‘I worry less about others’ opinions’

Vanessa Grzywacz, 50, a designer and artist, lives with her husband Chris, 46, and daughter Emily, 10, in Surrey. ‘I couldn’t have done this in my 20s,’ I said to my husband, hitting the button to share another illustration online. My humorous cartoons about life and parenthood were proving popular with family and friends during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Even strangers were following me on Instagram, and encouraging me to post more.

It hadn’t always been that way. After completing a Graphics and Illustration degree in my 20s, I didn’t feel prepared for the outside world. I drifted into work as a freelance graphic designer. I’d commission and brief other illustrators, so kept my hand in that way, but once lockdown hit, most of my work was cancelled. I started drawing as a way to feel more positive.

‘You should release a book,’ one of my followers suggested. But instead of a lockdown book, I started working on a graphic novel. When I was younger, I didn’t have my own style, and now, at 50, I’ve found it.

As you get older, you trust yourself more, you grow in

‘I started working on a graphic novel’