Numair Abbas is the creative mind behind Numairical Studios. —Photos courtesy Numairical Studios

With the dawn of a new year, the animation industry, just like many other technology-driven industries, is bound to bring yet more wizardry. On the local front, a discussion of the animation industry in Pakistan may seem “out-of-the-blue”, but that is exactly why we need to talk about it. Animation is not just the product of Pixar and Walt Disney; it is also what you regularly see in television promos and commercials. It’s one of those fascinating things that have been around for so long, that you feel that you’ve long passed the stage to appreciate it. Well, we don’t think so.

Spider decided to acquaint its readers with some of the professionals working in this area, and let them share their stories, which are as fascinating as their work. Of course, it wasn’t possible for us to accommodate all animators and illustrators working in Pakistan, so here we have tried to identify some of the many individuals who we thought could feed our appetite for quality animation/visuals. Here, the brains behind the amazing medium talk about their experiences, their projects, and their aspirations. Here, we talk to people who live, dream and think animation.

Numair Abbas is the creative mind behind Numairical Studios. With big characters and even bigger dreams for his brainchild, he’s brimming over with a passion for his work that is almost contagious. Spider spoke to the man himself, and learnt that Numairical Studios was something to look out for

Q. Who is Numair Abbas?
A. Numair Abbas is a man who even dreams in cartoons! He is an animator, a producer and an entrepreneur and is doing his part in improving the film and animation scene in and for his country. Wait, why am I talking about myself in the third person?

Q. What is Numairical Studios (besides very clever wordplay)?
A. Numairical Studios is a group of studios that includes Pakistan’s very first cartoon animation studio! We also make live action films, create original sounds/music, run classes for professional animators and hold events for film and animation.

Q. Your mother, Nigar Nazar (of Gogi fame), is a renowned cartoonist. Is that why you came into animation?
A. I grew up watching 80s cartoons and simultaneously saw comics drawn from scratch at home. I would be lying if I claimed my mother didn’t have a major part in what I am now. But it took me a while to get here. From almost becoming an aeronautical engineer, to going through almost every visual art, to finally arrive at animation. I believe in animation – it’s the culmination of all the arts. That is what excites me!

Q. Tell us more about the untitled animated sitcom Numairical Studios is currently working on.
A. The show has a name; it’s The Apartment Complex. [The concept behind The Apartment Complex is that] we need to be able to make fun of ourselves, at least before other people do! This show is a chance to laugh at all those things on which we say “this happens only in Pakistan”. When you watch the show, you’ll see that in the stories. The Apartment Complex itself is a metaphor for our country, and all the tenants are the people who live here.

We are now looking for media investors who would like to collaborate with us to promote and distribute this fantastic first-of-its-kind show.

Q. What software programs do you prefer to work with?
A. There’s no replacement for a creative brain. But it can get sticky between our fingers sometimes, so I like to use Flash, TVPaint, Maya and sometimes even prefer hand drawn and coloured works on paper. It all depends on what will make the animation look great.

Q. Share one of your “this-happens-only-in-Pakistan” moments (in the context of animation)
A. I have represented Pakistan outside the country and have stories from all around the world. But the most common comment that comes only from people in Pakistan is, “You make cartoons?? Haey! Mera cartoon na bana dena!!” I rarely consider it until they mention it; and all of a sudden, I’m tempted!

Q. What is the best part about being an animator in Pakistan?
A. You get to make your own cartoons! It brings out the child in all of us. What’s better than that? And we become the first to do anything that’s even slightly different. It’s the best part because from here on, there’s so much we can do – the sky is the limit! In Pakistan, animation is made by teams of people at fractions of the cost in other countries. If we can train people, our country can provide cheaper rates than India and at-par rates with China.

Q. And the worst?
A. We’re the first to do anything. It’s the worst because everyone has to learn from scratch and that makes this an uphill climb. Finding fully trained talent is hard, and we end up training them ourselves. Exposure to animation is rare in most people, so they are yet to realise the power of this amazing medium. This goes all the way to the investors, who need to be convinced of the goldmine they would have access to if they support people like us.

Q. What are your aspirations?
A. I would like ‘Numairicals’ to grow into Pakistan’s own ‘Disney’. We are constantly evolving. Aside from making cartoons for TV and comics, we’ve already started small side-sections for live-action films, visual effects and sound/music. You can follow our Facebook pages; Numairical Studios, that has projects and news from the studio, and The Apartment Complex, where you can find exclusive development sketches, videos, and updates of our animated sit-com.

This article originally appeared in the January 2012 issue of Spider magazine.