Children and youth can dive deep into the entertaining world of comics at the Sharjah International Book Fair 2019 (SIBF) organised by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) from October 30 – November 9, where a host of activities catering to all age groups will be held at the designated Comics Station.

Under the theme ‘Open Books. Open Minds,’ the 38^th edition of SIBF will be held at Expo Centre Sharjah.

From workshops teaching the basic techniques of visual storytelling to those that demystify the process that go into their creation and sessions that explore the skills of transforming short stories into animation, or creating villains and other characters from scratch, the Comics Station is where ideas, imagination and creativity reign supreme.

The scheduled activities and workshops to be held at the Comics Station include ‘Comics Techniques’ where participants will learn by drawing original pages of comics; ‘Writing Comics’ that highlight the basic principles of writing for comics; ‘Building A Character’ that teaches the essentials of creating comic characters from scratch; ‘Innovative Stories’ where attendees are introduced to the role of the written word and ideal ways of using language to create your own story;  ‘Comic Strip’ where a variety of comics are explored to understand their sequences as participants embark on a journey to create their own comic strip; and several other educative and fun-filled sessions such as ‘Fundamentals of Drawing’, ‘Character Creation & Design’, ‘Villain and a Comic Strip’, and ‘Colouring Classes’ for the younger ones.

In addition, participants will learn several key models for self-publishing in the form of zine-style booklets and mini-comics; and gain hands-on experience creating characters using LEGO minifigures.

The Comics Station will host five guests from four countries, including Kuwait’s Ahmed Al Rifai and the UAE’s Ali Kashwani who will lead several workshop sessions. 11 international movies adapted from comic books will also be screened including blockbuster hits such as Black Panther, Spiderman and Captain America.

Children can also learn the fundamentals of drawing including gesturing, sketching, inking, creating highlights, use of shadow and light, and several other drawing and colouring techniques. Participants will also learn how to express their stories and transform them into an animation series by drawing on sticky notes.

SIBF, hosted under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, is the third largest event in the world dedicated to books and reading.