Sameh Samir Cartoonist | illustration & Visual Storytelling

At a glance

Cartoonist, painter and visual educator.

Sameh Samir is an Egyptian cartoonist based in Belgium. His practice connects editorial cartooning, awareness illustration, cultural workshops, exhibitions and live caricature, with a focus on human behavior, public life and visual storytelling.

A practice built around character, reaction and context.

Whether the work appears in a newspaper, a workshop, a museum or a public event, the method is the same: build a readable scene through character, emotion, gesture, symbols and composition. This approach shapes both Sameh’s published cartoons and his teaching.

✓Editorial cartoons across humor, community, politics and world issues.
✓Awareness illustration and visual communication for social themes.
✓Creative workshops for museums, cultural institutions, youth and adults.
✓Live caricature and personal caricature for events and public programs.

Visual biography

Three strong threads in the journey.

This page brings together three visible sides of the story: international exchange in the United States, exhibition moments in Belgium, and the educational workshop practice that continues to grow.

01

U.S. exchange & professional meetings

Images from the United States document a period of professional exchange: the International Visitor Leadership Program experience, meetings with fellow cartoonists and moments in major media and cultural spaces.

02

Golden Hat exhibition in Knokke

In Belgium, Sameh’s work appeared in the annual Golden Hat cartoon exhibition in Knokke-Heist, with his work shown in the exhibition space and featured in the event booklet.

03

Workshop in Ieper / Ypres

A recent milestone was the caricature workshop in Ieper, where caricature was taught as a complete visual scene — linking character, expression, movement, props and composition in a museum context.

Editorial cartoons

Visual satire, public life and sharp social commentary.

Editorial cartooning is the core of Sameh Samir’s work: one image that can behave like a full article. These drawings move between humor, politics, media criticism, gender questions, digital life and social awareness — always using visual exaggeration to make the idea instantly readable.

Cartoon of a person chained by a phone and social media, unable to step outside into real life and nature.

Digital life

When the phone becomes the chain.

This cartoon turns digital addiction into a direct visual metaphor: the open door is there, real life is visible, but the phone keeps the character tied to an artificial world.

Social media Awareness Modern life

In editorial cartooning, the idea must be understood quickly. A strong symbol — a chain, a screen, a crown, a dove or a mirror — can carry an entire argument without needing a long explanation.

Political cartoon showing a peaceful flower on screen while violence is hidden behind the media image.

Media manipulation

The peaceful image and the hidden violence.

A hand offers a flower through the screen, but the reality behind the image is darker. The cartoon critiques how media can polish violence, hide power, and turn brutality into a soft public message.

Politics Propaganda Screen image

Cartoon showing media propaganda entering open minds as toxic green liquid.

Media criticism

Propaganda as something poured into the mind.

The open heads and toxic green flow create a sharp image of passive consumption. The cartoon shows how public perception can be shaped, filled and controlled through aggressive media noise.

Propaganda Public mind Awareness

A cartoon using a butcher shop metaphor to expose the violence of FGM.

Social awareness

A brutal issue shown through a brutal metaphor.

This cartoon uses the visual language of a butcher shop to confront female genital mutilation. The shock is intentional: the drawing refuses to soften the violence behind the practice.

FGM Awareness Egyptian society

Satirical cartoon of a baby with adult male features asserting male entitlement.

Gender satire

Male entitlement drawn from infancy.

The joke works through exaggeration: a baby with adult male features behaves as if authority is already inherited. The cartoon turns gender entitlement into something absurd, visible and uncomfortable.

Gender roles Humor Social critique

Cartoon symbolizing male-dominated speech through an exaggerated tongue.

Masculine discourse

When language itself becomes domination.

Here, the tongue becomes the main character. The cartoon visualizes how repeated masculine discourse can pull, shape and dominate the space around it.

Society Language Power

Cartoon criticizing male hypocrisy around women’s body image.

Double standards

The critic who cannot see himself.

This cartoon uses everyday domestic humor to expose a social contradiction: the person judging another body is blind to his own. The small scene becomes a wider critique of gendered double standards.

Body image Gender Everyday satire

Satirical cartoon of a couple turning intimate life into social media content.

Privacy and content

Private life turned into a public performance.

The drawing criticizes the race for attention and profit online. The bedroom becomes a stage, and intimacy becomes content — a sharp comment on how platforms can reshape human boundaries.

Social media Privacy Modern relationships

Humorous cartoon of a doctor showing a TikTok video to a newborn.

Contemporary humor

TikTok enters the delivery room.

The absurdity is simple: even the first moment of life is interrupted by the screen. The cartoon uses hospital humor to comment on how deeply digital habits have entered everyday culture.

TikTok Hospital scene Social humor

Cartoon showing violent television content frightening a viewer.

TV violence

The screen shouting back at the viewer.

The television is not passive here. It becomes aggressive, loud and physically threatening. The cartoon turns media violence into something that invades the room and shapes the viewer’s fear.

Television Violence Media effect

Cartoon of a man confidently standing on a cliff while carrying nonsense.

False certainty

Confidence can stand on very weak ground.

A man insists he is right while standing at the edge of danger. The hanging weight of nonsense turns stubborn certainty into a physical risk.

Belief Irony Visual metaphor

Cartoon showing a confused man looking at a confident version of himself in the mirror.

Self-image

The mirror shows what the character wants to believe.

This lighter cartoon plays with self-perception. The gap between the confused person and the confident reflection becomes a simple visual joke about identity and wishful thinking.

Humor Identity Self-reflection

Political cartoon of Hitler and Stalin competing over a crown.

Historical satire

Power as a crown everyone wants to seize.

The cartoon turns historical rivalry into a visual struggle over a crown. It reduces complex power conflict into one symbolic object that everyone is fighting to control.

History Power World politics

Cartoon comparing ancient human violence with modern nuclear destruction.

Human progress?

From the club to the nuclear rocket.

The drawing asks a bitter question: has humanity evolved, or only upgraded its tools of destruction? The comparison is simple, direct and deliberately uncomfortable.

Evolution War Technology

Political cartoon showing global powers fighting over the Earth.

World politics

The planet as the prize of power.

Two powers fight over Earth itself. The cartoon reduces international competition into a physical tug of war, where the world becomes something to own rather than protect.

Global conflict Power struggle World

Political cartoon of a dove interrupting military aggression.

Peace and conflict

The peace symbol enters the battlefield.

The dove of peace appears in a scene of military aggression, but not in a soft or decorative way. The humor is sharp, turning a familiar symbol into an act of resistance.

Peace Military satire Political humor

Satirical cartoon showing Trump as Cupid launching a missile at Earth.

Political parody

Cupid replaced by conflict.

The drawing uses Valentine imagery against itself. Instead of spreading love, the Cupid figure launches conflict toward the planet, turning a soft romantic symbol into a political warning.

Trump satire Global tension Symbol reversal

Cartoon showing religious unity and coexistence in Egypt.

Community harmony

Religious unity drawn as a shared prayer.

This cartoon offers a calmer social message: coexistence, respect and shared responsibility. The city below becomes a common space held together by mutual prayer and community harmony.

Egypt Community Coexistence

Personal caricature

Custom cartoons for people, families and occasions.

A lighter side of the work: birthday posters, wedding illustrations, family scenes, playful portraits and custom gifts. The idea is simple — keep the person recognizable, then build a small visual story around them.

Custom caricature of a child as a superhero

Birthday poster

Turning a child into a superhero.

A custom birthday-style caricature where the character becomes the center of a playful scene. The goal is not only exaggeration, but a small story that feels personal and fun.

Kids Birthday Poster artwork

Personal caricature is made for real occasions: birthdays, weddings, family gifts, events, travel memories, and playful portraits that feel personal rather than generic.

Family scene

A family memory drawn as a playful scene.

Family caricatures work best when everyone has a role in the story. Here, the illustration becomes a warm, funny memory rather than a regular portrait.

Family Gift idea Custom scene

Wedding caricature

A wedding illustration with a humorous twist.

For weddings and engagements, caricature can turn the couple’s relationship, hobbies or inside jokes into a memorable visual gift.

Wedding Couple Humor

Wedding caricature of a bride and groom riding a cat

Occasion artwork

Personal jokes make the drawing stronger.

Some custom pieces are built around a very specific joke, pet, phrase or memory. That detail is what makes the final image feel made for one person only.

Personal joke Egyptian humor Gift print

Birthday caricature of a girl painting a butterfly

Birthday gift

A simple birthday idea turned into a scene.

For children’s birthdays, the drawing can reflect a hobby, dream or favorite activity — painting, sports, animals, superheroes, music or anything personal.

Kids Birthday Creative theme

Travel caricature of a couple riding a camel near the pyramids

Travel memory

Places can become part of the caricature.

A caricature can also preserve a trip, a city, a country or a shared memory. The background becomes part of the story, not just decoration.

Travel Couple Egypt theme

Birthday caricature of a man riding a bicycle

Hobby portrait

Hobbies give the portrait movement.

When a person has a clear hobby or passion, the caricature can use it as the main action. This makes the image more lively and less formal.

Birthday Hobby Custom portrait

Painting

Paintings inspired by Egyptian faces and Fayum portraits.

Alongside cartoons and caricature, painting is where the image slows down. These portraits focus on faces, silence, texture, color, and the emotional presence of the human gaze.

Fayum-inspired portrait

A face that feels ancient and contemporary.

This portrait is inspired by the visual language of Fayum mummy portraits — direct eyes, quiet expression, and a strong human presence that feels close despite the historical reference.

Portrait Fayum influence Egyptian faces

The painting section reflects Sameh Samir’s interest in Egyptian visual memory, old portrait traditions, and expressive human faces.

Fayum-inspired portrait painting of a woman with yellow necklace by Sameh Samir

Portrait study

Eyes, color and a quiet emotional tension.

The work uses the face as the main visual field. The expression is calm, but the strong eyes and simplified forms carry the emotional weight of the image.

Expressive portrait Color study Human presence

Portrait painting of a woman on textured wood inspired by Fayum mummy portraits

Wood texture

The surface becomes part of the portrait.

Painting on wood gives the face a rougher, older feeling. The texture is not hidden; it becomes part of the image and connects the work to ancient portrait traditions.

Wood surface Texture Ancient reference

Fayum-style portrait painting of a woman with jewelry by Sameh Samir

Painted portrait

A direct gaze with classical influence.

Jewelry, frontal composition and a serious expression give this portrait a timeless quality. The work borrows from historical portraiture while keeping a contemporary hand-painted energy.

Classical mood Jewelry Portrait painting

Wooden plank

A narrow frame, a concentrated face.

The vertical wooden format pushes the viewer directly toward the face. The result feels like a fragment — almost like an old piece preserved from a larger visual history.

Wood plank Vertical portrait Fragment feel

Ancient-style portrait of a woman inspired by Fayum mummy portraits by Sameh Samir

Ancient memory

A portrait between history and imagination.

This piece continues the Fayum-inspired direction, using the structure of an ancient portrait while allowing the colors, surface and expression to move freely.

Historical inspiration Egyptian memory Visual identity

Fayum-inspired portrait painting of a man with expressive eyes by Sameh Samir

Male portrait

The same visual language, a different face.

The Fayum influence is not limited to one type of face. Here, the direct gaze and simplified structure create a portrait that feels personal, still, and visually intense.

Male portrait Expressive eyes 2020

Portrait painting inspired by Fayum mummy portraits by Sameh Samir

Egyptian Faces

A continuing study of faces and identity.

This work belongs to the wider “Egyptian Faces” direction — portraits that explore memory, identity, and the feeling of looking at someone from another time, while still recognizing something familiar.

Egyptian Faces Identity Portrait series

International exchange

Professional encounters, cultural exchange and visual dialogue.

A selected sequence from Sameh Samir’s international experience: official moments, media visits, creative meetings, public art activities, and conversations around political cartooning and visual storytelling.

Certificate from the U.S. Department of State for participation in the International Visitor Leadership Program on Political Cartooning, 2019.

IVLP / Political Cartooning

A formal milestone in political cartooning.

This certificate marks participation in the International Visitor Leadership Program on Political Cartooning. It reflects a period of professional exchange focused on visual commentary, public dialogue, and the role of cartoons in society.

2019 U.S. Embassy Cairo Political cartooning

The exchange experience added an international layer to Sameh’s work, connecting cartooning with journalism, culture, public debate and creative communities.

Person holding a certificate in front of U.S. and Egyptian flags during an award ceremony.

Official moment

Recognition in a cultural exchange setting.

Framed by the U.S. and Egyptian flags, this moment reflects the formal side of the exchange: recognition, dialogue, and the meeting point between creative practice and cultural diplomacy.

Certificate Egypt / USA Cultural exchange

State Department

Cartooning in an international conversation.

A group photo from an official setting at the U.S. State Department. The image reflects how political cartooning can move beyond local borders and become part of a wider conversation about media, freedom of expression, and public culture.

Washington, D.C. Political art International context

Sameh Samir and fellow Arab cartoonists enjoying a day at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Capitol moment

A lighter memory from the journey.

Not every meaningful photo has to be formal. This image captures the human side of the trip: friendship, shared experience, and a simple moment with fellow Arab cartoonists in Washington, D.C.

Arab cartoonists Washington, D.C. Shared journey

A meeting room with a cartoon projected on a screen showing a person relaxing in a hammock.

Presentation

Cartoons inside a professional discussion.

This meeting image shows a cartoon presented in a formal setting. It captures one of the strongest qualities of cartooning: it can enter serious spaces while keeping a light, direct, and memorable visual language.

Meeting Cartoon presentation Visual communication

The Washington Post

Meeting Ann Telnaes in a newsroom context.

A professional meeting with cartoonist Ann Telnaes at The Washington Post. This moment connects Sameh’s practice with a wider editorial cartooning tradition shaped by journalism, opinion, and visual satire.

Ann Telnaes Editorial cartoons Media context

Person standing in front of The Washington Post building, corporate photo.

Media visit

The Washington Post as a place of visual journalism.

This image adds context to the journey: visiting major media spaces where illustration, journalism, opinion, and political cartoons meet in one professional environment.

The Washington Post Journalism Media visit

Cartoonists Sameh Samir and KAL smiling and interacting during an office meeting with documents on the table.

Cartoon community

A warm meeting with KAL.

A meeting with KAL, cartoonist of The Economist. The image reflects the friendly side of professional exchange: conversation, shared references, and the craft of communicating complex ideas through simple drawings.

KAL The Economist Cartoon community

Politico

With Matt Wuerker at Politico.

This meeting places the experience inside a high-profile editorial environment. It reflects the connection between cartooning, journalism, political commentary, and the daily rhythm of public conversation.

Matt Wuerker Politico magazine Editorial exchange

Sameh with Batman film producer Michael E. Uslan during a special meeting in the United States

Creative industries

A meeting beyond cartooning alone.

This photo with Michael E. Uslan, producer of Batman films, reflects another side of the trip: how drawing, storytelling, comics, cinema, and popular culture can overlap in unexpected ways.

Michael E. Uslan Storytelling Creative exchange

National Press Club

A stop connected to media and public voice.

The National Press Club represents another layer of the exchange experience: press culture, public debate, and the wider ecosystem where political cartoons can live and be discussed.

Washington Press culture Public dialogue

Public art

Art moving into public space.

This public chalk art moment shows a different kind of visual practice — less formal, more immediate, and closer to people in the street. It connects creativity with participation and community presence.

Sidewalk art Community Public space

Sameh Samir and Jordanian cartoonist Omar Momani sitting together in a restaurant setting.

Creative friendships

With Omar Momani in an informal moment.

Some of the most valuable exchanges happen outside official rooms. This image with Jordanian cartoonist Omar Momani reflects the friendships and conversations that continue beyond formal programs.

Omar Momani Arab cartoonists Community

Exhibition in Belgium

Golden Hat in Knokke-Heist.

A concise gallery focused on Sameh’s presence in the Golden Hat annual cartoon exhibition in Knokke, Belgium — showing both the exhibition moment and the exhibited work itself.

Sameh Samir standing beside his cartoon artwork at the annual Golden Hat cartoon exhibition in Knokke, Belgium.

Golden Hat / Knokke

Standing with the work in the exhibition space.

This photo shows Sameh beside his cartoon artwork at the annual Golden Hat exhibition in Knokke-Heist, Belgium. It highlights his participation in an international cartoon context and his presence within the exhibition itself.

BelgiumCartoon exhibitionGallery context

Humorous cartoon by Sameh Samir displayed at the annual Golden Hat cartoon exhibition in Knokke, Belgium.

Exhibited artwork

The artwork itself, shown as part of the annual exhibition.

This slide brings the focus directly to the exhibited cartoon. Together with the gallery photo, it completes the visual story of participation, from the displayed piece to the artist’s presence in the exhibition environment.

Official bookletHumorous cartoonInternational appeal

Workshop practice

Caricature workshop in Ieper / Ypres.

A recent milestone in Belgium was the caricature workshop in Ieper, within the historical and museum context of the city. The session introduced caricature as a complete visual scene: character, emotion, movement, accessories and composition.

The iconic clock tower of Ieper, Belgium, standing tall against a clear blue sky.

Ieper / Ypres

A historic city as the setting for the workshop.

The workshop began in Ieper, a city where architecture, memory and public history are strongly present. This setting gave the event an added depth, linking drawing practice to place, heritage and reflection.

Ieper Belgium Historic setting

The Ieper workshop connected caricature with museum education and historical context, creating a space where drawing became both a creative and reflective practice.

Historic clock tower in Ieper, Belgium with people walking in front.

City atmosphere

The workshop belonged to a living public environment.

This view of Ieper shows the everyday life of the city around its historical center. It helps frame the workshop not as an isolated classroom event, but as part of a wider cultural and civic atmosphere.

City life Public space Cultural context

Sameh Samir leading a political caricature workshop at the Ypres World War I Museum during Belgian Heritage Day.

Workshop opening

Introducing the session and setting the tone.

This opening moment frames the workshop clearly: a museum context, a cartoon board, a projected title and participants ready to explore caricature. The atmosphere is educational, visual and lively from the first minute.

Ieper / Ypres Museum education Workshop opening

Sameh Samir conducting a political caricature workshop at the Ypres World War I Museum, using a chalkboard and projector.

Method in action

Teaching through speech, drawing and visual examples together.

The workshop combines live explanation with drawn examples. Chalkboard sketches and projected references work together to keep the session practical, readable and engaging for participants with different levels of experience.

Interactive teaching Visual explanation Live method

Expressions

From facial reactions to readable emotion.

Facial expression is a central module in Sameh’s workshop structure. Participants learn how exaggeration, emotion and reaction help build characters that communicate instantly and carry the idea of the drawing.

Character Reaction Emotion

Sameh Samir presenting action poses during a caricature workshop at the Ypres World War I Museum.

Movement

Action, body language and the line of movement.

Caricature becomes stronger when the body also speaks. In this part of the workshop, gestures and action poses help participants understand how movement supports narrative and visual humor.

Body language Action poses Narrative energy

Composition

Framing the image like a scene from a film.

A key idea in Sameh’s teaching is that caricature works like one framed moment from a play or a film. Composition, camera angle, balance and background details shape how the viewer reads the story.

Composition Framing Visual storytelling

Participants

A shared creative space built on discussion and participation.

The session is not only a lecture. It is a shared drawing experience where participants observe, discuss, sketch and see how a complete cartoon scene is built from the first idea to the final visual frame.

Engagement Museum audience Collaborative learning

Teaching philosophy

Caricature as a single framed scene.

In Sameh’s workshop methodology, the participant becomes the writer, director, actor, set designer and camera director at the same time. The final drawing is not just a face — it is a complete scene with a character, an emotion, an action, props, a point of view and a carefully chosen visual frame.

Ask about a workshop →

Press & published work

Cartoons printed in newspapers, magazines and cultural publications.

This section brings together selected examples of Sameh Samir’s cartoons as they appeared in printed and published contexts. The pages show how editorial cartoons can live inside articles, columns and public discussions — not only as standalone drawings, but as visual commentary connected to real media work.

Political cartoon

Published satire on shifting political alliances.

A printed political cartoon using familiar public figures to comment on changing alliances, power calculations and the unstable nature of political relationships.

Politics Published work Editorial satire

Press publication gives the cartoon a different life: it becomes part of a page, a headline, a debate and a reading moment shared with a wider audience.

Published cartoon about family chaos and changing social values.

Social humor

Everyday family life as social commentary.

This published piece uses a chaotic family scene to question a familiar social idea. The humor is domestic, but the comment is wider: how social values change from one generation to another.

Family Community Social observation

Published cartoon about children, smartphones and early technology exposure.

Technology and children

A newborn already shaped by the screen.

The cartoon turns the idea of early digital exposure into a sharp image. A newborn holding a phone becomes a symbol of how quickly screens enter childhood and reshape habits.

Technology Children Awareness

Published cartoon on Harris, Israel policy and the two-state solution.

International politics

Foreign policy simplified into one visual scene.

A political cartoon can turn a complex policy disagreement into a readable image. Here, the boat, flag and figures carry a visual argument about leadership, direction and political tension.

World politics Foreign policy Published cartoon

Mental health

Self-talk, reflection and the fear of being misunderstood.

This published cartoon uses humor to approach a sensitive subject. The mirror becomes a space for self-dialogue, questioning whether talking to oneself is madness, reflection or a form of inner care.

Mental health Self-reflection Social awareness

Published cartoon explaining the Egyptian craft of Shafanshi.

Heritage illustration

Explaining craft and heritage through cartooning.

Not every published cartoon is only a joke. This piece uses drawing to explain an Egyptian craft, making cultural heritage lighter, clearer and more accessible to readers.

Egyptian heritage Craft Illustrated article

Published humorous cartoon of a woman asking for two kilos of calories.

Everyday humor

Calories treated like something sold by weight.

A simple shop scene becomes a clean visual joke. The humor comes from turning an abstract fear — calories — into something physical that can be weighed and bought.

Food humor Daily life Light satire

Published cartoon warning about body image pressure and hormone use.

Health awareness

Inflated muscles, inflated expectations.

This cartoon uses an exaggerated body image to discuss pressure, unsafe shortcuts and the risks of hormone use. The humor makes the subject readable without weakening the warning.

Health Body image Awareness

Published Egyptian cartoon about nostalgia, radio and food humor.

Cultural humor

Nostalgia, music and food in one small joke.

This published cartoon plays with Egyptian cultural memory, old radio atmosphere and a humorous twist on longing. It turns nostalgia into a very human and funny scene.

Egyptian culture Nostalgia Humor

Published cartoon about travel to Crystal Mountain and the Black Desert in Egypt.

Travel article

Travel writing supported by visual humor.

In travel and feature pages, a cartoon can become an entry point. It gives the article character, makes the page more human, and adds a visual rhythm beside the written story.

Travel Egypt Feature illustration

Romantic humor

A light social cartoon inside a magazine page.

This piece shows how a cartoon can support a lighter article with warmth and humor. It gives the page a visual character while keeping the tone friendly and accessible.

Magazine page Romance Social humor

Published cartoon about delivery service and safety during the pandemic.

Pandemic humor

Delivery culture through a COVID-era joke.

The cartoon turns pandemic anxiety into a simple food delivery scene. It captures how daily habits changed, while keeping the joke grounded in everyday Egyptian life.

COVID-19 Delivery Daily life

Published cartoon about hairdresser delivery service during COVID restrictions.

COVID adaptation

When even a hairdresser becomes delivery.

A playful pandemic-era cartoon about adaptation, service culture and absurd solutions. The joke works because it exaggerates a real period when many services had to reinvent themselves.

COVID-19 Service humor Adaptation

Published cartoon about education cost and academic achievement.

Education satire

Expensive education, uncertain reward.

The cartoon uses cultural contrast and humor to discuss education pressure, certificate value and the anxiety around paying more while receiving less.

Education Family pressure Satire

Published cartoon about price fluctuation in Egypt.

Economic humor

The price changes before the question ends.

This cartoon turns inflation and unstable prices into a clean joke. The customer is not only asking about the price — he is asking which second of the price he is asking about.

Prices Economy Everyday satire

Published COVID-19 awareness cartoon with the Grim Reaper wearing a mask.

Public awareness

The pandemic was not just numbers.

This published awareness piece uses a strong symbol to remind readers that COVID-19 statistics represent real lives. The tone is darker, more direct and deliberately urgent.

COVID-19 Awareness Public message

Published cartoon about Egypt waste management and the Sphinx.

Environment

The Sphinx surrounded by a modern problem.

The cartoon uses one of Egypt’s strongest symbols to talk about waste and neglect. The contrast between heritage and garbage makes the message impossible to ignore.

Environment Egypt Waste management

Published cartoon showing people running from a giant trash monster in Cairo.

Urban satire

Garbage becomes a monster chasing the city.

The waste problem is visualized as a living threat. Instead of explaining the issue in numbers, the cartoon gives it a body, a face and a terrifying presence.

Cairo Garbage Environmental critique

Published cartoon of an ice cream vendor selling in cold weather.

Street humor

An ice cream vendor in the peak of winter.

A very small everyday contradiction becomes a funny image. This is the kind of local humor that comes from observing street life closely.

Street life Egyptian humor Daily observation

Turkish newspaper page featuring Sameh Cartoon artwork about Gaza.

International press

A Gaza-themed artwork appearing in a Turkish newspaper.

This press page documents an international publication context, where Sameh’s artwork appeared as part of a Gaza-focused art exhibition covered by a local Turkish newspaper.

Turkey Gaza Press coverage

Freedom of expression

Drawing when speech becomes difficult.

This image connects cartooning with press freedom and expression. The pencil held in the mouth becomes a powerful symbol of the artist’s persistence even when speech is restricted.

Press event Freedom of speech Political cartoon

NGO & Awareness Campaigns

Visual storytelling for social awareness and community initiatives.

This part of the work focuses on awareness campaigns, public-interest messages and social development projects. The goal is to turn sensitive and complex issues into clear, human and accessible visuals — using cartoons, illustration and simple symbolic scenes.

Waai Project

Awareness as a clear visual language.

The Waai Project uses visual communication to support community awareness around health, family, parenting, child protection and social responsibility. The design direction keeps the message simple, memorable and easy to recognize.

Awareness Community Visual identity

Child protection

Protecting children from sexual abuse.

This cartoon supports awareness around child protection, safety and the importance of giving children the confidence to speak, report and seek help. The message is direct, emotional and designed to be understood quickly by families and communities.

Child safety Prevention Community awareness

Cartoon raising awareness against female genital mutilation

FGM awareness

A visual message against harmful practices.

The artwork addresses female genital mutilation as a serious social and health issue. Instead of relying on long explanation, the image uses a strong visual scene to support awareness, protection and community dialogue.

FGM Girls’ rights Social awareness

Cartoon about social judgment and emotional violence against women

Women’s rights

Showing the invisible pressure of social judgment.

This cartoon turns emotional violence and social labels into visible pressure around the character. It reflects how words, stigma and judgment can become a form of harm, especially when directed at women.

Women Violence awareness Social pressure

16 Days of Activism

Collective action, drawn as one shared key.

For campaigns against gender-based violence, the image uses the idea of people holding one key together. The visual metaphor is simple: safer communities are built through shared responsibility, awareness and cooperation.

Gender-based violence Unity Advocacy

Family planning

Making overcrowding visible through satire.

The sardine-can image turns overcrowded classrooms into an instantly readable visual joke. It connects family planning to education, health and the quality of life inside communities.

Family planning Education Public message

Family empowerment

A family journey drawn as movement and support.

This illustration presents the family as a shared journey. The boat becomes a symbol of support, direction and resilience — a warm visual language for family empowerment initiatives.

Family Support Social development

Books

Cartoon and illustration work created for books and publishing projects.

This section brings together illustrations and cartoons created for book projects in collaboration with writers and publishers. The work moves between satire, social commentary, political caricature and visual storytelling, always designed to support the written text with a clear and memorable image.

Hadoutet El Talateen

Satire about authority and education.

Created for the book Hadoutet El Talateen by journalist Ragy Amer, this cartoon uses humor to criticize oppressive teaching methods and the contradiction between educational slogans and everyday reality.

Books Humor Education

Published by Dar Al Hilal, Egypt.

Media influence cartoon illustration by Sameh Samir

Hadoutet El Talateen

Media influence drawn as a direct visual metaphor.

This illustration transforms media manipulation into a simple image: a mind directly connected to a television screen. The visual is satirical, immediate and built to stay in the reader’s memory.

Media Satire Publishing

Political satire

Peace symbols against violent realities.

This piece uses stark contrast and satire to expose hypocrisy in political language. It is an example of how book illustration can move beyond decoration and become part of the argument itself.

Politics Caricature Books

Traffic congestion cartoon by Sameh Samir for a book project

Urban satire

Everyday city life turned into visual humor.

In this image, traffic congestion becomes so extreme that people simply walk across the roofs of cars. The scene captures a familiar urban frustration through exaggerated but highly relatable humor.

Humor City life Books

Egyptian social metaphor cartoon by Sameh Samir

Social commentary

The burden of daily life shown through metaphor.

With Egyptian landmarks in the background, this illustration uses one heavy sack as a symbol of pressure, responsibility and the social weight carried by ordinary people.

Egypt Metaphor Illustration

Pandemic satire

Humor about denial and casual behavior.

This cartoon reflects the contradiction between public danger and everyday indifference. The exaggerated virus-shaped head turns a serious subject into a sharp satirical image.

COVID-19 Humor Books

Creative process

The intensity of writing captured with exaggeration.

A smoking pen becomes a humorous sign of pressure, concentration and effort. This is one of the drawings that connects literary work with a playful visual rhythm.

Writing Humor Illustration

Loudspeaker satire cartoon by Sameh Samir

Exaggeration

Sound turned into visible force.

Here, loudness is not just heard — it physically pushes the character away. The illustration depends on simple comic exaggeration to communicate instantly.

Humor Visual joke Books

Mirror reflection cartoon by Sameh Samir

Daily life

The self we imagine versus the self we are.

A cheerful reflection confronting a less cheerful reality makes this image relatable and light. It reflects one of the recurring strengths of cartoon illustration: turning small emotional moments into simple visual ideas.

Reflection Humor Books

Book illustration tribute to Ahmed Khaled Tawfik by Sameh Samir

Butterfly Wings

A tribute to Ahmed Khaled Tawfik and a generation of readers.

Created for the book Butterfly Wings, this illustration reflects the emotional connection between generations and the world of pocket novels, especially the legacy of Dr. Ahmed Khaled Tawfik.

Books Tribute Literature

For journalist Ragy Amer — published by Dar Al Hilal, Egypt.

Butterfly Wings

Caricature as a sharp editorial voice inside the book.

This illustration shows how caricature can work powerfully inside a publishing context — not only as portraiture, but as commentary, tone and narrative support.

Political caricature Books Satire

Butterfly Wings

Historical and political figures reinterpreted through caricature.

This caricature of Gamal Abdel Nasser presents historical memory through distortion, expression and political wit, keeping the image expressive and editorial at the same time.

History Politics Caricature

Butterfly Wings

Local humor rooted in everyday Egyptian scenes.

A frightened customer pushing the taxi himself turns a familiar local experience into an absurd and memorable visual joke. The humor is simple, direct and culturally specific.

Taxi humor Egypt Books

Butterfly Wings

Digital obsession turned into a comic everyday scene.

This cartoon satirizes the urgency of posting, sharing and reacting online. It turns social media behavior into a fast visual joke that fits perfectly within the rhythm of the written text.

Social media Humor Books

Live events

Live caricature for events, schools, companies and public gatherings.

Live caricature turns an event into a personal, memorable experience. Sameh Samir draws guests on the spot — fast, friendly and recognizable — creating a small artwork they can take home and a lively interaction people naturally gather around.

Sameh Samir drawing a live caricature for a child at a school event in Buggenhout, Belgium.

School event / Belgium

A live drawing moment children can remember.

At school and community events, caricature becomes more than a drawing. Children see themselves transformed into a playful character, while parents and visitors enjoy watching the process happen live.

Buggenhout Children Community event

Available for events in Belgium: schools, cultural days, family activities, corporate gatherings, exhibitions, private celebrations and community festivals.

Two women smiling and holding a live caricature drawing at a community event in Buggenhout, Belgium.

Community caricature

Quick portraits with warmth and personality.

Live caricature works well because it is personal and social at the same time. Guests receive a recognizable drawing, but they also enjoy the shared moment around the chair, the paper and the reactions.

Live portrait Teachers Belgium

Schools Family days Cultural events Community festivals

Corporate exhibition booth with live caricature and event interaction.

Corporate events

A creative attraction for booths and business events.

For exhibitions and company events, live caricature can bring people to a booth, start conversations and give visitors a personal souvenir connected to the brand experience.

Exhibition booth Visitor engagement Brand activation

Corporate booths Trade fairs Open days Networking events

Cartoon invitation encouraging people to get their caricature drawn.

Event invitation

Simple, friendly and easy to understand.

A live caricature corner does not need complicated explanation. A clear visual invitation is enough: come closer, sit down, smile, and leave with a drawing made especially for you.

Caricature corner Guest interaction Fun invitation

Man holding a live caricature drawing at a professional dental event.

Professional gathering

Humor can soften formal business events.

At professional events, live caricature adds a lighter social layer. It helps guests relax, interact and remember the event through a personal drawing rather than only speeches and brochures.

Business event Professional audience Personal souvenir

A man smiling and holding his live caricature drawing at an event.

Guest souvenir

A drawing people want to photograph and share.

The result becomes part of the event’s memory. Guests often hold the drawing, laugh, take photos and share the moment — turning the caricature into both a souvenir and a small piece of event content.

Photo moment Guest experience Shareable content

Woman smiling and holding her live caricature portrait at a social event.

Social events

A light personal moment inside a busy event.

In weddings, parties and informal gatherings, caricature gives people a short personal performance. It is fast enough for events, but still intimate enough to feel made for one person.

Parties Weddings Private events

Live illustration

Not only portraits — events can be drawn as visual notes.

Live drawing can also document meetings, panels and conferences. Instead of drawing only guests, the artist can translate key ideas, discussions and themes into visual summaries during the event.

Graphic recording Meeting summary Visual notes

Live cartoon sketches displayed during a business or education conference.

Conference drawing

Turning discussions into visual memory.

For conferences and workshops, live illustration helps people remember ideas differently. The drawings can capture tone, key messages and human reactions in a way that ordinary notes cannot.

Conference Workshop Visual documentation

Live cartoon posters displayed on a wall during a professional workshop.

Event wall

Drawings that become part of the event space.

When live sketches are displayed during the event, they change the room itself. People stop, read, react and recognize moments from the discussion in a visual, humorous form.

Event display Live posters Audience reaction

Live business illustration showing regional offices and strategy themes.

Strategic visual summary

Business ideas simplified into one visual scene.

Complex business discussions can become clearer when translated into drawings. Live illustration helps summarize strategy, communication, roles and priorities in a human and memorable way.

Strategy Business visualisation Live summary

Book live caricature in Belgium

A creative corner people actually gather around.

For schools, company events, cultural programs, exhibitions and private celebrations, live caricature adds interaction, humor and a personal souvenir. The setup is simple, the atmosphere is friendly, and each guest leaves with a drawing made in the moment.

Book / ask about live caricature →

Life model

Drawing from the live model: observation, form and human presence.

Alongside caricature and painting, life drawing is an important part of Sameh Samir’s practice. These sessions focus on the living body as a visual subject — gesture, balance, rhythm, structure and the quiet intensity of drawing directly from observation.

Studio session

Beginning with direct observation.

This image introduces the core of the life model practice: drawing from a real pose, in real time. The model, the paper and the act of looking all come together in one quiet visual exercise.

Life drawing Observation Studio practice

In these sessions, the goal is not ideal beauty or polished finish alone, but honest observation — how a pose holds weight, how a line carries movement, and how a body occupies space.

Woman holding a finished figure painting in an art studio.

Finished study

From pose to expressive painted result.

The session does not end with observation alone. It often leads to an expressive visual interpretation, where the live pose becomes a painting built from rhythm, reduction and selective emphasis.

Figure painting Expressive study Art process

A colorful abstract figure painting of a kneeling model held by hand.

Color study

The body translated into simplified color and shape.

This work shows how a live model drawing can move toward abstraction. Instead of describing every detail, the image focuses on mass, direction and color relationships to keep the figure alive and immediate.

Abstract figure Color blocks Gesture

Woman holding several figure drawings in a studio space.

Multiple studies

One session can open different visual directions.

Some poses produce several outcomes at once — linear drawing, simplified figure design and more experimental interpretation. Showing the works together reveals the richness of the same source pose.

Series Figure studies Studio outcomes

Woman proudly holding a life drawing created during an art class.

Participant result

The session becomes a shared artistic experience.

Life model sessions also create moments of exchange and participation. The drawings become personal achievements, but also part of a collective studio atmosphere built on looking, drawing and responding.

Participant Art class Creative exchange

Woman holding a drawing made from a life model session.

Model and drawing

A strong connection between the subject and the image.

There is something special when the model or participant holds the finished work. The drawing is no longer only a studio exercise — it becomes a personal document of the shared artistic moment.

Portrait relation Human presence Studio memory

A life model holding a drawing made during a live art session.

Live model

The model becomes part of the final visual story.

This image reflects the direct relationship between artist, model and finished drawing. It captures the warmth of the session and the sense that the work belongs to a real human encounter, not just a studio exercise.

Life model Finished sketch Shared process

Sketch of a seated woman in a contemplative pose.

Line drawing

A pose reduced to its essential structure.

This sketch shows the quiet power of economy. A few confident lines are enough to suggest posture, mood and form, keeping the drawing open, immediate and alive.

Line economy Seated pose Observation sketch

Charcoal figure drawing of a seated woman with draped fabric.

Charcoal study

Light, shadow and volume take a stronger role.

Compared with lighter sketches, charcoal allows the drawing to lean more on tone and weight. The figure feels slower, fuller and more sculptural, while still preserving the freshness of direct study.

Charcoal Volume Figure drawing

Woman holding several artistic drawings after a studio session.

Studio presentation

The work is both study and display.

Life model drawings can remain as private exercises, but they can also stand as finished visual works. This balance between learning and presentation is part of what gives the practice its value.

Presentation Art display Figure studies

Why life model drawing matters

Learning to see before learning to stylize.

For Sameh Samir, life drawing strengthens the eye and disciplines the hand. It trains observation, proportion, gesture, anatomy, rhythm and presence. Even when the final work becomes more expressive or simplified, this direct practice remains an essential foundation behind the line.

Ask about life drawing sessions →

Teaching philosophy

Caricature as a single framed scene.

In Sameh’s workshop methodology, the participant becomes the writer, director, actor, set designer and camera director at the same time. The final drawing is not just a face — it is a complete scene with a character, an emotion, an action, props, a point of view and a carefully chosen visual frame.

Ask about a workshop →

About

About Sameh Samir

Cartoonist, painter and visual educator.

A practice built around character, reaction and context.

Choose a visual angle.

Humor

Community

Awareness

Politics

World

Three strong threads in the journey.

U.S. exchange & professional meetings

Golden Hat exhibition in Knokke

Workshop in Ieper / Ypres

Visual satire, public life and sharp social commentary.

When the phone becomes the chain.

The peaceful image and the hidden violence.

Propaganda as something poured into the mind.

A brutal issue shown through a brutal metaphor.

Male entitlement drawn from infancy.

When language itself becomes domination.

The critic who cannot see himself.

Private life turned into a public performance.

TikTok enters the delivery room.

The screen shouting back at the viewer.

Confidence can stand on very weak ground.

The mirror shows what the character wants to believe.

Power as a crown everyone wants to seize.

From the club to the nuclear rocket.

The planet as the prize of power.

The peace symbol enters the battlefield.

Cupid replaced by conflict.

Religious unity drawn as a shared prayer.

Custom cartoons for people, families and occasions.

Turning a child into a superhero.

A family memory drawn as a playful scene.

A wedding illustration with a humorous twist.

Personal jokes make the drawing stronger.

A simple birthday idea turned into a scene.

Places can become part of the caricature.

Hobbies give the portrait movement.

Paintings inspired by Egyptian faces and Fayum portraits.

A face that feels ancient and contemporary.

Eyes, color and a quiet emotional tension.

The surface becomes part of the portrait.

A direct gaze with classical influence.

A narrow frame, a concentrated face.

A portrait between history and imagination.

The same visual language, a different face.

A continuing study of faces and identity.

Professional encounters, cultural exchange and visual dialogue.

A formal milestone in political cartooning.

Recognition in a cultural exchange setting.

Cartooning in an international conversation.

A lighter memory from the journey.

Cartoons inside a professional discussion.

Meeting Ann Telnaes in a newsroom context.

The Washington Post as a place of visual journalism.

A warm meeting with KAL.

With Matt Wuerker at Politico.

A meeting beyond cartooning alone.

A stop connected to media and public voice.

Art moving into public space.

With Omar Momani in an informal moment.

Golden Hat in Knokke-Heist.

Standing with the work in the exhibition space.

The artwork itself, shown as part of the annual exhibition.

Caricature workshop in Ieper / Ypres.

A historic city as the setting for the workshop.

The workshop belonged to a living public environment.

Introducing the session and setting the tone.

Teaching through speech, drawing and visual examples together.

From facial reactions to readable emotion.

Action, body language and the line of movement.

Framing the image like a scene from a film.

A shared creative space built on discussion and participation.

Caricature as a single framed scene.

Cartoons printed in newspapers, magazines and cultural publications.

Published satire on shifting political alliances.

Everyday family life as social commentary.