National Day Logo

Saudi National Day Logo for Boston University

If you know Boston University then you definitely know their dog Mascot. A friend of mine that studies at this university, asked me to make a logo for the Saudi National Day. his Idea was to dress the dog in Saudi clothes, or at least just the head scarf “Shomagh”, and the saudi logo or flag. He sent me a picture of the mascot, and I started. 

BU Mascot

The pose that the Mascot dog was showing, really fitted his look, if wearing a Saudi shomagh. The angle was perfect, I was able to fit him with the headscarf, like a real saudi. 

I always prefer using flash in all my work

Redesigned 

 After Finishing up , I tried multiple ideas in which I could incorporate the Saudi logo in there.

Loved the process and loved the outcome.

Cartooning People = Making Money ?

An Artist Must Have Sort of Income .. Right ?

First days of cartooning people - (Garage Sale Bazar )  Ramadan 2008

Artists always need some source of income to keep going, sadly in the country I was raised   in - Saudi Arabia - , not everyone around me supported the idea of being a cartoonist. Being an artist is not something a dad will brag to his friends about, unlike being a doctor or an Engineer. Therefore the whole mentality of the public or community is messed up about artists, and that if they make money then it should be insignificant because all they do is draw on a "piece of paper".

 A lot considered drawing human characters "Haram" or forbidden by Islam and religion. I remember having to draw some characters without a neck, or draw a distorted face, put a line on their neck, and other stupid suggestions from some family religious members or teachers. 

So even with a community that doesn't appreciate Art and considers it as a hobby that won't make you live, Another portion considered it Haram and by doing so you are disobeying what god and his prophet said -which is of course Bull shit and Islam is innocent from this crap - . 

This Religious mentality changed a lot nowadays, and it's less strict about this subject. Yet the community still thrives with the appreciation of Artists. God blessed me with amazing parents that never cared for what other people may say, and that supported me all the way. One of the first things that my father cared about teaching me, is always make your own penny, work hard and whatever you want to own, buy it yourself . Even though the community maybe messed up, keep going in the direction god blessed you with. 

At a meeting with some german visitors 2009

It's Ramadan 2008. My friend Mohammad Ghulman, and his brother rented a table in a Bazar. It was organized by Fainak.com, and it was called "the Garage Sale". My friend was selling used items around the house, such as used video games, some antiques, and so on. I went the first day and the place was packed with people from all over Jeddah. I brought some games to sell, but didn't feel that was any fun nor did it bring any real cash. 

A light bulb exploded above my head, with an idea I honestly never tried before...

Why not bring a sketch book and start sketching people for money ? quick 5 minute cartoony portraits of random people.. and so I did.. 

I started at my friends table with a price of 25 SR, and I was bringing costumers to his table and at the same time making nice money, while drawing a smile on whoever was drawn. 

I was moved to my own spot next to the cashier the second day, after attracting a lot of customers, and I reduced the price to 10 sr ( almost 3$). Yet the amount of people kept increasing and I was the happiest cartoonist on earth. 

From that Garage sale I was introduced to the people that I must say changed my life forever. A community I wasn't aware of that existed right next door. A community of Artists,  and pioneers. That were going against all the odds. I found a Jeddawy community that embraced me as an artist. Appreciated the work I did, and exposed me to the professional world of artists and designers in Saudi Arabia. 

I must say they were my first Artistic Family.. Fainak.com 

more from the German visitors 2009

From cartooning people, I went on to comic Design, Cartoon illustrating, Logo Designing, Caricatures, Animations, and I'm still on the journey of more and more. Yet I never stopped the cartoon portraits that were almost my signature. By time it kept getting better, adding colors, using photoshop, and adding affects to them. 

American School Carnival - 2009

Another Ramadan Bazar with Mohammad Ghulman. 2009

2009

The Journey will never stop, I'm still learning, and still going forward to establish more skill and professionalize even more. 

One of the most recent huge Portraits 2011

Drawn on The Jusoor Cafe wall 2011
In conclusion... in this journey of becoming a professional artist one must know that being an artist doesn't mean you can't make any income. Looking back at how Cartooning people changed the way I interacted with the artistic community in Jeddah, I learned that as an artist you have to get out there and work. Start early, start with motivation... You don't need to get paid a lot, yet your name is very important so get yourself out there. I went through some rough patches with clients that didn't appreciate my hard work, and that would tell me this is just a "piece of paper" that doesn't mean anything.. I would work countless nights, and then get paid nothing. Every artist must go through this, therefore never give up. Keep going and you will find the way. Follow your passion and god won't let you down. 

My Senior Class of 2011 

funny portraits in school haha 

Newspaper Caricatures

I must say that one of my favorite career adventures was being the caricature Artist for Al-Bilad newspaper. 

one of the first Caricatures

I always wished to be a caricature artist for a newspaper. 

and that wish came true in 2011.

Ever since I was a little kid, the number one thing I would do once holding a newspaper, was flipping it and checking out a new caricature at the back, or going through the pages just to see the caricatures then throw that newspaper away.

The most affective caricatures for me, are the ones that hide some dark humor within them, without really trying too hard. 

My favorite Saudi Caricature Artist must be "Khalid", his caricatures are at the back of Al-Watan newspaper. He is simply a genius.

#Ismommak

Haya'a CSI

The Real Driving Test

This country is perfect

Iftar and Sahoor

Family Tourism 

No vimto

Bashar Al-Asa'ad

New Shows

Google+ vs Facebook

#E3teqal

Days left for project

Khaliji Series

My Caricatures were a mix of both, politics related, and Culture related content. I Always liked to keep it simple and never try to force that laugh on you. 

Khalid's technique was a very big inspiration for me. White background and characters in the middle, with bright colors and a defined outline. He always made me laugh every single time I saw any of his caricatures. Therefore that was my goal in every Caricature I created for al-bilad newspaper.

I stopped making the daily Caricatures for al-bilad after leaving to the US, to start studying my major.

A lot insisted I keep doing them, but the Newspapers editor changed and I was afraid I won't have the same freedom I had before. So I went on to find a new adventure. 

Animator in progress 101

Why not start a blog ? 

- yup that's exactly how it started..

As an Artist I found out that posting your work simply as a picture on a website, does not completely fullfill the deep artistic side of it. Yet blogging may show a side not everyone would know about. A very deep and personal side. 

That's basically how us Artists Roll...

So After going through many interesting blogs, I decided that I need to blog about my journey as an Animator from the age 18.

Actually my journey as an Animator did not start since the age of 18, it started way back when I made my first Animation at the age of 10 using Adobe Flash, or Macromedia Flash at the time. 

This journey has been an interesting one, self learning since I was 9, and now in College majoring in Animation. 

This blog will basically be about my history as an Artist. and about my current progression in the field of Animation.

Cartooning since 9