Sharjah, 15 October 2026
Comic artists, animators, writers, and enthusiasts will be able to develop practical creative skills across visual storytelling, drawing, animation and character performance through more than 25 activities under the Comics programme at the Sharjah Animation & Comics Conference (SACC), taking place at Aljada, Sharjah, from October 22–25, 2026.
Organised by Sharjah Book Authority, SACC brings together international and regional creative professionals, artists and emerging talent. Through workshops and masterclasses, participants will learn directly from practitioners working across comics, animation, filmmaking, and product development.
Workshops connect comic art, animation and collectibles
In “From Comic Art to Collectibles”, Hal Laren, a comic artist, concept designer and publisher at Reaper Comics, will examine how comic artwork and character designs can be translated into toys, statues and other collectibles. Participants will gain insight into the creative and production decisions involved in moving from a two-dimensional illustration to a three-dimensional model.
Veteran Disney animator and director Robb Pratt will lead “Learning Traditional Animation,” a workshop demonstrating how the principles of hand-drawn animation can strengthen comic art. By exploring movement, gesture and character performance, participants will learn how to create more dynamic action poses, expressive characters and engaging sequential storytelling.
Masterclasses develop storytelling, drawing and performance
Pratt will also join artist, writer, director and producer Shannon Eric Denton for “Writing for Animation – From Script to Screen.” The masterclass will examine how storytelling techniques
used in comics can be adapted for animation, including approaches to pacing, dialogue, visual storytelling and character development. It will also explore how writers collaborate with storyboard artists, directors, animators and voice performers to move a story from script to screen.
Stunt performer and actor Lauren Mary Kim will lead “The Art of Lightsaber Dueling,” drawing on her experience as the motion-capture performer for Ahsoka Tano in The Clone Wars Season 7. Through demonstrations of movement, stance and choreography, she will explain how martial arts can express character and create convincing cinematic combat.
“The Cosplay Life Drawing Masterclass” will give participants the opportunity to draw live cosplay models in poses inspired by comics, fantasy and popular culture. Bernard Chang, Ken Lashley and Erica D’Urso will guide one edition of the masterclass, while Ashraf Ghory, Shannon Eric Denton and Gus Vazquez will lead another. Participants will work on gesture, anatomy, movement and composition, receive practical feedback and develop greater confidence in capturing character and narrative through figure drawing.
Actor and movement coach Terry Notary will lead “Creature Performance & Motion Capture,” exploring how physical performance is translated into believable digital characters. Through practical demonstrations, he will examine how posture, breath and rhythm shape non-human movement, while introducing the motion-capture technologies used to transfer live performances into animation and virtual production.
Together, the Comics programme will connect the disciplines involved in creating engaging characters and stories, from drawing and writing to animation, product design, physical performance and digital production. It will also help participants understand how skills developed in one format can be applied across others.
For more information and tickets, visit www.sharjahanimation.com
