While he was studying in Vienna, Žmitek became interested in and excited about the pan-Slavic movement and left for Sankt Petersburg. In Russia, he collaborated with artists who grafted social criticism of their realism onto national spirit. Late in 1903, he and Rihard Jakopič decided on a few months of study in Prague. Žmitek stuck to realism, though he exhibited together with Slovenian Impressionists. After a few hard years as a free-lancer he became an art teacher. Prevalent in his oeuvre are motifs of daily life, animals, landscapes, still lifes, portraits and historical scenes.