Alicia Souza is an illustrator with an instantly identifiable style, and has been referred to as a "happiness illustrator". We speak about her evolution, process, love for stickers, and advice for impatient young creators! Anyone who's been on the internet in India over the last decade would have certainly seen an Alicia Souza illustration. Her work punctuates planners, mugs, stickers and of course, observational comics on her own Instagram. We are delighted to be able to speak to her to ask about how she got to what many creators dream of - turning a hobby into a company of her own name with a signature style. Alicia co-founded the lifestyle brand Chumbak in 2009, and a couple of years later, went solo. She’s been selling art, planners, merch, décor & more under her own name for close to 14 years apart from doing commissioned work for several brands. She has illustrated 5 published picture books, done several TEDx talks & is an INK fellow. We talk process, the hurdles of working for oneself, the challenges she still faces, and the joys of having a creative outlet. We forgot to ask her about her love for chips - else this would have been a 4 hour long chat. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:51 Growing up in the Middle East 00:08:24 Alicia's Sticker Obsession 00:14:28 Alicia's Journey + Beginnings of Chumbak 00:21:28 Getting thrown into Freelancing 00:24:39 Building a portfolio + audience - Early days of Facebook 00:29:17 Advice for any Beginner 00:30:40 Creating your Signature Style 00:33:43 The story of Aliciasouza.com 00:38:26 Understanding and Scaling an Online Store 00:44:13 Working with a co-founder who is different from you 00:47:47 Weaknesses can be strengths 00:51:45 Hard Realities of running a Business 00:56:25 Alicia's Creative Process 01:09:04 Generative AI and Future of Art 01:20:29 Losing the Ability to understand Time 01:23:33 How to start as a Creator in 2024 01:34:20 Comics and Graphic Novels we Love 01:39:15 AI 'Weeding Out' Bad Designers TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT This is a YouTube interview series hosted by Utsav and Deepak aka Chuck, about the aspects of content that really matter - the craft, the process, the thinking, the ambition. WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? To guide budding creators. What goes into creating content? How do you make content that resonates with people as well as imbibes your unique essence? How do you make sure you hold on to your creativity whilst trying to crack the 'business' of it? The journey to content creation involves passing through many processes - the ideation, the discipline, the craft, motivation, bringing it all to life while battling hurdles of the daily grind as well as the human mind. An exhilarating process whose outcome makes it look simple and that's the beauty of it. We interview experts to understand creation at its core and uncover the hidden gems behind this journey. From breaking down the process to diving into their minds as they go through this start to finish. Expect nuanced, sharp conversations with creators, industry folks and entrepreneurs. THE 6% CLUB India’s first creator coaching program, designed for people with full-time jobs. Developed by mentors who built global 2% ranking content projects while balancing demanding careers. It features live sessions, 3 masterclasses from creators who have cracked it (Amit Varma, Krish Ashok, SneakyArtist, and more planned), personalised mentoring sessions, peer reviews, a vibrant community, and much more. Check out the program and sign up for the next cohort, here: https://www.thesixpercent.club/ Links: Alicia Souza Website: https://aliciasouza.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aliciasouza/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciasouza/ Utsav: https://www.instagram.com/postcards.pfn/ Chuck: https://www.instagram.com/chuckofalltrades/