Welcome!
Salwa Majoka is an award-winning illustrator and 2D artist for the animation industry based in Toronto, Canada.
Specializing in creative problem-solving, Salwa’s work is focused in visual storytelling through illustrations and imagery for entertainment design. She is motivated by the opportunity to communicate strong moods and messages, concentrating on the use of colour and light in her artwork. Her developing arsenal of skills and experience are relevant to the publishing, animation and gaming industries. As a designer, Salwa’s treatment of images as story moments is pertinent to her passion for designing narratives in various stages of production and telling her own stories.
Salwa is the co-author/illustrator of Viewfinder, a wordless graphic novel publishing on February 13th 2024 with Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada.
She has created work with/for RBC Royal Bank, Georgia Straight Magazine, CBC Kids, Netflix, Guru Studio, Mercury Filmworks + more.
Feel free to contact Salwa to discuss employment opportunities or simply say hello! Please request the password for the “Professional Backgrounds” page should you need access to it.
Honors/Awards
- 2025, Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award, Finalist
- 2019, Adobe Design Achievement Awards, ‘Top Talent’ Illustration Category
- 2019, 3x3 Illustration Annual No. 16, ‘Merit’ and ‘Honorable Mention’
- 2019, Society of Illustrators Student Scholarship Winner, Exhibit + Catalog
- 2019, Juried Project 31 Illustration Award for Fourth Year Thesis
- 2014 - 2019, Adobe Creativity Scholarship
- 2018, Aboveground Art Supplies Scholarship
- 2017, Ross Mendes Memorial Scholarship
- 2016, Project 31 Illustration Scholarship
- 2015, Festival Director’s Award of Recognition, Toronto Youth Shorts
- 2014, Best Picture, ZOOM Student Film Festival
- 2014, First Place: Animation, Adobe Aspire Awards
- 2019, Adobe Design Achievement Awards, ‘Top Talent’ Illustration Category
- 2019, 3x3 Illustration Annual No. 16, ‘Merit’ and ‘Honorable Mention’
- 2019, Society of Illustrators Student Scholarship Winner, Exhibit + Catalog
- 2019, Juried Project 31 Illustration Award for Fourth Year Thesis
- 2014 - 2019, Adobe Creativity Scholarship
- 2018, Aboveground Art Supplies Scholarship
- 2017, Ross Mendes Memorial Scholarship
- 2016, Project 31 Illustration Scholarship
- 2015, Festival Director’s Award of Recognition, Toronto Youth Shorts
- 2014, Best Picture, ZOOM Student Film Festival
- 2014, First Place: Animation, Adobe Aspire Awards
CV
Education
2019, Bachelor of Design in Illustration with Distinction, OCADU
Experience
August 2024 - May 2025 || Colour Key Artist for Props and Characters / Sphere Animation
May 2024 - November 2024 || 2D Designer and Painter / Sticky Brain Studios
Feb 2021 - Present || Author-Illustrator of Viewfinder, developing book ideas for future solo publications / Tundra Books, Penguin Random House Canada
July 2020 - January 2021 || Background Artist / Mercury Filmworks
September 2019 - July 2020 || Background Artist + Colour Key Designer / Guru Studio
June - September 2018 || Visual Development Intern / StudioNX
March 2018 || OCADU Mural Committee
2015 - Present || Freelance Illustrator
February - April 2014 || Digital Illustration Co-op / Reactor Art & Design Studio
Exhibitions/Shows
2019, Society of Illustrators Student Scholarship: The Exhibit, Museum of Illustrations
2019, GradEx 104, OCAD University
2019, Homework: Illustrative Painting Show, Artscape Youngplace
2018, Portrait Show, OCAD University
2016, Green Winter, OCAD University
2014, Pop-Art Gallery, Art In Transit
Fairs
2019, OCADU GradEx Illustration Shop
2018, OCADU Artist Alley
2018, Toronto Comic Arts Festival (OCADU Table)