In 2004, Aziz Al-Duwisan bought his first professional camera, and from there he gradually grew into being the successful photographer he is today. Not only that, but his background as an art teacher, combining both creative skills and digital art became the field where Aziz’s imagination was allowed to run wild.
Aziz is an adamant lover of films, his passion for them was the spark that lit his way towards digital art as he says, “I had an idea or a style to make film posters, I adore Hulk, Spiderman, Superman, these imaginative posters. I used to take normal photos, but I wasn’t convinced with photography.”
As Aziz continued to practice his photography skills, he came to the realization that in fact, photography is very close to drawing, so why not combine both? “I lean more towards drawing, but at the same time I’m passionate about photography because it delivers the image that I need to capture, so I used to take the snapshot and I work on it with art,” he shares. Aziz then merged these two talents into his digital art, which is first capturing the image he requires, and then completely changing the contents of the image itself by re-constructing the photo based on an idea from his very own imagination.
Other than being inspired by the silver screen, Aziz creates his content based on an idea, plus several events, whether they were happening globally, regionally, or locally, and it does not take him more than a day to execute it all and post it immediately on his Instagram page. The events could relate to anything, just like the cover for example, the photo was created for a specific workshop as Aziz says, “The motorbike is actually a toy, it’s not real, and the background we took is a real footage in Kuwait, we took it while we were driving in a car, a motion image. And then we began to construct the ground with the grass to give balance to the photo. And I started to convey the idea that me and Abdullah are heading to the workshop.”
But in other examples whether it was an event that is related to Kuwait’s National Day, Eid celebrations, the Amir’s trip back home, Aziz quickly taps onto them. “These things are always updated, so I try to come up with a quick idea, photograph and execute it. It takes around one day maximum, or if the subject or event happened at night, the next morning the photo will be out,” says Aziz.
Some of the images that Aziz takes not only deliver a message, but also include a wide range of emotions and he explains how challenging it used to be when he first started to createthese visuals based on facial expressions, as acting slowly became an essential part of the whole process. Aziz confirms it by saying that “The side of acting became a huge part but through an image, not in a video. But I’m now comfortable in front of the lens, the difference lies in the method itself.”
Aziz also emphasizes how the essence of digital art is the idea. “I come up with an idea, I take the photo, once, twice, more than five times just so I can deliver that last and final image you end up seeing,” he says. It’s a grueling process, when the image is going through several iterations before it reaches its final stage. But speed is not an issue for Aziz, after 16 years in the field of digital art, he has a few tips and tricks up his sleeve. From perfecting facial and emotional expressions, to showcasing certain postures and positions to demonstrate strength, for example.
What’s even more interesting is that Aziz considers himself the protagonist of his images, he is the core element, just like his recent Joker poster which was timely as the audience continued to hype the film, especially here in Kuwait. He says, “I’m a character of myself in the image. At the beginning it wasn’t me, I used to use more than one subject. I used to use cars, and then I switched to my friends, and then children. After that I said no, if I was in the image it would come out stronger, it’s another ad, and the image needs more character.”
We cannot deny that social media, and Aziz’s speed helped spread his talents everywhere, he stands out as a photographer, an art teacher, and a creative digital artist. He takes one simple idea, and completely transforms into a different one for us to go ahead and instantly double tap the like button. He mixes all of this expertise that he has amassed over the years, and presents us with a flawless, powerful and meaningful image.
Check out Aziz’s Instagram page @bonmr for daily creative footages!
