Today we’d like to introduce you to Sawyer Cloud

Hi Sawyer, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

My name is Sawyer Cloud and I’m a children’s book artist. Before becoming a full-time artist, I occupied so many different roles, for example I was a librarian, then a first grade teacher, a video maker etc. But drawing is my passion and I wanted to turn it into my main job so I got into the work. Since there’s no art school in my home country, I made many researches on the internet and in books to help me making my way.
After working as a freelancer artist online, I finally got seen by a scout talent who introduced me with my current agency. Since the day I become represented, I now have worked on more than 30 books published around the world and collaborated with most of the major publishers in the industry.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

No it has not been a smooth road, far from that. I struggled for many things: access to the right informations as I was alone and born in such a remote country, financial stability and lack of basic needs in general as I was born in a poor family as well.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

I’m an illustrator who focuses mostly on children’s books. I basically collaborate with editorial teams (publisher, agent, art directors, authors, designers etc) to create stories for kids. I’m particularly known for my contribution in the black literature for children , I’ve worked on so many books focusing on black history/culture and BIPOC stories. I really love creating different characters that actually look like all children around the world, it’s very important to me to represent different children from different backgrounds including that underrepresented ones.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?

The publishing industry seems to struggle a little since the last decade but I do believe it will stay there for a long time. Our main issue as artists is the presence of AI which seems to be used in a non-ethical ways. Nevertheless I trust our ability as humans and creatives to sail through the changes and take advantages on these.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sawyer.cloud
• Instagram: https://www.sawyer.cloud
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SawyerCloud
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoAkDrj7lWxlEEFEFi9iuyg