He emphasized that it was a great responsibility that carried many challenges and pride

Abdullah Al-Sharhan: The drawings of "My Little World" are a turning point in my career

Al-Sharhan: I was keen to translate beautiful stories into visual images befitting them.

Photography: Osama Abu Ghanem

The Emirati painter, Abdullah Al Sharhan, confirmed that presenting the drawings for the book "My Little World" to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, was a great responsibility that carried with it many challenges and pride, describing the experience as the turning point in his career. Professional in storyboard graphics.

In his interview with Emirates Today, Al-Sharhan revealed that he worked to present the five stories within the book, which was finally issued by the Dubai Government Media Office, after it implemented the first in record time, taking into account the leadership features of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and made it suitable for the childish features he presented in the stories.

About the beginning of the work on the book, Al-Sharhan explained: “I was nominated with a number of illustrators to choose who will draw the book's stories, and many artists were invited over a period of months, and at the beginning I submitted drawings for one story, and they were impressed by the visualizations and the method of conducting the scenes. , Although the initial plan was to present each story by a different artist. ”

He pointed out that he implemented the story of “My Friend the Lion” first, and then presented the remaining works, with speed and professionalism in dealing, in addition to the book’s requirements and directions on how to accomplish it. It was a long journey to meet all the requirements and notes, and for this he asked to complete all the stories in record time. The book should be completed in no time.

Transfer experience

In completing the book "My Little World", the Emirati creator took many considerations and criteria, pointing out that "part of it carries the transmission of the experience of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and depends on the events and facts of His Highness's childhood, and it was necessary to translate them into appropriate visual images," At the same time, it was necessary to fit the drawings' perceptions of the party responsible for producing the book, and one of the basic conditions was to preserve the features of His Highness as much as possible, and therefore the most appropriate method was to rely on semi-realistic drawing.

Al-Sharhan worked on the balance between the leadership personality while not ignoring the childlike features of its owner, and transmitting it through time was one of the challenges that prompted him to seek the help of some pictures of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, since childhood, but it was only from specific angles, not from all sides, Noting that his primary role was to imagine the way the character moves, and how it might fit the atmosphere of the story and the nature of its owner, as it was necessary to be present.

And he considered working on the book a milestone in his career and a great responsibility, since he took the job, he focused on elevating the level of drawing to professional books that reach awards, as the main concern was the existence of a qualitative leap and the contribution to the delivery of the idea in an aesthetic way, that children and adults will live through the book The experience of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Visual arts

Al-Sharhan entered the world of drawing children's stories through cartooning, which was his hobby since childhood, and then he went to composition, but when he grew up and got acquainted with the field of art, he found that drawing for children's stories is a major branch of visual arts, and he noticed that there is a shortage in the Arab world to develop The children's cartoon content, so he worked on presenting the original characters, and then creating a character with Emirati features under the name "Hamdoun". He saw that the thirst for the presence of characters with a local character is what made "Hamdoun" successful.

He added that when he creates a character that he works on developing and moving it in the book through research, as he looks at the goal that the character serves and the target audience, then the search for the appropriate personality for the audience is done, and this kind of ideas are communicated, indicating the possibility of drawing inspiration from the old cartoon, as it leads the audience to Feelings of nostalgia, it is a method used and well known in the world of children's stories.

Al-Sharhan mentioned that the crisis that the children's book suffers is the smallness of the local market, and the spread of the book and its access to the largest possible number of the public are not easy, there is a common market in Europe and America, and everyone earns a good income, and therefore there is a type of market that depends a lot Foreign painters, because of the difficulty in dealing with Arab painters in terms of professional dealing, and this means that there is a trust that must be built between the painter and the publishing house.

Al-Sharhan continued: “The child's book witnessed a change, and it became more interactive. As a painter, I find that these repulsive and interactive drawings are one of the means aimed at communicating information, and this is in agreement with the executing producer and the owner of the publishing house and does not depend on the artist’s innovation, so subconsciously the eye falls on Drawings, although the story is (the queen) in the book, but the drawings work to draw attention, and create the general atmosphere and experience of the story. They also sometimes complete what was not written in the text, as the painter can add additions to the picture.

The Emirati Creator:

• “I tried to convey the stories in an aesthetic way, as readers will experience features from a very special experience.”

• «The drawings of the story (My Friend Al-Assad) were executed in the beginning in a record time, then the remaining works were presented."

Attention to detail

Abdullah Al-Sharhan believes that there is a shortage of illustrators of children's stories, pointing out that the “Etisalat Children's Book” award encourages painting, even though the number of creators of this art is very limited.

He pointed out that as a painter, he is interested in the world of comics, as he always lives childish experiences with his children, as the details give the artist a point of view that he can present and benefit from with the young.

• There is an Arab lack of development of cartoon content for children.

Subconsciously, the eye falls on the drawings, even though the story is "the Queen".

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