My name is pronounced ah-NOO-shah SAY-yid

You ‘say it’ like Syed. :) You can find a pronunciation recording here.

I was born in Pakistan, but I moved around quite a bit growing up. I have so far lived in Dubai, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Toronto, and now settled in Dallas, Texas.

I briefly attended the American University of Sharjah, studying Visual Communication. I hated it, and quit after a semester. I then received my BFA in Illustration at Ceruleum Ecole d’arts Visuels in Lausanne, Switzerland. It’s a three-year intensive art program taught in French.

My process for each book is slightly different, but I have made several videos going over my process in detail! You can find a playlist here.

All serious inquiries can be sent to my agent at taylor@fullcircleliterary.com. I’m afraid I don’t take on self-published projects.

During my last year in art school I illustrated a mock picture book as part of my senior thesis and created an online portfolio with my best work. I submitted that portfolio to dozens of publishers, magazines, stationery companies, etc, and cold-emailed art directors and editors. I submitted to contests and calls to art and constantly updated my social media with new work. I went to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair with my class, handed out business cards to publishers, and showed my portfolio for reviews. I also signed onto an illustration agency that I had previously submitted online to.

In my last semester at art school, I was very fortunate to have gotten an offer to illustrate my first picture book through that agency. After graduating, a publisher I had met up with at the Bologna book fair I mentioned earlier also offered me a book project.

After I graduated and moved to Canada, I initially worked full-time at an animation studio, but worked on picture books in the evenings. After a few years, I realized my true calling was publishing, so I made a career shift. The rest is history.

Check out my guide on how to start your career!

Make sure you have an online portfolio (preferably with a domain name, but not required). It should be clean, professional and easy to navigate with your best pieces. Have art samples in your portfolio that reflects the kind work that you want to be doing. Wanna illustrate books but haven’t yet? Illustrate a mock piece specifically for your portfolio, like sample pages of a fairy tale or mock book covers!

About 80% of my clients find me through social media. I try to maintain a strong online presence, regularly posting online to increase exposure and networking with colleagues, possible clients etc. I also table at conventions like TCAF and Lightbox Expo.

Make a list of places you want to work with and cold email. If you are not getting any responses, create fresh work for your portfolio and then repeat.