Meet Samya Zitouni | Visual Development Artist & Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Samya Zitouni and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Samya, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I’ve been drawing since I was very little, and knew I wanted to be an artist of some sort. I liked everything from comics, painting, to writing my own stories, which all gave me that spark of joy. My parents may have left Los Angeles, but our house was full of classic films and tiny relics of Hollywood. Being a kid, I was only interested in the gold mine of VHS tapes they bought before I was born. Films that were drawn fascinated me the most; that so many drawings could make an entire story come to life. I learned this from those behind-the-scenes featurettes for my top favorites: Pixar’s “The Incredibles,” Studio Ghibli anime, and films from the Disney Renaissance. I may have not known how to animate, but I felt that same sense of “life” when I drew my own characters. Later in elementary school I was placed in a gifted arts program, but soon felt very disconnected with the “traditional” art we were making. I didn’t feel that same spark of joy when I made a papier-maché sculpture or abstract paper cutout, but couldn’t place why. Wasn’t I here to learn art just like my gifted classmates? I didn’t know what my career dreams were anymore, but the summer before 6th grade rekindled a past love of mine: Studio Ghibli. The film “Ponyo” was in theaters, and it all clicked. Animation was the medium I connected the most with. After all, it combined my interests in drawing characters, storytelling, and film!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I like to think of my work as celebrating Muslim women and our stories through animation and illustration as well. Coming of age in the wake of harmful stereotypes surrounding Islam and figurative art, it took a lot to gain confidence in asserting who I was through drawing again. The first time I publicly shared Muslim-themed art was in my high school AP art class, when I decided to tackle Islamophobia through comics. By college, my art featured hijab-clad characters and culture-infused stories, which felt true to me but even then was still intimidating to share with everyone. Thankfully I had the best group of friends within my major (one of whom is now my husband!) who encouraged me to pitch my idea for a thesis film centered around the holiday of Ramadan. It was a bit didactic, but it was my first foray into sharing a humanizing, relatable story around Muslims through animation. This is a subject I have continued exploring with my personal and even professional art.

My career has been far from the traditional path, but I’m so thankful for where it led me. I graduated art school during the Covid-19 pandemic, and internship applications at all the major animation studios were canceled. So I was back in Virginia scrambling to fix my vis dev portfolio for a future job, considering I had just lost my freelance gig illustrating for a podcast. Even with the looming thoughts of failure and disappointment after graduation, I had faith I’d find something right for me soon. Faith being the right word, as the Twitter hashtag “#ArtMubarak” was launched to share art celebrating Muslim creatives worldwide. It sounded perfect for me, so I scoured my portfolio for the best artwork I could share. Because of that tag, my post caught the attention of a project manager at Rooster Teeth Productions, which led me to my first animation job as a concept artist! My assignments were designing characters and props for 2D rig animation (a kind of animation I never learned in school) but I had a supportive team who guided me and taught me everything I know. I’m very grateful someone saw potential in my work, despite my lack of professional experience, and took a chance on me anyway. In terms of exciting projects, I’m looking forward to a graphic novel I illustrated that’s coming out hopefully next year, and launching some more products on my Etsy store. I also have a new animation project that’s been on the back burner for quite some time that I hope to dust off!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Being from Koreatown, I’d definitely start with einspanner matcha lattes at Damo, followed by Wi Spa for a relaxing steam in a variety of Korean saunas, then some green smoothies while chilling on the rooftop terrace overlooking the city. From Ktown, we’ll head to Little Tokyo’s Japanese Village Plaza to peruse the mini gallery and prints at Q Pop Shop, Ginza USA for J-pop CDs and records, before going further out to Kinokuniya Bookstore. If you know me, I’m always getting friends to try some of LA’s many unique halal spots! I’d recommend Culver City, starting with Korean fried chicken at Blossom Bites & Eatery, then some Adeni chai and cheesecake at Qamaria Yemeni Coffee Co. Afterwards, I’d finish the day at Jackson Market with custom deli sandwiches and hand-tossed pizza in their outdoor seating area.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family deserves a huge shoutout for always believing in my career aspirations. All of them supported me in more ways than I could count. My parents encouraged my art and took me to see many wonderful animated films. My uncle got me my first monitor so I could learn digital art, and my grandparents convinced my parents to let me move from Virginia to California so I could study animation. I owe so much to my family and they inspire me to this day.

Website: https://www.samyazart.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smyazitouni/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samya-zitouni-27088313a/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@smyazitouni

Other: Etsy shop – https://www.etsy.com/shop/SamyaZitouni

Image Credits
Nabi H. Ali