Mark Barsoum

Digital Media (Animation)

Graphic Design

About

I'm a story artist and illustrator born and raised in Los Angeles. I've always been captivated by the convergence of art and storytelling. I believe storytelling has the power to shape minds, so telling diverse and inclusive stories is very important to me. I hope throughout my career I'm able to give a voice to the underrepresented through animation, especially for SWANA/Middle Eastern audiences like myself. When I'm not making art, you can find me baking, listening to R&B, building legos, playing board games, or spending time with family and friends. As I finish up my final year at Otis, I'm aiming to intern in a story art or animation production position or go straight into a storyboard revisionist role. Thanks for checking out my gallery!

Contact

markbarsoumart@gmail.com

Visit my website

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Storyboards

Coptic Animated Series Concept
A concept I developed in conjunction with my senior thesis paper that explored SWANA (Southwest Asian, North African) stereotypes in Western animation. To view the full storyboard sequence, please visit my website linked above.

Art Class Romance
A college student flirts with a classmate using digital art. To view the full storyboard sequence, please visit my website linked above.

The Chamber of Golden Arms
Storyboard practice for an action fight sequence. The four-armed guardian is inspired by a character design from Tanner Wilson.

Pareidolia
Pareidolia: the tendency to see a significant image in a random pattern or object, often pertaining to seeing faces.

Illustrations

The "Roaring" 20s: The Untold Story of 1920s Wildlife
A satirical comic about animals living through 1920s events around the world.

Egyptian Lotería
Taking inspiration from my culturally blended family, I recreated the traditional Lotería game and put a Coptic Egyptian spin on it!

Graphic Design

Publication: Baking Maa Baud

Exploring Egyptian-American Experiences Through Traditional Baking Recipes. This book is a mix of Egyptian recipes, histories, interviews, statistics, and artist spotlights. I was responsible for the typographic design, overall layout, and content selection in this book. All of the text and images are sourced from online and credited.

OurCounty Map & Go App Proposal

Worked with PANDO and the OurCounty LA Sustainability Plan to design a project pitch that would reimagine the way sustainability is mapped in LA County. My cohort developed the concept of a "Map & Go" app that would highlight sustainable businesses, encourage education on environmental and social issues, and offer rewards to users as an incentive to participate in county measures. I was responsible for the design and overall branding of the app as well as the design of our final presentation which we pitched to many community leaders and organizers around LA County.

Before You Go

7 Rings by Koaliana Grande
If you've made it this far through my gallery, please enjoy the most ridiculous project I've made during my time at Otis: a music video of dancing koalas set to Ariana Grande's 7 Rings.