Ridha H. Ridha, Iraqi - German artist was born in Iraq – Baghdad 1953
Painter, Caricaturist, Illustrator, Graphic Designer,cartoon animation films
, Children books Illustrator and Photographer.
Master in Visual Communication / Graphic Design, Berlin-Germany
- Winner of many International Cartoon Prizes.
- Published many Cartoon and children books.

What was your first satirical cartoon?
That was when I was in the primary school when drawn on the blackboard my
mathematics teacher with ironic and funny way. Then I got a strict punishment .

When did you start your professional working?
Since 1974, I worked professionally as an illustrator and comics in Children’s magazines and a cartoonist newspapers in Iraq .
 

What was your first published artwork?
1969, when I was in the middle school I published as an amateur my first cartoon in a satirical cartoons a magazine in Baghdad. The idea was an Iraqi strong man furious with big muscles challenging an a scared armed American cowboy.

What was your first prize?
My first international prize in cartoon was a Special Prize 1987, in Cartoon Biennial, Skopia – Yugoslavia.

What was your last prize?
The last Prize, of the International Exhibition of satirical graphics (Theme: Ukraine: War and Peace) "Bucovina", 9th edition, 2015, Suceava, Romania .

How do you find new ideas?
Cartoon's Ideas usually extrapolates through following the different daily events or from the differentactions of people in everywhere.

Whats your idea about Inevitable Similarities?
It's difficult to know that exactly.
 

What do you think about plagiarism?
This is something totally unacceptable .

Do you think who is the best Iranian Cartoonist?
It's a difficult question! because there are many excellent Iranians caricature Like Bahram Arjomandnia,Mahboobeh Pakdel, Alireza Pakdel , Massoud Shojai Tabatabai, Shahram Shirzadi, Alireza Pakdel, Alireza Zakeri,Bahram Arjomandnia , Hamed Bazrafkan, Mahmood Azadnia , Mahmoud Nazari. Davoud Houshmand, Saeid Sadeghi , Mahdi Ahmadian , Masoumeh Mousavi ,
Mohammadreza Abbaspour, Mohammadreza Saghafi. Razieh Darzi .
 

Who is the best Cartoonist in your country?
The Iraqi the departed artist and friend Moayed Niama and in Germany the famous German artist and friend Sebastian Krüger.

Do you think who is the best foreign cartoonist?
The Argentine artist Quino is on of the best Cartoonist in the world.

What's the best cartoon that you've ever seen? If possible send it to us.
There are so many of them and The choice is difficult!!.

How much time do you pay for creating an artwork?

Different times, It depends on the type and the size of this work .

What are your tools and technique for creating artwork?
Aquarelle, black ink, normal brushes, simple feather and digital with Computer .

Which software do you use?
Adobe Photoshop, Free hand, Adobe Painter .

What's your recommendation to your colleagues?
Confirmation on the manual artwork or the traditional methods ( sketching , different materials of coloring...etc. ) then can use the digital art provided that the artist stay on his own style.

What do you think about cartoon situation in the world?
It's constantly developing with the years and generations, especially the ideas which are fit with the present time.

 

Did you ever had problems with your cartoons?
Certainly, because some of the companies owners (newspapers, magazines or big companies) are difficult to understand the good indirect ideas and they prefer the direct simple (superficial) ideas, because they don't care about the quality, but only the quantity of sales and profit.

What was your best cartoon?
The Silent cartoon without any language is my favorite , because it has a simple visual universal language, influential quickly andunderstandable by over a number of continents of the world's population.

Have you ever created an immediate Cartoon?
Yes, sometimes.

Have you ever been jury member in any Cartoon Contest?
Yes, several times.

What about Caricature?
Drawing a caricature portrait is something interesting , I personally prefer the cartoon which has different ideas and the caricature portrait can be a part of the idea of this cartoon.
 

Have you ever worked in cooperation with another artist?
No, I didn't.

What's your idea about Irancartoon website?
I find it's an enjoyable, very important and good design

If you were born again what did you choose as your career?
It's really so difficult choice !!!, but, perhaps a plastic artist as I'm now.

Do you think whats the boarder between Cartoon and Caricature?
Caricature - is now a known an art expression that depends on the drawing faces in an exaggerated way for the proportions with maintaining the similarities to face that person so it's considered limited a bit . But cartoon is something wider and depends primarily on the idea. both types of this kind of art need a special kind of talent and a special fantasy.

What and when was your last exhibition?
A painting exhibition last year in Germany.
 

What's your description about cartoon?
A very special kind of talent may not find a lot even with many fine Artists

Do you think an artist can have enough money by creating cartoon and caricature?
It's possible, but it depends on where the cartoonist working? and in which country in the world.

Who's your favorite artist except in cartoon world?
The Argentine great artist Ouino.

What was the last book you've read?
The Decay of the Angel - Yukio Mishima

Do you think humor can be learned?
Why not.
 

What's your idea about Black Humor?
It's my favorite!! so you find it often in my cartoons .

Who is the best artist in Black Humor?
There are so many one of them the french artist Serre

What was your last performed Caricature?
It was a cartoon abut a subject (Veganism) for the monthly famous Swiss cartoon critical magazine ( Nebelspalter).