Arbaaa Hosts The Art Majlis x Asim Altokhais: Basics of Creating Characters

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — October 30, 2025 — Arbaaa Marketing, through its art-focused platform KSA ART Magazine, hosted the second edition of The Art Majlis, a community gathering designed to bring artists, writers, and creatives together in shared learning and dialogue. The October session, titled “The Basics of Creating Characters,” featured Asim Altokhais, a multi-award-winning author, screenwriter, and producer known for his pioneering contributions to Saudi storytelling.

The interactive workshop explored how meaningful characters are built not only as narrative devices, but as reflections of time, place, and culture. Attendees learned how to define their characters’ wants and needs, connect personal experiences to creative writing, and understand how stories become messengers of Saudi identity.

“Characters are carriers of memory, culture, and imagination. The the bridge between the storyteller and the world.” — Asim Altokhais

The event attracted a diverse audience of writers and creative professionals, all seeking to refine their craft and exchange perspectives within a collaborative space. True to the spirit of The Art Majlis, the evening blended learning, community, and culture, reaffirming Arbaaa’s mission to build creative ecosystems that empower local talent and amplify Saudi voices globally.

Event Highlights

The workshop, “The Basics of Creating Characters,” guided participants through the art of developing believable and culturally grounded characters.
Asim Altokhais explored how great storytelling begins with people, not plots. Through examples and discussion, he shared:

• Why creating characters matters in storytelling
• How characters become messengers of culture, values, and shared memory
• The role of time and place in shaping a character’s worldview
• How to define a character’s wants and needs — what they seek versus what they truly need
• The writer’s personal journey in discovering and developing their characters

Altokhais emphasized that when writers connect deeply with their own emotional truth, their characters naturally carry authenticity and resonance, making them universal yet distinctly Saudi in spirit.

Interactive Character-Building Exercise

The session concluded with a reflective writing exercise led by Asim Altokhais. Participants received a worksheet designed to help them build characters from the inside out. Not just through external traits, but by exploring emotional depth and motivation.

The worksheet guided attendees through a series of prompts:

• The character’s external desire: what they believe they want or are chasing (for example, success, fame, or recognition).
• The character’s internal need: what they truly need on a deeper, emotional level (such as love, belonging, or forgiveness).
• The hidden flaw or fear: an inner obstacle or limiting belief that prevents them from achieving growth.
• The lesson or transformation: how the story helps the character confront that flaw and evolve emotionally.

Through this exercise, Altokhais encouraged participants to treat character creation as a mirror of the human journey connecting personal truth to cultural storytelling. The result was an intimate, introspective session that blended creative writing with emotional self-discovery, capturing the spirit of The Art Majlis: learning through culture, reflection, and imagination.

About KSA ART Magazine

KSA ART is a platform and print magazine dedicated to celebrating Saudi artists, curators, and cultural movements. Through in-depth profiles, visual storytelling, and community features, the publication aims to document the Kingdom’s evolving art scene and provide a credible platform for creative voices shaping Saudi Arabia’s cultural identity.

About Arbaaa Marketing

Arbaaa Marketing is a Riyadh-based creative and strategy firm led by Ameer Albahouth, helping organizations turn ideas into compelling narratives across brand, digital, events, and editorial. Arbaaa partners with educators, founders, and institutions to build content systems that inform, inspire, and convert.

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