Today we’d like to introduce you to Abdul Hakim Abdul Salam.
Hi Abdul Hakim, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Ever since I was a kid, I have always been fascinated by animation. I spent a lot of my time making up theories about how they were created, things like “It is mascots acting,” or “It is just advanced puppets.” My theories were somewhat true, but I did not really understand how animation was actually made until 2016, when Moana was released. Along with the movie came a behind the scenes featurette, and that was the beginning.
I must have watched it a million times, admiring every detail and seeing short clips of how they brought the characters to life. And spent most of the time trying to see if I could see the name of the software they were using , My dad would help me as we both squint our eyes real hard to see what was written at the top of the software as it wasn’t very clear. I watched it over and over again, and once I felt confident I had “mastered” how they created it, I set out to make my first animated short.
I was probably 14. I knew nothing about animation, but I figured something out: I could use the undo and redo commands in Microsoft Paint to make it look like characters were moving and talking. So I experimented with it all day, and by evening I had recorded my first animated short. I copied it onto a pen drive and called my siblings to come watch my movie. In the Moana behind the scenes, I saw executives sitting at round tables, reviewing the film and discussing it, so my siblings and I role played as executives, pretending to critique my work. The film was about 10 seconds long, and it was basically just a dude reciting the national anthem.
My dad happened to come across this file, and that is when he noticed I had a thing for animation. The next day, he introduced me to Photoshop and CorelDRAW. He installed them on my PC and just left me to have fun with them. Of course, I went all out, because now I had a job after school, running my own little animation studio. My dad bought me a pack of A4 sheets, which I used to draw characters. I would take pictures of them with his phone, transfer them to my PC, and then use Photoshop to trace and animate them. Then I created another short.
My dad was so excited he showed it to all his friends. One of his friends, who ran a media company, invited us over so I could learn a few things from his employees. Around that same time, my dad also introduced me to 3ds Max. He downloaded a bunch of tutorials for me, and I spent all my days watching and practicing while making another short.
Then I had to go to high school, and everything was put on hold for two years. In my third year, I started learning Cinema 4D thanks to my dad getting it for me and even buying a course. I binged it like it was a movie, and I practiced on my dad’s laptop during vacations. I was an indoors kid, I still am, so I had nowhere to go and all the time to learn. By the time I finished high school, I was starting to master the software.
I began getting visualization projects from my lecturers. They would even let me use their laptops, so almost all my teachers had Cinema 4D installed, just so I could work whenever they were on campus.
After school, I became more confident in my abilities and landed my first gig, which went horribly wrong because the client canceled it. But there was a middle woman who handled the project, and she kept giving me more jobs, most of which I initially failed, until eventually I completed my first paid project. That was exciting. I went on to do multiple other projects for her. The money was small, but I was happy doing what I loved.
Then I got a specific project from her that became my biggest one at the time. I used that money to buy my own laptop. Now I could work whenever I wanted, because I was not relying on my dad’s laptop anymore.
By this time, I was in my second year of college. Over the next two years, I met many amazing people and eventually made my now three time award winning film NZO. I went on to work with big brands like Free The Youth and UCMAS. And as of the time I am writing this, I graduated college three days ago, and I was awarded Best Animation Student in my class.
And that is about it. Now we look to the future. I have got big plans. I am currently partnering with a really big studio to make my second short film. It is really exciting, and I cannot wait to see what the future has for me
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It of course wasnt a smooth road , a lot of challenges came , But most of em was because after I turned 18 my dad wanted me to earn stuff for myself , and he wouldnt just hand me things I wanted, so I had to work to earn my own money to buy stuff I wanted, and when he sees really trying he comes In and helps me with the rest of the funds, This was a challenge as much as it was a blessing because I learn to make money at a very young age, and By the time I turned 20, I was making some little money to support myself even tho I still needed a lot of parental support .
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a Storyteller, I have always been, And my medium of telling stories is through Animation which I have a huge passion for, I specialize In Character animation even though I’m a generalist , My Proudest Achievement I would say Is Graduating college with first class and making my parents proud. I’m Widely Known for making the Animated Short Nzo, and a number of Instagram Skits on my page, I think what sets me apart from other is that Im an experimental person , I like to experiment with my projects , And I have had My co directors on some projects tell me that I should stop been too imaginative and that we do not have time to be experimental, Literally. So I have to dial it down for some projects.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Well, Im looking forward to meeting a bunch of new people , Setting up My Animation studio In my hometown which would be the first Animation Studio there, And Looking forward to collaborating with a lot of artists, and Releases a Film that I believe would be My Opus That would be an animated feature titled Titled Pini, Which means Gift In my Native Language.
Pricing:
- Product Animation (15–30 seconds): Starting at 2,000 USD
- 3D Character Animation (30 seconds): 5,000 USD+
- Animated Logo: 800 $ – 1,500 $
- Full Short Film Projects: Priced per script and scope
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thetimelinecollaborative.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a.keemy/
- LinkedIn: https://www.instagram.com/a.keemy/
