A Children’s Book Uniting Communities Through Art and Story – Hollywood Life

Jordanian-born artist Lilly Hourani is finalizing her debut children’s book, Birdcallers, which blends her love of art and music. This visual development artist and illustrator, an established artist of factual pictorial ‘hobby book’ illustrations, as well as ‘educational’ and fuzzy conceptual illustrations, embarked on an adventure across continents to perfect her skills, a practice she often pursued. Thus, her ‘journey’ comes to coexist with a sentimental story in which she creates art and dreams to pull cultures together. In Birdcallers, Houri’s aim is for readers, including children and adults, to discover how individuals’ differences can unite, akin to the charming sounds of various birdcalls, spectacularly evidenced in the pages of her monograph.

Growing up in Amman, Jordan, Hourani comes from a culture not always at the forefront of the arts. But even from a young age, she felt a creative instinct within herself that transcended that. When she was 17, she left home to study abroad, and began a many-year-long study of the world of arts. She has lived in three other countries since then, each with its unique cultural stance and ideas about art, even more importantly, and has forged a rich world-wide web of collaborative artists and storytellers through their stories and art.  Her path, as unconventional as it is inspiring, is a testament to how hard work, resilience, and tenacity can meet opportunity to create something extraordinary.

Initially, art school was a humbling experience; she went from being a standout talent in Jordan to feeling like “a small fish that moved from a small pond to a bigger one,” as she puts it. But through dedication and countless hours of practice, she quickly closed the gap.

Buoyed by the success of her graduation, Hourani set her sights on an even larger creative arena: the United States. She moved to San Francisco to pursue an MFA, diving headfirst into a dynamic environment filled with animators and concept artists from studios like Disney and Pixar. Once again, she was a small fish in a vast ocean of talent, and once again, she rose to the challenge.

By her final year in San Francisco, Hourani’s perseverance was richly rewarded. She poured “blood, sweat, and tears” into her thesis project. 

Beyond academia, Hourani has already begun making her mark in the art world at large. Internationally, her work has crossed borders just as she has. Each milestone, from the Middle East to Europe to North America, highlights Hourani’s ability to connect with audiences everywhere through her art.

While illustration and visual development remain at the core of her career, Hourani’s creativity extends into the realm of design as well. She is currently lending her artistic eye to the tech industry by crafting UI/UX designs, creating the overall aesthetic for innovative tools that help companies manage their teams and projects. It’s a modern twist in her multifaceted journey, showing that her visual storytelling isn’t confined to canvases or printed pages. Whether she’s sketching characters for a story or designing an app interface, the through-line is the same: a passion for art and design that focuses on human connection.

What truly unites all of Hourani’s pursuits, from painting to digital design, is a drive to connect people across cultures through art. “A Global Brushstroke: The Artist Bridging Borders Through Vision and Connection,” she often says, summing up her artistic mission. That ethos is evident in everything she creates. As a visual development artist, Hourani frequently begins her pieces the old-fashioned way: hand-drawing or painting each element before moving to digital rendering. This meticulous, personal touch gives her work a warm, authentic feel that resonates universally. In each illustration, she tries to help represent different cultures through art, whether it’s a scene inspired by her Middle Eastern heritage or a character influenced by her travels. Her goal is always to tell stories that viewers can see themselves in, celebrating the beauty of diversity and the common threads of humanity. It’s a form of visual storytelling that feels both deeply personal and broadly inclusive, much like Hourani herself.

Hourani’s upcoming children’s book, Birdcallers, encapsulates her journey and message in a single, vibrant narrative. The story follows characters from different communities who discover that their unique voices, their “bird calls,” can create something beautiful when united. Each character brings a distinct sound, whether a melody, a chime, or a song, and together they form an uplifting symphony that rings out across their world. Through this imaginative collaboration, Birdcallers delivers a gentle lesson: our differences, when combined, can make a powerful difference. It’s a message of teamwork, inclusion, and global unity, tailor-made for the next generation and reflecting the values that Hourani holds dear.

Illustrated in Hourani’s signature style, Birdcallers bursts with color, expressive character designs, and rich compositions that reflect her background in concept art and animation. Young readers will delight in the whimsical details on each page, mischievous birds, and musical notes dancing in the air, while parents might appreciate the deeper meaning woven into the tale. “In this book, it’s beautiful music, chimes, and sounds… and most importantly, a great moral lesson for this upcoming generation,” Hourani says of Birdcallers. She describes it as a must-read not only for children but for parents as well, a story that can spark family conversations about unity and understanding. By blending artistic creativity with heartfelt storytelling, Hourani has crafted a book that entertains as much as it enlightens. Birdcallers invites readers into a world where collaboration triumphs over division, echoing the broader narrative of Hourani’s own life as an artist bridging cultures.

As Birdcallers prepares to make its way into the world, Lilly Hourani isn’t slowing down. She dreams of one day co-founding her own art studio, a space where she can continue creating relatable stories that move people to “laughter, tears, and more”. For now, she remains hard at work, whether it’s collaborating on design projects or sketching out the seeds of her next story. Her journey illustrates the power of passion and perseverance in turning an unconventional path into a bridge between communities. Each new project is another step in her mission to unite people through the universal language of art.

Readers eager to follow Hourani’s evolving story can find her across various platforms. Explore her vibrant portfolio on her website, catch behind-the-scenes glimpses of her creative process on Instagram, or connect with her professional network on LinkedIn. With Birdcallers and beyond, this Jordanian illustrator is painting a future where creativity knows no borders, one vivid illustration, one concept, and one inspiring story at a time.