Nancy John on Indian folklore, demons and becoming an AOI "Graduate to Watch"

I took courses on Domestika, watched countless YouTube tutorials and followed a lot of illustrators on Instagram. Slowly, I started getting smaller commissioned projects. I also worked as a creative designer for a clothing brand in Chennai while continuing to freelance as an illustrator on the side.

My passion for drawing and illustration only grew. I wanted to learn from experts in the field and be surrounded by people who could help me grow. The first thing that stood out to me about AUB was the colourful campus. I’m not gonna lie, I truly loved how vibrant it looked. I fell in love instantly.

But before making such an important decision, I wanted to do my research too. I spoke to a few MA Illustration alumni about the course and the university. They had great things to say, and whoever I spoke to seemed to have had a great time at AUB and in Bournemouth. I also looked up some of the students’ portfolios and felt like this was the right place for me to grow. So, I packed my bags, flew across the globe, and came to this cute little seaside town.

I learnt a lot about myself and my work during my time at AUB. My tutors, Jenni and Ben, believed in me and pushed me in the right direction to keep making my work better and better.

I was extremely excited when my project The Neighbours Look Strange at Night got featured in AOI’s Graduates to Watch 2025. Having my work recognised and appreciated in another country means so much to me.

This project was inspired by stories of demons from Indian folklore. It’s an accordion picture book following a family of Indian demons and monsters living what they consider to be an ordinary life. Each frame captures a different character in their room or natural habitat, doing what they’d typically do on a normal day.

I was especially excited to work on this idea because I grew up reading about western monsters like zombies, Dracula, and werewolves, but there were very few (if any) visual interpretations of Indian monsters in picture books. I grew up hearing stories about Bootham, Vethaalam, and Kaateri, and always thought: how cool would it be if there were picture books about these monsters, shown in a fun and quirky way while still being culturally rooted? So I created one for myself, and I plan to add more of these characters in the future. It’s been such a fun project to work on, and it helped me connect with myself and my identity as an illustrator.

My advice to future AUB students would be: take part in as many competitions as possible! It really opens up new opportunities and helps your work gain visibility. And definitely make full use of the Library. It has a huge collection of books on so many different topics. I discovered a lot of material there during the course, and I would spend hours exploring. Honestly, I’m really going to miss the AUB Library so much!