The great thing about art is that you do not necessarily require a qualification to pursue it. While talent is important, certainly a necessity to create “good” art but you don’t need a stamp of approval by an accredited institution to gain credibility in front of the world. Your art speaks for itself, after all its just a form of expression in the end.
There are still people hiding in plain sight who have followed their artistic pursuits while keeping a day job that is something else entirely:
Muhammad Salek is a prime example of those few who have managed to develop their incredible artistic talent despite no professional training
Salek graduated from NUST and is currently a research engineer by profession in Italy has produced semi-realistic drawings of his favorite fantasy characters
Here’s really cool sketch by him of Dr. Alan Grant from Jurassic Park
Salek didn’t receive any formal training in drawing, rather he picked it up on his own.
“I haven’t received any training, I’m from an engineering background, so all I’ve done is just look at art online, studied how the cover artists at Marvel and DC do it,” Salek told MangoBaaz.
In addition to fantasy Salek has also revisited historical figures in his artwork like this sketch of Malcom X
Salek is more so inspired by the cover art than the inside content of the comic or a story. “The art is great, but the flashy cover art that really sells a comic, that’s my shit ” he said.
It’s not just his artistic pursuit that is inspiring, Salek here also successfully battled cancer
“I got diagnosed when I was doing my bachelors back in 2010″ he said. ” I took a year off and in between really jumped into art”. During his time battling cancer is when Salek developed deeper interest and got the opportunity to hone his skills.
While he does have any immediate plans to create an original comic, he has experimented with characters and is open to collaborate with skilled writers
We hope that the likes of Salek continue to inspire others to follow their dreams in the face of adversity.