SIBF 2023 to unleash visitors’ creativity and artistry through 60 immersive comics workshops and other activities

The 42nd edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) will host an array of over 60 activities and workshops conducted by talented illustrators and artists from various corners of the world, specialising in the realms of comics, manga, and anime. The primary objective of these events is to foster creative and artistic talents across all age groups among the fair’s visitors, especially the youth.

This year, the SIBF workshops promises an expansive lineup of activities encompassing more than 15 diverse topics, each delving into various techniques. These include drawing with aromatic stones, leather illustration, comic colouring, digital comics, 3D sketching, e-games, website design, along with other creative mediums.

In the “Drawing with Aromatic Stones” workshop, attendees will gain expertise in crafting aromatic stones of various shapes and hues while selecting suitable fragrances. The “Drawing on Leather” workshop offers visitors an opportunity to explore cutting-edge techniques for embellishing leather wallets, and in the “Digital Covers” workshop, participants will receive guidance on crafting captivating covers for digital comic books using specialised software.

The “Colouring Comics” workshop hones in on the utilisation of colour effects in comics and imparts skills in employing digital colouring software to breathe life into characters. The “Wooden Bookmarks” workshop encourages the creation of character-themed wooden bookmarks, each adorned with distinctive costumes and features. During the “Digital Comic” workshop youngsters will be introduced to the fundamentals of creating digital comics through straightforward, user-friendly steps.

Meanwhile, the “Augmented Reality Comics” workshop invites children and young enthusiasts on an adventure using augmented reality applications, where digital elements are seamlessly woven into real comic stories. The “Comics on Pebbles” and “Magnetic Comics” workshops provide instruction on drawing selected characters or scenes from comic books on pebbles, with the latter extending skills to create decorative items suitable for display on magnetic surfaces.

For those interested in gaming, the “E-games” workshop will deliver the basics of designing simple and enjoyable video games using the renowned ‘Scratch’ software. In a similar vein, participants in the “Designing Digital Games” workshop will be taught the fundamentals of ‘game design’ to create an amazing game that is easy to play, and the “3D Drawing” workshop will be a fun and educational activity to create simple 3D graphics using the ‘Blender’ program.

Finally, the “Digital Content” and “Digital Websites” workshops will introduce participants to the latest techniques in Adobe Photoshop and other tools for creating digital content that expresses their creative ideas and visions. Participants will also become familiar with the latest artificial intelligence tools such as ‘Adobe Firefly’ to aid in designing professional websites.