KARACHI, December 2, 2015: Habib University’s monthly Kahva Khana series hosted Art Director Babrus Khan on December 1, 2015. He was asked to come in and speak about his experience in the illustration and animation industry – including his current comic book projects – for the benefit of HU students.
Kahva Khana sessions – held by Habib University’s Office of Student Life – are aimed to bring in renowned experts in their respective fields to hold talks in informal settings with our students, hence encouraging a healthy work-study balance. Students are given access to speakers to find out more about their success stories, including any advice if wishing to follow the same profession.
Past Kahva Khana sessions have included seasoned actor Anwar Maqsood, Chief of Staff at Byco Industries Incorporated Aatiqa Lateef, founder of SEED Ventures Faraz Khan, engineer and successful entrepreneur Hafiz Haq, founding member of the Gender Interactive Alliance (GIA) and an empowering rising political figure Bindiya Rana, musical child prodigy Louis J. Pinto aka Gumby and Jamshed Mahmood (Jami).
Babrus spoke about how art animation can revolve around telling a story – marrying together words, imagery and backgrounds of characters for the audience to interpret through not only visuals but experience. He encouraged the need to push one’s ambitions and goals, to find true passion that forces one to become more open to the world. Inspiration, in fact, can be found anywhere, regardless of it being local or international.
“Once, I had lost my interest in my work, and one of my senior [colleagues]called me out on it. He asked if I had any ambitions and I said I had wanted to be an Art Director [which I had become that time]. I said I never thought I would be one and he says that’s your problem right there – your goals were not big enough. It doesn’t matter if you don’t achieve them but it will become a benchmark for those around because you are pushing yourself towards that incredible goal. I began to re-evaluate my life, I wasn’t thinking big.”
Students took with them a very important lesson – dream big and aim high, be honest with yourself. We cannot limit ourselves just because we are stuck to assumptions developed by society.
Habib University’s BA (Honours) Communication Studies & Design program exposes students to these very aspects of the process with a fully-equipped Film Studio – headed by Jamil Dehlavi – and Design courses led by Saima Zaidi.
HU often hosts showcases and mini-festivals on campus to create a platform for students to display their work, and often receive constructive criticism from their peers and visiting artists. Babrus was invited to help students gain more insight into this possible profession that could come from taking the program.
