25 | Pick ’n Mix No. 3: Comic books, zines and finding your creative people

If you want to understand someone’s creative DNA, look at what they do in their own time. For Ellie – one of our brilliantly talented artworkers – that’s comic books, sketch zines and character design.

When she’s not working on branding projects in the studio, she’s busy making magical worlds of her own. So for her Pick ’n Mix session, she shared insights from a recent trip to Thought Bubble – the UK’s biggest comic art festival – and reminded us all why indie creativity is so energising.

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Thought Bubble: A celebration of art, community and story

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Thought Bubble is a yearly convention where comic artists and illustrators from all over the world come together to exhibit, sell and celebrate their work. From posters and pins to self-published zines, it’s a joyful overload of creativity and a chance to meet the people behind the work.

For Ellie, it was also a return to the world she studied before joining OurCreative, when she did a Comic and Concept Art course at university.

“I love how much personality comes through in comic illustration,” Ellie says. “There’s so much humour, weirdness and emotion in it – and it feels really accessible.”

That accessibility is part of the power, because you don’t need a publisher or a million followers to have a stall at Thought Bubble. What matters is having something to say, and the guts to put it out there.

The beauty of self-publishing and small formats

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While the big name publishers were there, Ellie gravitated toward the independent creators. Some were students and others were seasoned pros, but what united them was a shared sense of play. Many weren’t just selling prints; they were experimenting with unusual formats and objects, like zines made from sketchbooks, comic-inspired scarves, character badges, stickers and bundles.

“I loved how tactile everything was,” Ellie told us. “There were loads of artists turning their work into things you could wear, gift, or pin to your wall.”

It was also a great reminder that graphic design doesn’t have to live inside perfect grids. Self-publishing can be lo-fi, expressive, and full of odd little details that make it personal. That’s something we can learn from even when designing big commercial brands. There’s always room to embrace emotion, texture and fun.

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Making creative connections (and scoring freebies)

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The other side of the convention was the connection. Ellie spent the day chatting with artists and reconnecting with former tutors. When networking feels natural and easy, you can get a real buzz from it – which Ellie clearly did. That’s a feeling we’ve been trying to create with Our Nourish Socials too.

So it wasn’t just the cool stuff she bought and picked up along the way that inspired Ellie (although the freebie comic was a clear favourite) – it was the real conversations she had with other likeminded creators. Whether it was the artist behind “Ask for Angela” (@bearcubs) or someone dressed as their own comic characters, it was a space for shared appreciation.

It reminded us how important it is to seek out the people who really get what you’re trying to say and inspire you to keep making things.

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From the convention floor to the studio floor

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At OurCreative., we always encourage Our team to bring their outside interests into the studio, because those passions are what make our work richer.

Ellie’s Pick ’n Mix was a window into her interests, but it was also a brilliant, funny, and personal reminder that creativity can come from anywhere. It showed us that inspiration often lives outside the traditional design bubble.

From comic books to brand books, what really matters is the power of story and, as Ellie showed us, the best stories are the ones that connect and make you smile.