looking forward to going ahead with. The last lovely company I licensed with is a pet store / merchandise company called Heads Up for Tails, where we collaborated on creating super lovely dog beds, dog t-shirts, sweatshirts and collars and leashes that are due to release soon!
What has been your biggest challenge in achieving your success?
Time and constant planning. I think because I’m a one-man army, I have to utilise time like it’s running two times faster. I also have to make sure I’m never too comfortable with my position because it’s easy to get stuck doing what I love and not planning ahead. So that’s been a bit of a pusher.
What has been your greatest achievement personally?
I feel like my growth as a person, to be able to shift from being the shyest person I could be, to someone who gives giving talks on stage, and also to completely fulfill my dream of ‘doing only things I absolutely LOVE doing’. I feel like I’m also the happiest I could ever have been, which is a star in my books.
If you weren’t doing what you do now, what would you be doing?
Something competely different, and perhaps working in a bank. When I was in college, I promised myself I would only get into the arts field if it involved drawing in some way. So while I worked as a freelance illustrator, I also worked in a coffee shop and bank to earn my living, pay my rent, bills, fees etc. I believe if I hadn’t moved to India, I would have stuck to it as I really enjoyed the bank as well.
Who has been your biggest inspiration?
I think this entire country is my inspiration. The funny things that happen are innumerable and drawing for me, is a way to capture these funny moments. Also, my dogs lend a helping hand in inspiring funny anecdotes.
What does the future hold for you?
Hopefully new opportunities! I hope to be working on projects and products that I’ve not worked on before. That’s always exciting because I’m constantly learning new things and meeting fantastic new people!
www.aliciasouza.com
www.facebook.com/thealiciasouza
www.instagram.com/aliciasouza
www.twitter.com/the_aliciasouza
www.linkedin.com/in/aliciasouza
This article was provided by WeAreTheCity Mumbai Committee Member Abhishek Chandola.
