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When I joined Asians in Animation, I connected with industry professionals who helped artists and gave advice about future careers. They are friendly and supportive of Asian artists who want to break into or advance their careers in the animation industry. My goal is to break into the animation industry in North America and build a career as a Storyboard Artist. Storyboarding allows exploration and improvement of the story by experimenting with compositions, cinematography, and character movements. Moreover, it is to give voice to the visual sequence for the intended audience, whether it is about the comedic scene or a character’s emotional moments. It’s a great way to introduce the main protagonist’s story and development throughout the sequence. As an artist, it allows me to try something different from a creative standpoint, and I would love to be part of the community that inspires stories.  My project, “Shahrazad,” is based on the character from the literature “One Thousand and One Nights”, also known as “The Arabian Nights.” This collection of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and North African folktales is set in the Islamic Golden Age. Shahrazad is the main character of my project and she is known as the legendary heroine in the Arabian Nights. While her original story has a darker tone, involving trauma and mature themes, I made her a light-hearted, strong protagonist with a fun personality and focused on saving the kingdom.  For the storyboard sequence, I am experimenting with a character and story about a heroine from Middle Eastern folklore that would make the audience enjoy her personality and experience. Shahrazad is a quick-witted young woman who is also clumsy and believes she is clever enough to strategically influence any situation to her advantage. Her flaw is that she acts before fully thinking about things, which results in putting herself and others into risky situations. Audiences want female stories who act independently and are capable of saving people’s lives while learning some of their flaws and emotions. I enjoyed female characters more as inspiration than male characters because of better representation in their stories and development. Female-rising characters are role models and have stepped away from just being sidekicks or love interests, which then have them as the protagonists of their own story (Grove).  As a South Asian artist, I share stories from folklore, which express cultural representation at the surface level. To shift to the story value on the character, it's not about what we do but why it matters to us. I grew up watching female-led animated shows like The Powerpuff Girls and Kim Possible, which are action-packed and have strong storytelling. I felt that I wanted to create something similar since female stories are more interesting than male ones. What, in particular, about “Arabian Nights” drew me to pick it among all other folklore is that my work focuses on the heroine because of the potential character development, where she has to sneak into a palace to rescue a woman from the evil Sultan. I hope the audience will learn more about the main protagonist’s story and find connections between Middle Eastern and South Asian backgrounds in terms of humanity, emotions, and cultural values.  References Grove, Elliot. The Rise of Female Characters: Why It Matters More Than Ever. 30 December 2024. <https://raindance.org/the-rise-of-female-characters-why-it-matters-more-than-ever/>. Munaum Bilal is a Pakistani artist specializing in storyboarding. He studied arts and film as part of the Bachelor of Arts program at Marshall University and graduated in 2021. He worked as a Storyboard Artist at Moonshot Animations as well as a Graphic Designer Intern at SOC Films. His personal work focuses on telling stories about Middle Eastern and South Asian culture, folklore, and mythology. Follow Munaum Bilal's works on Linktree: https://linktr.ee/moonstoryartist
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