From the drawing board to a lovable, animated character that’s soon to hit our TV screens: here’s Hamdoon. Abu Dhabi Week meets the cute cartoon – and the man behind the pencil
Hamdoon carries all the traits of a lovable cartoon character. With oversized eyes, a cute-as-abutton nose and miraculously floating eyebrows, he’s really a rather sweet, young Emirati boy.
He’s also the creative work of Abdulla Al Sharhan, a keen cartoonist who first scribbled the character at a friend’s request a few years ago. “I drew him back in 2005 – on 15th April, to be precise!” Abdulla recalls. “I remember it well; I instantly fell in love with the drawing and realised I didn’t want to give him up. That’s how Hamdoon began.”
So who is Hamdoon? “He’s a six-yearold Emirati boy who has been raised abroad by his parents. When he returns to the UAE to live he discovers his homeland with fresh eyes – experiencing his Emirati culture for the first time,” Abdulla explains.
“He’s excited by everything and drives his parents crazy with his endless curiosity. He’s looking at his surroundings from a young person’s perspective.” So he’s the first to wake up in the morning, he’s always thinking of things to do, he is constantly learning about his heritage.
“It’s funny,” says Abdualla, “just after I created Hamdoon, my wife and I had a young son ourselves. He has a really similar personality to Hamdoon – and he even looks like him! My friends and family keep teasing me, telling me Hamdoon is playing out my son’s life in cartoon form “To describe Hamdoon in five words; he’s excitable, cute, unpredictable, happy and mischievous – definitely like my son!”
And it’s not just his son who has a presence in his cartoon. “Real people are a fantastic form of inspiration when designing a character. So it’s no surprise that my family have already noted who Hamdoon’s grandfather reminds them most of – my own father!”
Abdulla’s interest in cartoons started from a young age. Inspired by Japanese manga, he was forever drawing as a child. “As I got older I realised it was something I wanted to pursue professionally. I studied art in the UK over ten years ago and it all really started from there.
“I was inspired by Western art forms, but I wanted to create something that had more of a local meaning here in the UAE.”
But Hamdoon’s arrival hasn’t been quite as straightforward. “For a while, after that original prototype drawing, I wasn’t sure how best to promote Hamdoon and bring him to the public’s attention. He just sat in my portfolio,” Abdulla explains.
At the same time he was working on a comic book project which failed. “I almost gave up on drawing entirely,” he says.
Just as Abdulla was considering whether to pack away his sketchpad, he began to notice that Hamdoon was appearing around Abu Dhabi, smiling from car windscreen and boot stickers. He was also beginning to make appearances on other people’s websites.
“I was so excited when I began spotting Hamdoon – local endorsement is great! It’s a shame that some people did not ask permission before replicating my character, but I was still thrilled by the positive response.”
Abdulla began to realise that an opportunity was arising in the market for a more locally represented type of cartoon character. Noting the recent success of another television cartoon, Freej, Abdulla pulled Hamdoon back into action with the dream of turning his character into a magazine.
“Many local cartoonists want to prove themselves as international artists so tend to draw more Westernised characters,” Abdulla explains. “Freej really opened the doors to the industry in the UAE – the characters are really well-designed and provide a lot of inspiration to other budding local cartoonists.
“The UAE audience has long wanted a character they can relate to more; I felt it was the right time to bring Hamdoon on to the market.”
With fresh motivation and enthusiasm, Abdulla sought the help of the Khalifa Fund to develop Hamdoon as a marketable entity. For the next stage he needed investment to get Hamdoon off the ground and onto TV screens.
“That’s where ADACH [Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage] came to our rescue,” Abdulla says. “I’ve been overwhelmed by their generous support
“It’s by no means a small project, and it’s just great to work with people who echo our views and vision – Hamdoon is meant to be a role model for children and a local representation. The series has been tailor-made to suit the audience, a goal that ADACH and I have had in mind from the outset.”
With ADACH ’s support, Abdulla and his team are now working towards October 2010, when Hamdoon is planned for an initial 15 episodes (the channel hasn’t been confirmed yet).
“I’m really excited. Naturally I hope Hamdoon will be a huge success and that many episodes will follow after the initial fifteen.
“It would be wonderful to see Hamdoon turn into an icon for the UAE. He’s already an unofficial mascot for Abu Dhabi and would be great to see this grow, representing our culture and Abu Dhabi on events such as National Day.”
“For now, I’m just so excited to be able to bring Hamdoon’s character to life with the support of ADACH . It’s a chance to simplify and cross cultures – to recognise the UAE audience and educate our youth – all through a rather cute and excitable little boy.”

[Caption] Abdulla Al Sharhan, creator of Hamdoon

[Writer] Charlie Kennedy

[Originally published in Abu Dhabi Week vol 2 issue 32]