Beyond the lines

Gulf Weekly

03-04-2025

Bahrain-loving caricature artist Amani Ali Badir uses her creative cartoons to capture and immortalise timeless moments, with a fun twist.
The 26-year-old South African has been caricaturing her way through ghabgas, comic conventions and private events across the GCC, ever since she flew from her home several months ago.
'I got into caricaturing about three years ago, starting off with sketches of people's pets,' the self-taught artist told GulfWeekly.
'Bahrain has been home to my two sisters for a couple years now. Up until the beginning of this year, I had only seen photos of Bahrain they shared, and on Instagram. So I decided to pack a bag, get on a plane and check it out for myself!'
Although a lifelong artist, it has been her live caricaturing that has been feeding Amani's creative soul for the last several years.
This, more than anything, is why she believes Artificial Intelligence (AI-generated) art can never replace a live caricature experience.
'For me, caricature art stands out from any and every art - not just AI,' she explained.
'Creating a caricature is an in-the-moment experience and in a few minutes, you get to take an original artwork home! Nothing like it anywhere else. Along with the memory of a sweet moment you had with the artist. It's such a gift.'
Amani's journey into caricaturing live was almost accidental, when she was contacted for a unique commission.
'A man wanted to propose to his girlfriend, so he asked me to set up in a flea market so I could pretend to draw while they browsed around,' she reminisced.
'He had to convince her (girlfriend) to do a caricature 'just for fun' and when it was time to show them the final piece, I pulled out the drawing I had previously done, which had 'Will You Marry Me?' written over it.
'I just loved the experience and two years later, after dabbling in candles, T-shirts and other creative mediums, I decided to get into caricature full-time.'
Since she flew out to the GCC from Pretoria, South Africa, a couple of months ago, Amani has done much of her caricaturing in Bahrain, with a short trip to Qatar for Geekend last month.
Nerdy pop culture conventions like Geekend in Doha and Comfest in Bahrain have been especially fun for Amani, who plans to travel to Kuwait and the UAE for more such events.
To keep up with her regular travels, she has kept her artist kit lean, just using Japanese brush marker pens, Faber Castell charcoal pastels and a Monte Marte paper in addition to the mixed media paper on which she draws her creations.
Amongst the many skills she has picked up along the way is 'how to balance humour with respect'.
'This is a skill that is learned every day, and with every interaction and connection with my clients,' she added.
'I begin with the most visible part of the face for me - the eyebrows, and from there I go on to develop the face.
'A key part to making people recognisable in a caricature is to focus on the distance of facial features in conjunction to each other.
'The actual features (eyes, nose, mouth) can be played with and are exaggerated to one's style.
'I am so grateful that I get to draw, and have drawn delightful, giving and open people. This makes creating art an honour and something very special.'