A Few Backgrounds I Did For An Vu’s Animated Short “Millenial Princess!” Glad To Be A Part Of It:) 

Aloha, 

I’ve got some good news from Honolulu, Hawaii! My film “Orisha’s Journey” will be screening at the Cultural Animation Film Festival on May 23, 2017, with the Honolulu Museum of Art in Doris Duke Theatre ... 

Also, I had the honor to go back to my elementary school P.S. 246 and speak with some bright children about following their dreams and passions. It was great being back inside those school walls and remembering it as the place where my passion for art was born and those kids had great questions ... But the funniest one I got was when one of the young girls asked if I was married LOL!! The next thing I thought she'd say was, "Because my Mama's looking for a husband!" Lol -Abdul

Hey y'all! I wanted to share a "Flower Spirit" sequence from my film Orisha's Journey. In African lore, it is believed that spirits dwell within all things and so all nature should be respected. Being of West African descent (Ghana) I grew up hearing tales of this sort which captured my imagination. (shout out to my boy Iker Maidagan on bkg colors!)

The first image of the phoenix with the serpent tails appeared to me in a wild, vivid dream and I had to sketch it. And some roughs. #illustration #drawing #sketch #characterdesign #penandink #sketchbookdrawing #dreams #phoenix #dragons https://www.instagram.com/p/CHdTsJNjS52/?igshid=n12pgco3efa9

Hi! Some of my work will be featured this Sunday at the Roux (17 Frost Gallery 1-5 pm) in Brooklyn for their celebration of Black Art. I made this piece based on an Afrofuturism concept by the dance choreographer/performing artists Celine-Niara Sakho and Sarafina Beck which will later be made into a dance performance by them. There will be lots of great artist and music at the exhibit too. Hope to see y'all there! (Swipe for details) #blackart #afrofuturism #stillblack #characterdesign #scifi #fantasy #africa (at Brooklyn, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvFPYPgFc-u/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=9nhjxxhuj0ux

A few doodles from my sketchbook. #characterdesign #sketch #drawings #illustration #fantasy #phoenix #sup https://www.instagram.com/p/CHuIIhHDf72/?igshid=3fv66eo93ahj

Had the pleasure of attending the Director's talk at Tribeca Film Festival featuring Guillermo del Toro (2nd time meeting him since Cannes!) and hosted by Alec Baldwin. It was awesome! #guillermodeltoro #alecbaldwin #tribeca #filmmaker #actor #film #monstermovies (at Tribeca Film Festival) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwt_Bn-FmBb/?igshid=jqgwtxoakv93

Forest Spirits from my film Orisha's Journey I wanted to share a few more gifs from my thesis film. Thanks for checking it out!

I attended the Independent Filmmaker Project's IFP Week and had the pleasure of meeting "Harriet" Tubman film director Kasi Lemmons! I also ran into "Super Size Me" (1&2) director Morgan Spurlock and attened talks featuring Alice Wu (Saving Face), Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), and writer Teresa Hsiao (Fresh off the Boat/Family Guy) among others. Definitely a great experience. #ifp #film #indie #filmmaker #writer #director #story #representationmatters @kasi_lemmons @morganspurlocknyc @jonmchu #harriettubman #crazyrichasians #freshoftheboat #supersizeme https://www.instagram.com/p/B3U9T9nDccy/?igshid=r191y3v0qjyz

PART 3- I took the original concept of “The Lady, Or the Tiger?” by Frank R. Stockton and decided to create my own version with original characters and dialogue. Here are the storyboards. (Please see other parts for the whole story) WIP

I’m Going to Cannes Film Festival!!!

Hey everybody! I have some good news to share... As my film will be a part of the 2015 Cannes Short Film Corner, the SVA Film &Animation department is helping with some of my expenses, so I'll be going to France from May 12th-25th to attend the Cannes Film Festival (Festival de Cannes)!!! I've never been to Europe so I'm pretty excited and grateful for this opportunity. Thanks for all the support and I'll definitely keep y'all posted! Again, I am truly honored to be a small part of such a great festival! -Abdul