Today we’d like to introduce you to Maya Khalil.
Hi Maya, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am an Egyptian designer who moved to the US in 2018 to pursue my bachelor’s degree in design at the School of Visual Arts. Growing up in the Middle East, Animation and video games were my whole world. Every evening after school, I would sit down and play countless games with my three siblings or watch whatever movies and shows were playing on Disney. I’ve known that I wanted to work in the animation and gaming field after playing Telltale’s The Walking Dead when I was 13 years old. I was in awe at the power of storytelling because I had never consumed a piece of media that had me crying, laughing, and stressing out at my choices before; I had all the power to tailor the story how I wanted, which helped me connect deeply to every single character I came across in the game.
After attending my freshmen year in college back home, I realized just how limited our majors were at the time. The only art major that was available to us was in graphic design. I went through with it anyway because I loved everything about art and was intrigued by that major that I knew nothing about prior to college. However, I quickly realized that our college did not offer proper motion courses. So, I decided to research colleges outside of my hometown and found SVA! I was super lucky to take three classes with three different professors who to this day, I’m so grateful for and appreciate everything they’ve taught me in motion design and 3D. They always pushed me to be a better artist and a better storyteller by challenging me to do work that I had never done before.
During my senior year at SVA, I took an introductory course to Autodesk Maya and Zbrush; I’ve known about these tools prior to the class because I had just finished playing Red Dead Redemption II and was looking at all the BTS and process footage I could find. After graduating in 2021, I always kept time aside my professional career to keep working on my craft as a 3D artist and to continue exploring new tools and experimenting with them.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all! Moving to a whole other continent at 18 years old was already a challenge. But, I’ve also always doubted my abilities and my skills as an artist because I was constantly surrounded by extremely talented artists. I thought I wasn’t good enough to be there with them. I was so lost and at some point, thought to myself, ‘Is this really what I want to do for the rest of my life?’ because I didn’t think that I deserved an opportunity like that to be here with them. After taking that intro course to Autodesk Maya and Zbrush though, that’s when I really found myself as an artist because it helped me fall in love with my work. I stopped competing with others, and I started teaching myself to put out work I loved, not the kind of work I thought would get a lot of likes and attention. It really changes the way people view you as an artist as well because you put a lot of passion into it. I also changed my mindset from ‘I have to be the best’ to ‘There’s room for all of us here to keep doing what we love.’ It helped me get out of my own head and appreciate the entire process of creating!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a self-taught 3D animator and game developer who has a background in Graphic Design and Motion Design! I love learning about art in all its forms, whether it’s about different industries, tools I found or the history and application of art in our world. Coming from an Egyptian household, I grew up with a family that loves music and art. I love bringing my vision to life and implementing my culture into my work as much as I can no matter how subtle or obvious it may be. I am proud to be an Arab woman representing and paving the way for other Arab women who are interested in being in the art field. I like sharing my knowledge with others and pushing myself to be a better artist by surrounding myself with people who continue to inspire me to this day.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
You can always find my latest work on my website, www.mayakhalil.com; send me an email at [email protected], or follow me on Instagram @mayakhalil.c4d. I’m always down to collaborate on passion projects and work with others!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mayakhalil.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mayakhalil.c4d?igsh=Zmx1MWhvbDA1djZl&utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Mayakhalill
