NEDA FINI Born and raised in Tehran, Iran, Neda practiced painting at a young age. She received her BA in film directing from Tehran Sooreh university. Shortly after Neda moved to the States, she became fascinated by shadow puppetry. She worked as the color artist in the comic book industry on the augmented reality books: Priya and the Lost Girls, Priya’s Mask, Priya and the Twirling Wind and The children’s book, An Island for Cherished Things .

She also works as a freelancer designer at Chinese Theater Works company. Neda made all the masks for Julie Taymor’s M Butterfly Broadway show. She also worked on “Feathers of Fire “and “Song of the North'' shows as a puppet builder. Neda has had performances in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC and Shanghai.Neda has been creating augmented reality children’s books and comic books since 2019 when she began illustrating the popular “Priya’s Shakti” comic book series (description below). She also colored two other augmented reality children’s books funded by NYSCA. One most relevant AR book is “Saah,” which is about a brave boy who speaks for the innocent in a war ravaged city in the Middle East. Co-created by her partner, Syd Fini, and an introduction by renowned scholar and writer Reza Aslan. This book was released December 2020. Neda creates children’s books that address social issues with compelling characters and beautiful artwork.

SYD FINI started working in Arya comics and directed and wrote Back From The Other Side, Turquoise Guardian and Stars on Earth short animation films. He works as a storyboard artist at the Mill New York and Psyop. He recently finished his graphic novel Saah, about a boy who tries to save pigeons in a fictional middle eastern city torn by war. Syd designed the art for the augmented reality comic book, “Priya and the Lost Girls,” and “Priya’s Mask."