Young artists create a legion of new comic characters at SCRF

The workshop invited young participants to assemble various wooden blocks shaped like different parts of the face – eyes, noses, and mouths – into imaginative creations. Using paints, colours, and boundless creativity, children pieced together their own playful characters, guided by instructors at Nomad Workshops AE that’s leading the workshops at the 12-day annual festival taking place at the Sharjah Expo Centre until May 4.

“The objective was for them to create a face that doesn't exist in real life — a purely imaginative, cartoonish character. Perhaps a face they have only seen on TV,” said Lebanese Raya Farhat, one of the instructors. “They were free to design whatever they could dream up.”

Sudanese brothers Faris Mohammad, 8, and Saleh Mohammad, 7, eagerly got down to work, colouring their wooden masterpieces with bright shades. “I made a superhero mask,” said Faris, showing off his colourful creation even as Saleh kept assembling his wooden blocks. “I want to create a superhero that no one except me has seen before,” said Saleh.

Saanvi Rai, 15, who had travelled from India, said she enjoyed the hands-on experience. "I love art, and this was so different – painting on wood, thinking beyond a paper sketch. It feels more real," she said as she put finishing touches on a vividly painted dragon face.

The session ended with every child proudly displaying their wooden comic mask.