SPEAKER PROFILE

Khalid was born and raised in Bahrain. From an early age he followed in his famous father’s artistic footsteps with paint, cameras and sculpture. He went to the US to study Photography and Interior Design at the Art Institute of Houston in the early 90s, where he first became entranced with using computers to create his design concepts.

In 2004 Khalid founded his company, Muharraqi Studios, in Bahrain to create 3D architectural visualization; character animation; VFX and advertising materials. Khalid has won many international prizes for his varied work, including several 3D World, CG Society and 3D Total awards. In 2010, Khalid presented at the influential Abu Dhabi Film Commission’s Circle Conference on the subject of stereography and 3D in film-making.

Some of his visualization work includes the Bahrain World Trade Centre, the famous Durrat Al-Bahrain resort and accompanying marina that can easily be seen under construction in Google Earth (link to kmz file) and the stadium for the 2022 FIFA world cup in Qatar. Khalid’s animation work includes environment and world building for a famous television show in UAE and several more personal projects.

Khalid has helped several developers get their software just right for the artist and his work has helped programs such as LightWave 3D, Modo and ZBrush among others perform better for the digital artist. He is also happy to get his hands dirty with sketching, sculpting and painting. Even with all the work, he still makes time to race his motorbike and engage in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

“My mission is to get the world to change for the better – to make it a happier and more colorful environment for us all. Things will not change until we change them. We are the future and our time has come to step up and prove it. Art has no skin colour, religion or prejudice. It should always be beautiful and that is what I aim for.” – Khalid Al-Muharraqi