We recently had the chance to connect with Sawyer Cloud and have shared our conversation below.
Sawyer, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
I’d say a good book, most of the time a children’s book. I have a small selection of children’s books and some art books at home that I rarely open because of lack of time or energy. But when I open a picture book, I get lost and find my true self again. Inside, I never grew up and stayed that little girl with unlimited imagination.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Sawyer Cloud and I’m a professional artist working mostly in the publishing industry. I’ve been working on more than 30 children’s books for the past 7 years and have many more projects coming.
I currently live in Madagascar, my birth country, with my big family.
One of my most recent works is “Simply Winnie”, the debut children’s book of the super model Winnie Harlow which is coming in June 2026.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
I grew up feeling unbeautiful and unworthy of any form of care. As a millenial child, it wasn’t very easy to fit in as a fat girl with curly/kinky hair. I also had more developed body compared to my friends, I often was sexualized but grown-up men (sometimes during family events) and was always subject of mockeries that were disguised as innocent jokes. But I never felt comfortable around adults, I ended up hating my body and believed it was all my fault.
Today I only feel sympathie to my younger self, I wish I was there for her, I wish every adult around me back then were like me today. I no longer believe that it was my fault, I deserved to be loved and cared for who I was.
When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
My imagination. I swore only by it. Whenever something went wrong, I went to a corner and used my imagination to escape from reality. It could be a tente made with our bed covers, a secret wild place nearby, or it could simply be in my head. I would lie on the ground, closed my eyes and imagined myself in wonderland playing with the lost boys from Peter Pan.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I’m a busy bee but I have few projects of my own that I’d really love to do one day. Some of them haven’t even left the ideas shelf in my mind , staying concepts that I’ve never dared to write on black and white. The fear of beginning is a real thing to me. Nevertheless, I haven’t given up on my personal projects yet, even if they will take forever to make.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What will you regret not doing?
Even if I had travels few times, I know I’ve worked more than I should for the past 10 years. My work as a children’s book illustrator is rewarding, it helped me travel and build my own house, but it’s also very challenging physically and emotionally. After more than 30 books done, I can feel that I’m not as fast or as energetic as when I started this creative journey. I fear I will be so consumed by work (even if it’s my dream) that I miss really living. I have a family that I love and I work partly for them, so the pressure is definitely there. But sometime I wonder what would life be if I didn’t have all that weight on my shoulders and just live for myself… I have a long list of dreams and I’d be so sad if I don’t realize them because deep inside I know I deserve it.
So I will regret deeply if I don’t travel the world, if I don’t stop working that much, if I don’t slow down and just get healthier (I also have diabetes).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sawyer.cloud/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sawyercloud01/
Image Credits
Sawyer Cloud
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
