Creativity

From Everyday Moments to Meaningful Lines: Sophie Parsons’ Journey to Illustration

By Lana

An illustrator based in London, Sophie Parsons creates character-led work that captures quiet moments and everyday emotions with warmth and wit. Her illustrations often explore themes of modern life, reflecting on how we search for joy, meaning, and connection in a fast-paced world. With clients including Harper Collins, Refinery29 and UCL, Sophie’s thoughtful visual storytelling has found its place across publishing, editorial and exhibition spaces.

Why did you decide to take up your creative trade?

I’ve always wanted to tell stories in some capacity. For a really long time, that looked like journalism or writing of some kind. I then studied design and gradually realised that the combination of word and image is something I could really play around with, and ended up focusing entirely on illustration. It’s why I love editorial work so much: how can these two aspects, image and word, work together to create emotion, plot, to make people feel seen?

I now combine everything I’ve learnt from working as a graphic designer and writer into my freelance illustration work. Sometimes I think my path here looks a little random, but it’s all intertwined in my practice today. Recently, I’ve been enjoying writing personal essays that go on to inspire, or are inspired by, a wider illustration series. I’m figuring out it doesn’t need to be about just one practice, that a holistic approach feels more gratifying to say what I want to say.

How do you get past creative blocks?

Art is inspired by life, and if you’re not spending enough time engaging in it, where are you supposed to be inspired by? I think when art becomes your career, it’s hard not to expect a constant flow of creativity. It’s taken me a while to accept that it’s not something I can access every single day.

I love going to art galleries on those days, especially to see work that is completely different from my own. I am also always reading. A really good fiction book that completely takes me out of my own head is so invaluable and just softens the noise in my brain that’s maybe stopping me from letting the ideas in.

Just allowing it really. Seeing that time as time to engage in other work and figure out again what else it is you want to say.

Monochromatic blue-toned illustration of a solitary figure partially submerged in water, facing away and surrounded by gentle ripples. The figure wears a swimsuit, with soft highlights creating a dreamlike, almost ethereal atmosphere.

What is your creative process?

Every project begins with a mood board and a to-do list. I’m a very visual person, and setting the story up in that first stage is how I figure out where I need to go next. It needs to explore everything from potential colour schemes to figures and poses to the setting. Colour is always my biggest decision to set the tone of a piece, and once I’ve got that figured out, it’s simply about building out the scene. And then I’m just really methodical.

As of late, I’ve been enjoying the Little Women soundtrack while I work, and there’s always a cat or two lingering on my desk for attention. There’s also always a couple of coffee cups on the go, and my notebook with all my scratchings and sketches must be next to me at all times.

Where do you look for inspiration?

I get my best ideas in the last five minutes of a workout class, after all the hard work is done, and you can just stretch. My personal work always comes back to womanhood, and I think getting out of my brain and into my body for an hour allows my brain to just be working in the background. It’s like movement therapy that I can then translate into imagery.

I’m a real romantic, so I love poetry and romance films and narratives that encourage us to slow down and simply exist in joy. I also have become entranced by older women who really know who they are, they’ve maybe got hands stacked with rings or a signature colour, and you can tell they don’t care for societal expectations. At the moment, I’m creating a painting series about ageing and how the narrative needs to be turned on its head: ageing is a privilege, and so much of the world doesn’t want us to see that.

Illustration of an elderly woman with long white hair tied back in a pale blue ribbon, viewed from behind as she looks out at a calm sky with soft clouds and a yellow sun. She wears gold hoop earrings, a dark red jumper, and several chunky bracelets and rings, holding a glass of red liquid.

What are you reading or listening to right now?

I’ve just finished Orbital by Samantha Harvey. I was in a real reading slump, and this really pulled me out of it. Space isn’t a subject I’ve ever been drawn to, but this book captures humanity in a way that is so moving. It’s like a tiny slice of human existence within the context of being able to view Earth in a way that so many of us will never get to experience. I’m recommending it to everyone.

What does your typical day involve?

I try and start the day with admin: emails, social media, and figuring out my to-do list. It feels easiest with coffee before I get to do the fun stuff. I can get started once I’ve figured out my non-negotiables for the day. If there’s anything urgent, then that gets precedent.

My favourite days are the ones in the middle of a big project; when the hard work of figuring it all out has been done and I just get to absorb into the sketches and realise the vision step by step. I’ll try and work out in the middle of the day to try and avoid the 3 pm slump.

Every day can be completely different, which is ultimately why I love working as a freelance artist – the freedom to express myself however best fits that day. So some days are for writing, others for digital illustrating. There are also days when I need to get out and see someone else’s work so that I stop overthinking my own. That’s why I love London, that’s always possible.

Illustrated comic-style scene showing a group of women in a changing room, engaged in intimate, everyday rituals such as dressing, undressing, and moisturising. The panels focus on close-up details—stretch marks, skin textures, and relaxed body language—capturing a warm and honest portrayal of real bodies. The setting features red and white tiled floors, hanging swimsuits, and soft yellow lighting, evoking a sense of calm, self-care, and quiet solidarity.

What has been your favourite project to date and why?

I illustrated my first published book last year, Bibliotherapy: Books to Guide You Through Every Chapter of Life.

When the briefs came through for the artwork, it was like getting to figure out my own life chapters through their creation. Illustrating stories of adulting and creative inspiration while trying to figure it all out for myself felt almost self-referential. And then when I got to see the published book in a book shop and my local library, that really felt like a wow moment.

How do you switch off?

Books. Everything pretty much always comes back to books. My to-read list is ever-growing, and I love the feeling of getting into bed at the end of the day knowing I can completely lose myself in someone else’s story.

Who inspires you?

My mum, whose just made a career pivot after 30 years. My friends who are pursuing their creative dreams and are flourishing. Writers like Dolly Adlerton and Mary Oliver who are romantic and whimsical. Greta Gerwig. Nora Ephron. Stevie Nicks. Women who commit their lives to telling the stories of womanhood and empowering all of us to do the same. I feel very lucky to have them to look up to and to remind myself of my agency over my own dreams.

A big thank you to Sophie Parsons for contributing to our series of creative conversations with industry experts.