Sama Sharaf was working as a character designer at her first animation studio when she discovered Moho. She began her professional career while completing her Performing Arts graduation project at the Faculty of Fine Arts. Exploring the software soon drew her toward the systems behind a character’s movement.

“What’s funny is that nobody actually taught me how to use it,” she recalls. “I was simply given access to the software, and I started exploring it on my own.”

Sama Sharaf

She learned by experimenting, breaking rigs, and figuring out how to fix them. Within about a year, she became the studio’s lead rigger. Today, the Egyptian rigger, animator, and Moho Ambassador has more than nine years of animation experience, with a career spanning international productions, teaching, and co-founding the independent online Egyptian animation studio Batates Studio.

Her interest in rigging remains closely tied to animation. “I enjoy taking a character design and figuring out how to turn it into something that can actually perform.” Working as an animator helps her judge which controls will be useful in production and which might slow someone down.

That perspective guides her approach to Moho’s tools. “I love how powerful Smart Bones and Actions are, but I don’t believe that using more of them automatically makes a rig better.” She uses Actions for tasks such as turns and expressions, while looking for simpler solutions where possible. Thoughtful controllers let animators work on the bone timeline with fewer manual drawing adjustments.

A pigeon character rig in Moho, with facial controls and Actions ready to be used.

One project that put her problem-solving skills to work was Akıncı, an animated series produced by Turkish studio 396 Animation. When Sama joined, she received an existing rig as a reference, with little explanation of how it had been built. She explored its systems, learned the team’s workflow, and began building and adapting character rigs, adding improvements for the animators along the way.

“You first have to understand what the team needs, how the existing system works, and then figure out where you can make it better without breaking what’s already there,” she explains. Moho gave her the flexibility to experiment while keeping the rigs consistent with the production’s needs.

Akıncı also helped introduce her work to a wider audience. After the series was released, Sama posted examples of her rigging on social media. Moho shared her work through its official channels, which led to her first Moho webinar.

Promotional art for Akıncı, from 396 Animation’s official project page.

Teaching has since become another way for Sama to share what she has learned. She has also taught workshops and courses, including at Egypt’s Information Technology Institute. Requests from artists who followed her work prompted her to make short Moho tutorials in Arabic.

“Even if someone understands English, learning technical things in your own language can feel much easier and more comfortable,” she says. Remembering how much she had needed to discover on her own, she wanted to offer practical help that Arabic-speaking artists could put to use immediately.

Her tutorials focus on small workflow improvements. “Sometimes it’s just one small thing in Moho that can save you a lot of time once you know it.” She hopes the series will make Moho more accessible across the Arab world and encourage more artists to exchange ideas and share their own knowledge.

A frame from Sama Sharaf’s animation work with a character who appears to be a bit irritated.

Explore Sama’s Arabic Moho tutorials

The advice she gives learners reflects her own start: experiment, practice, and learn animation principles alongside the software. “Watching tutorials can teach you a lot, but at some point you have to close the tutorial and actually build something yourself.” A small rig or a short animated shot gives artists a chance to test what they understand and discover what to try next.

Sama welcomes collaborations in rigging, animation, workshops, and Moho educational content. Explore her portfolio and social channels at samasharaf.com, or contact her at sgsharaf@gmail.com about professional projects.

Explore Sama’s work