Samantha Youssef is a Canadian

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

, and

animation director An animation director is either the director in charge of all aspects of the animation process during the production of an animated film or television, and animated segment for a live action film or television show, or the animator in charge of co ...

. She has worked in both

feature films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

and

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s for

Walt Disney Animation Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fro ...

Filmax Filmax International is a Spanish production company, motion picture production company and film distributor based in Barcelona, and one of Spain's largest integrated film and television groups. It produced the Rec (film), ''REC'' horror series, ...

, and

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...

Early life

Samantha Youssef was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Both of her parents are

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

s. She attended ballet classes at the

Royal Academy of Dance "Health and happiness" , predecessor = , successor = , formation = 1920 , extinction = , type = NGO , status = Registered charity , purpose = Examination board – dance education and training , headquarters = 36 Battersea SquareSW11 3 ...

and

Canada's National Ballet School Canada's National Ballet School, also commonly known as the National Ballet School of Canada, is a classical ballet school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Along with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's ...

Career

After submitting her portfolio to

Sheridan College Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology) is a public polytechnic institute of technology located in the west-Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Founded in ...

, Youssef got accepted and was one of four women in her college course. Samantha Youssef graduated from Sheridan College where she majored in

Animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

. Samantha Youssef was a

character animator Adobe Character Animator is an Emmy Award-winning desktop application software product that combines real-time live motion-capture with a multi-track recording system to control layered 2D puppets based on an illustration drawn in Photoshop or Il ...

for

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

, and has also worked for Ubisoft, Filmax Animation, and

Yowza! Animation Yowza! Animation is a 2D, 3D and Hybrid 2D/3D animation studio based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and founded by Claude Chiasson in June 1996. They specialize in providing additional animation and/or clean-up and ink-and-paint for various shorts ...

. She is also responsible for the artistic training of many Montreal video game studios, such as

BioWare BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated Doctor of Medicine, medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip, alongside Trent Oster, Brent Oster, and Marcel Zes ...

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

Visceral Games Visceral Games (formerly EA Redwood Shores) was an American video game developer studio owned by Electronic Arts. The studio is known for the ''Dead Space'' series. History EA Redwood Shores (1998–2009) In 1998, Electronic Arts (EA) moved fr ...

, and

Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft Divertissements Inc., doing business as Ubisoft Montreal, is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Ubisoft based in Montreal. The studio was founded in April 1997 as part of Ubisoft's growth into worldwide markets, with sub ...

. She is the

Artistic Director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

and founder of Studio Technique, an artistic production and training studio in

focused on

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

and video game animation. In 2011, the studio received a $10,000 grant from the

Pepsi Refresh Project The Pepsi Refresh Project (PRP) was a 2010 initiative by PepsiCo to award $20 million in grants to individuals, businesses and non-profits that promote a new idea that has a positive impact on their community, state, or the nation. The project is co ...

. On March 7, 2015, Youssef launched a successful

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign for her first figure drawing book "The Youssef Drawing Syllabus Movement & Form."

Recognition

Youssef was one of ''

Wired Magazine ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online magazine, online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquar ...

s Sexiest Geeks of 2009 and 2010. She was also one of

MSN MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95. The Microsoft Net ...

techno's top sexiest geeks. According to her Wired geek nomination, she is a fan of

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

, and

World of Warcraft ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. Set in the ''Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of Warcraft'' takes place within the world of Azeroth ...

. Her reaction to the nomination was mixed, stating "It's flattering, in a way, but it's also a concern when you work in a male-dominated field. When you're a petite girl, people don't always take you seriously." She was also featured in

Chatelaine (magazine) ''Chatelaine'' is an English-language Canadian women's magazine which covers topics from food, style and home décor to politics, health and relationships. ''Chatelaine'' and its French-language version, ''Châtelaine'', are published by St. ...

as Miss Chatelaine in 2011. Youssef was selected as an animation jury member in the Canadian Interactive Academy for the Canadian Game Development Talent Awards. Youssef was a jury member for Viewster's Global Film Festival, the Viewster Online Film Fest #VOFF5: Animated Worlds. Youssef's animated

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

''La Fuga Grande'' (''The Great Escape'') was an award winner at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

, and has been showcased at other film festivals in Canada.

Filmography

*''

Till Eulenspiegel Till Eulenspiegel (; nds, Dyl Ulenspegel ) is the protagonist of a German chapbook published in 1515 (a first edition of ca. 1510/12 is preserved fragmentarily) with a possible background in earlier Middle Low German folklore. Eulenspiegel is ...

'' (2003) *'' El Cid: La leyenda'' (2003) *''

Tarzan II ''Tarzan II'' (also known as ''Tarzan 2'' and ''Tarzan 2: The Legend Begins'') is a 2005 American direct-to-video musical animated film, and the third and final Disney ''Tarzan'' film after ''Tarzan and Jane'', though it chronologically takes pla ...

'' (2005) (V) *''

Lilo & Stitch 2 ''Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch'' is a 2005 American direct-to-video animated science fiction comedy-drama film produced by the Australian office of Disneytoon Studios. It is the third film released in the ''Lilo & Stitch'' franchise an ...

'' (2005) (V) *''

Kronk's New Groove ''Kronk's New Groove'' (also known as ''The Emperor's New Groove 2: Kronk's New Groove'') is a 2005 American direct-to-video animated musical comedy film animated by Toon City Animation and released by Walt Disney Home Entertainment on December ...

'' (2005) *''

Bambi II ''Bambi II'' (also known as ''Bambi and the Great Prince of the Forest'') is a 2006 American animated drama film directed by Brian Pimental and produced by the Australian office of Disneytoon Studios as a followup to the 1942 film ''Bambi''. A ...

'' (2006) *''

Curious George Curious George is a fictional monkey who is the title character of a series of popular children's picture books written by Margret and H. A. Rey. Various media, including films and TV shows, have been based upon the original book series. Geor ...

'' (2006) *''The Girl Who Hated Books'' (2006) *''

Brother Bear 2 ''Brother Bear 2'' is a 2006 American animated direct-to-video musical fantasy comedy-drama film and the sequel to the animated feature ''Brother Bear'', which was released on August 29, 2006. Melissa Etheridge contributed three songs to the film ...

'' (2006) *''La Fuga Grande'' (2007) *''

Enchanted (film) ''Enchanted'' is a 2007 American musical fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Kevin Lima and written by Bill Kelly. Co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Josephson Entertainment and Right Coast Productions, the film stars Amy Adams, Patr ...

'' (2007) *''Nocturna'' (2007) *''

The Princess and the Frog ''The Princess and the Frog'' is a 2009 American Animation, animated musical film, musical fantasy film, fantasy romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The List of Walt Disney Anima ...

'' (2009) *''Le jour des corneilles'' (2011) *''The Day of the Crows'' (2012) *''Steamboat Willie Redux'' (2013) * ''Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (2016)

Bibliography

* The Youssef Drawing Syllabus Movement & Form ()

References

External links

"Live Stream with Samantha Youssef - CG Con White Conference" - CG ConStudio Technique Youtube ChannelInterview with Samantha Youssef (Artistic Director)Samantha Youssef - Toon Talks Podcast Episode 13A Conversation With Samantha YoussefMovement & Form The Youssef Drawing Syllabus Volume 1
{{DEFAULTSORT:Youssef, Samantha Living people Canadian animators Canadian animated film directors Walt Disney Animation Studios people Canadian animation studios Video game developers Artists from Montreal Film directors from Montreal Sheridan College alumni Canadian women animators Women video game developers Year of birth missing (living people)