Off the Beaten Path

Animator
Zubuyer Kaolin
Talks to
Rakibul Hasan

	Courtesy: Orchid Chakma

I studied at Ideal School and College, Dhaka. Frankly speaking, I spent a terrible time at school! I was quite an introvert and the only thing that I was interested in was to draw pictures. But, the pressure from the studies sucked the soul out of me as I could hardly get any time for drawing. I had only a few friends since my area of interest didn't correspond to most of my classmates' preference! However the few friends I had were very close to me. I graduated from school in 2004. After finishing school, I directly went for getting a GED qualification instead of getting myself admitted into a college as I was literally pissed of with the dog eat dog kind of competition among students that our education system so proudly promotes. I still think there are major faults in our overall education system. Education can be fun. Plus, students should be encouraged to learn for their own mental development rather than getting good grades in exams.

I grew up a fascination for animation since a very young age. Even when I didn't own a computer, I used to create simple animations by drawing pictures and then creating an illusion of movement by flipping the pictures together. I was and still am a huge cartoon buff. I was an avid fan of several Disney cartoon series from the 90s. The works of Disney or Pixar studios still inspire me to discover new heights in the field of animation. When I finally got a computer, I started experimenting with video editing. Eventually, as I got access to a 3D animation software called '3D Studio Max' I went fanatic about learning the basics of 3D animations and started to develop 3D artworks. Consequently, I became determined to develop my career as an animator. However, the problem was that at that time there was no specialised institution in Bangladesh to teach animation. So at first I thought of going abroad to get specialised training on animation. Nevertheless, the Internet kind of saved me from the agonies of moving aboard! I became a member of the online community or forum named CG Society where I could post my artworks and other members could gave their feedbacks and suggestions. It was quite a learning experience. I participated in an online competition organised by the CG society where I submitted Pokarella, an animated short film which was highly acclaimed. Plus, a few of my artworks also made their way to a publication by prestigious Ballistic Publishing which promotes the artworks of digital artists worldwide.

I formed an online community called 'Graphics and Animation Association' (GRAFA) where digital artists from around the world can communicate with each other. Though it started as a Facebook group, eventually GRAFA got its own website and turned out to be a valuable platform for the young digital artists to express themselves. In 2010, I started my own studio called 'Ognirioth.' Though I don't plan much, I aspire to create an animation movie based on my own story in future. To all the young animators out there I would like to say that it doesn't matter how many tools or software one has. If you can work hard and know how to tell a story, you can always create wonders!