Making Of A Parallel Colourful World

Manama

If you can dream, then you can make it happen. Make it happen and shape your own future.  This is exactly what Mohammed Al-Mahdi, a graduate from University of Bahrain in Business Information Systems, has done. 

Just a year after his graduation, he is now the Founder & Creative Director of Cartoon Planet, the first ever cartoon company in Bahrain. 

He is a great lover of cartoons and illustrations.  He has contributed close to 400 cartoons to one of the most prominent Arabic newspaper in Bahrain. 

DT News had a chat with this young upcoming talent who believes only passion and dedication will help us reach greater heights, not academic degrees.

“I had a group of friends and we shared the same passion. The company was founded with a purpose of creating animated cartoons.  In 2012, I was volunteering AIESEC organization in Sri Lanka.  There, I was living in a forest with a native family.  My inspiration to start a new business started from there”, he told DT News.

The 24-year-old Bahraini has just started to experience the growth of his cartoon company. His vision is to make it an international establishment by 2020. 

“My first drawing was Bushanab. I liked the character so much that I was inspired by it.  When I was a child, I used to see cartoon series that come on television. I was amazed with the way their movements and emotions were depicted flawlessly in these shows. Later on, I did exhibitions in solo and also group during my school and college days.  I gradually nourished my skills and now, I own a cartoon company,” He proudly said.

Cartoon Planet, once in a while, conducts workshops in which, cartoon fans are given a chance to learn all they need to know about the art including, how to draw, edit and publish cartoons. Mohammed strongly believes everyone has a hidden talent to draw cartoon, but fails to exploit it as it takes time and effort to turn that potential into solid skill. 

“We attend events such as Bahrain Art Event, and Animania. This year, we had a strong positioning in Animania 2015 and we could feel the increment in both audience and participants. We understand that these types of events actually help youngsters build their talent,” he said. 

He went on to say he firmly believes in the near future, every individual will be capable of expressing his or her imagination through drawing.

“With our strong team of creators, we strive to share our knowledge of cartooning to society by delivering our talent to the public”, he added.