Elen was doing really well in advertising, moving up the ranks and making a name for herself as a designer. But she felt empty inside. She didn't know why at the time, but something about advertising left her cold and uninspired.

While a lot of us feel this way, we tend to supress these feelings of unrest and convince ourselves that advertising really is where it's at. Win a few awards, work on a big campaign, attend a fun shoot and you soon forget about all the things that made you unhappy.

Not Elen. She made up her mind and took a leap of faith, quitting the industry and going freelance to focus on her real passion: drawing. She felt the customary pangs of anxiety about landing awkwardly, but it didn't stop her from jumping.

As the days ticked on, she realised she had nothing to worry about. There was enough freelance work to take care of the rent, and her illustrations started gaining a wider audience, fetching her work directly from clients around the world.

A couple of years down the track, she no longer needs to go into agencies and listen to a group of people analyse the abstract, pontificate about the pointless and argue over the insignificant.

She's a full-time illustrator with a unique style and a level of craft that is hard to believe for someone so young. Of course, when you tell her that, she shakes her head and says she's still not there yet.

Elen is petite, demure and so humble you end up feeling like an egotist in her presence. She doesn't talk, she whispers. She's grateful to be making a living off her art and works hard to keep getting better.

Interestingly, she never really saw herself as an illustrator. It was only when she was asked to do a few drawings for a client by her agency (to save costs no doubt) that she thought maybe it was something she could pursue.

We're so glad she did because her art is beautiful and inspiring.

She speaks about wanting to add more meaning to her work, to express her views on social issues through her art. At the same time, she's apprehensive about people's reactions.

Growing up in a male dominated society like Indonesia, she's passionate about women's empowerment and recently released an entire alphabet of drawings on inspiring women around the world. While it was mostly well received, there were a few that accused her of being a feminist.

Elen works out of cafes, her home and the national library. We check out the library and find it teeming with people. She's quick to point out that she only visits the place in the afternoons when the traffic isn't nearly as hectic.

We ask her to pose for a few pictures and she jokes that she's been judgemental of teenagers doing just that. Same here, Elen, but just this once, perhaps we can make an exception.