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Rumbidzayi Mafake Cool Lifestyle Reporter
While cartoons can be hilarious, they also remain one of the most effective ways of expressing hidden emotions. Cartoonists are powerful individuals. Takudzwa Mukarakate is a 16- year-old boy from St Ignatius High School who fell in love with animation from an early age.

His desire to draw began when he went to the school library to study and he came across a cartoon novel that was written by a 13-year-old boy from America entitled “Captain Underpants”.

“The first thing that came to my mind when I was going through the book was that I could do what this kid had done. Actually I even thought I would be better than him,” he said.

Since then Takudzwa’s ideas come as they strike into his head when he comes across a picture of anything that is of interest to him and then he develops his own idea from that, like when he watches such cartoons as Ben 10.

What Takudzwa considers as a bad drawing will then turn out to become the villain of his story.

“I have developed a tendency that all of my worst drawings go on to be the villains against the hero.”

Art has become part of Takudzwa’s life, “most of the time my ideas are an expression of my feelings or at times when I am feeling distressed I end up drawing a cartoon from which I will develop a story”

“By then I wanted to prove to the world that I am better but now I draw because I love drawing, with the intention of bringing out the beauty of cartoons.”

The artist believes that people tend to underestimate cartoons and his desire is to show the strong power of cartoons as a form of art.

“The other thing that I love about cartoons is that I am totally in control of the small drama from script writing, setting the design and directing.”

Some of his stories include “Sonex, The new man in town”.

Takudzwa wrote his Ordinary Level exams last year and passed with flying colours .

His determination is now to build his career by furthering his studies in art.

“My ambition is to study arts focusing in animation and filming in Australia if I get the opportunity to study abroad”.

When Takudzwa began to show his interests in art his parents were not in support of their child’s talent as they thought it would disturb his studies.

“I am happy now that my parents are supporting me in something that I have a passion with and I know I will reach greater heights.”