Well finally its Alicia Souza on the Paper Pencil Podcast! Alicia has been an inspiration to me and a bunch of other illustrator friends for almost a decade now. In this conversation we talk about the ‘Origin Story’ of Alicia. Growing up in the Middle East, finding herself in Australia and then finally moving back to India. We also talk about setting up the brand (the conglomerate!) that is Alicia Souza!!! Hope you enjoy this super fun conversation! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Her page: @aliciasouza www.aliciasouza.com  My work: @swarnavod More about this podcast: Paper Pencil Podcast on Insta: @paperpencilpodcast https://www.swarnavod.com/podcast

Sayan joins me for a lovely conversation in this episode. He is an extremely talented visual artist from Calcutta. He talks about his journey starting with sharing a single seat at an ad agency to painting humongous murals on the face of Eden Gardens. He focuses on telling stories through his work regardless of the scale of the artwork.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------- His page: @sayanart www.sayanart.net  My work: @swarnavod More about this podcast: Paper Pencil Podcast on Insta: @paperpencilpodcast https://www.swarnavod.com/podcast

Sangeeta aka Miss Compass Hands is a dear friend of mine. Apart from being a really skilled illustrator, she is a gem of a person. In this episode we talk about her journey from being the non-artistically inclined kid to an entrepreneur who is taking her illustrated characters to new heights. She also shares some valuable lessons that she learnt throughout her journey.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Her page: @misscompasshands My work: @swarnavod More about this podcast: Paper Pencil Podcast on Insta: @paperpencilpodcast https://www.swarnavod.com/podcast

Namrata Baruah is the hands behind a.ware studio, a pottery studio and school based in Bangalore. In this episode we talk about her life pre and post the studio. Growing up in Assam, living the corporate life and then finally deciding to quit and do something meaningful. She talks about her values and how she would like people to describe her on her 60th birthday.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Her page: @a.ware_studio My work: @swarnavod More about this podcast: Paper Pencil Podcast on Insta: @paperpencilpodcast https://www.swarnavod.com/podcast

Pearl is an illustrator and storyteller from the sunny state of Goa. She joins me from Mumbai to talk about her journey, her style, her inspirations as an artist. She is passionate about themes such as gender, body acceptance and mental health and these are some of the primary themes you get to see in her work. She talks about complex issues like mental health through comics and zines. She also loves fighting her way through Mumbai local for some reason.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Her page: @pearl.dsouza https://www.pearldsouza.com/  My work: @swarnavod More about this podcast: Paper Pencil Podcast on Insta: @paperpencilpodcast https://www.swarnavod.com/podcast

Sticker Genie is a print partner for many of my illustrator friends who are into merchandising. Subodh, the brains behind Sticker Genie shares his story of how he got into the print industry and then eventually struck gold with the sticker printing business. His clients are artists and illustrators from around the country.  He shares a lot of good info on how to set up your artwork for the best print quality!  ---------------------------------------------------------------------- His page: @stickergenie.in www.stickergenie.in  My work: @swarnavod More about this podcast: Paper Pencil Podcast on Insta: @paperpencilpodcast https://www.swarnavod.com/podcast

I ran into Sahitya at a Children’s Literature Fest in Delhi last year. I had a fantastic conversation with her there about art styles and thats where I made a mental note to extend that conversation into an episode. She is a children’s book illustrator currently residing in Bangalore. She graduated from NID Ahmedabad. Sahitya has an amazing art style and adds a whole bunch of beautiful details in her illustrations.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Her work: @sahityarani My work: @swarnavod More about this podcast: Paper Pencil Podcast on Insta: @paperpencilpodcast https://www.swarnavod.com/podcast

I finally get to talk to Rajiv Eipe on this podcast!!!Rajiv is one of my favorite children’s book illustrators. He has illustrated over 30 books over the years, which means if you visit a bookstore in India, you will probably find a Rajiv Eipe book. He is an animator and illustrator. He has a Bachelor of Fine Art Painting Degree from Sir J J School of art, Bombay, and a Postgraduate degree in Animation Film Design from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------- His work: @rajiveipe Dugga: the book we spoke about in the conversation My work: @swarnavod More about this podcast: Paper Pencil Podcast on Insta: @paperpencilpodcast https://www.swarnavod.com/podcast

Kavita Arvind is an artist, illustrator and design educator, mother to a teenage daughter and two lovely dogs. She joins me from Bangalore to have a super laid back conversation about her journey, her days in NID Ahmedabad as a student and then as a faculty…followed by her stint with Srishti Institute creating her own course. We also talk about her experiences with Chidiya Udd. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Her work: @kavitarvind http://www.chidiyaudd.in/ My work: @swarnavod More about this podcast: Paper Pencil Podcast on Insta: @paperpencilpodcast https://www.swarnavod.com/podcast

In this episode Aaryama Somayaji joins me for a chat. Aaryama is an illustrator who loves to get high on mangoes. She is currently in Singapore in the middle of her masters. She is an NID graduate and has worked on more than 20 books…both book covers and picture books.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Her work: @highonmangoes My work: @swarnavod More about this podcast: Paper Pencil Podcast on Insta: @paperpencilpodcast https://www.swarnavod.com/podcast