Books – Made in UAE – 2016 Edition

WORKSHOP FOR EMIRATI COMIC ARTISTS

Young artists worked on the visualisation of their story, on their personal drawing style and drawing techniques and exchanged ideas with each other.

As part of the “Books – Made in UAE“ initiative, the UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY) and the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region organised a workshop for Emirati comic artists, thus continuing their efforts to support the growth of an Emirati teen literature scene.

The 5-day workshop was conducted by German comic artist and illustrator Sascha Hommer. He had invited participants to think up stories which dealt with their personal life experience. In the group and in one-to-one sessions the young artists worked closely with Sascha Hommer on the visualisation of their story, on their personal drawing style and on drawing techniques and exchanged ideas with each other.

A meeting with Dubai-based comic artists Khaled Bin Hamad and Saeed Arjumand who shared their experience on the local comic art scene, was interesting both for Sascha Hommer and the participants.

At the end of the workshop the creative results were presented during a session in the Illustrators’ Corner at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2015 and very positively received by the audience.

WORKSHOP FOR MANGA ARTISTS

“Books – Made in UAE“ has entered this edition with a workshop for Emirati Manga artists. UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY) in cooperation with Goethe-Institut thus continued their efforts to support the growth of an Emirati comic literature scene.

Before the 5-day workshop which took place at the Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children in Dubai, workshop instructor Inga Steinmetz from Berlin had asked the eleven participants to think up stories which dealt either with the topic of “nature“ or “friendship“.

In the group and in one-to-one sessions the young artists worked closely with Inga Steinmetz on the development of their stories and their drawing techniques, e.g. for facial expressions, emotions, hair style and clothing. Inga Steinmetz also shared methods for background visualization, perspective and how to use time effectively while narrating. In the end, every participant had completed a 4-step manga in full color, both in English and Arabic.

Valuable information about the publishing process and the local market for comic books was provided in a morning session with publishers Ali Al Shaali and Muhanad Al-Saadig (Al HudHud Publishing & Distribution) and comic artist Shihab Aldeen (“Alaa The Bounty Hunter“).

The creative results were presented during a session in the Illustrators’ Corner at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2016 and very positively received by the audience.
“Books – Made in UAE“ is organised by the UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY) and the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region and sponsored by Knowledge without Borders.