Meet Fahim Akbar

We recently connected with Fahim Akbar and have shared our conversation below.

Fahim, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

Honestly, I often find myself in creative slumps, especially when I’m deep into drawing and animating for one of my videos. When that happens, I’ve learned that stepping away and engaging in a different creative activity helps recharge my inspiration. Sometimes, I switch from digital art to sketching in a notebook as a way to go back to the joy I felt for drawing since I was a kid. Other times, I play creative games like Planet Zoo or Prehistoric Kingdom, allowing myself to create in a fun and relaxed way. Having multiple creative outlets keeps my creativity alive and helps me return to my videos with fresh ideas and renewed energy. I also love going back to other sources of media when I need that extra boost to get the creative juices flowing again. Rewatching my favorite documentaries like “Prehistoric Planet” and seeing the works of other Paleoartists are always a huge source of inspiration. I even try to translate more speculative theories I see in Paleoart into my own videos. For example, my latest video on Carnotaurus features a scene where a male Carnotaurus performs a ‘waggle’ dance to attract the attention of a female. This is a pretty popular hypothesis for how these animals would have used their tiny arms, and I’m glad I could bring it to life with my own spin!

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m Fahim Akbar! I work as a scientific programmer for a non-profit medical research lab here in Texas. In addition to my day job, I am the creator of a growing YouTube channel called “Nature’s Compendium.” My channel’s focus is on extinct animals, and I create 2D animations to help teach people about our amazing Prehistoric Past! Outside of work and YouTube, I like to spend my time going on nature trail walks, trying new food spots with my wife, spending time with my three nieces and nephew, and taking care of my fish tank and pet leopard gecko “Rex.” A busy life indeed – but far from a boring one!
It’s always been a struggle of mine to balance my daily responsibilities with content creation, especially given how rigorous and labor intensive the process of animation is. But honestly, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’m very happy with my current job and the work I do for the organization. My YouTube channel will always be a lifelong passion of mine, and my dream is to reach at least 100,000 subscribers! It’s something I’ve been taking far more seriously in the past couple of years, and I’m very hopeful I can reach this goal. Even with YouTube being flooded by AI-generated slop and misinformation about extinct animals, I’ve still managed to carve out a growing audience who have been nothing but supportive!
With the upcoming film “Jurassic World: Rebirth” on the way, I’m making videos to help educate people about how movie dinosaurs are often very different from what we currently know about them. This gives me an opportunity to help viewers connect what they see on the big screen to real life Paleontology, a message that I feel like is missing from the more recent Jurassic films all together. In addition, I’m also making more dinosaur centered content in hopes to help highlight some lesser-known species. For example, on March 29th of this year, I’ve got a video coming out about a dinosaur called Pycnonemosaurus. This animal was found in Brazil and is a close relative to the more famous Carnotaurus. It’s also the largest member of the Abelisaurid family, and one that is often overlooked. At the end of the day, my YouTube channel has been both a challenge and a dream come true. Getting to share my love for extinct animals and doing so through my love of artwork and animation is what makes the whole thing so fulfilling!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The most valuable skill for me has been the ability to communicate complex scientific ideas in an engaging and accessible way through animation and illustration.
Every video for “Nature’s Compendium” is crafted with two goals in mind: education and entertainment. Science communication isn’t just about presenting facts—it’s about making them resonate with an audience. This means that I have to translate dense scientific concepts into clear, visually appealing artwork.
Drawing dinosaurs and any extinct animal requires both artistic skill and an eye for scientific accuracy. My reconstructions are far from perfect, but I do my best to ensure that each design is informed by the latest science and fossil evidence. I often like to use living animals as inspiration for patterns and designs, and even incorporate some speculative biology within reason. Additionally, because my work involves animation, I have to think ahead about how each design will function in After Effects—accounting for rigging, movement, and expressiveness. This blend of scientific accuracy and artistic storytelling helps bring these prehistoric animals to life in a way that I hope can engage with a broader audience.
The ability to adapt and evolve has been crucial in my journey. Whether it’s keeping up with changes in YouTube’s algorithm, improving upon my animation skills, or changing my content strategies based on audience feedback, success in this space requires constant learning. I’ve learned that every project isn’t going to perform the best, no matter how much time and effort was spent on it. And rather than seeing these projects as failures, I learned to view them as opportunities to analyze, adjust, and improve. The key is to keep refining my craft, and learn to grow with each piece of work.
At the heart of all these skills is dedication. Each fully animated video can take over 200 hours to complete, and I wouldn’t spend all this time researching prehistoric creatures, creating animations, and adapting to the ever changing landscape of YouTube if I didn’t love what I do. People gravitate towards authenticity, and in a crowded content world, what makes you stand out will always be the unique voice and perspective you bring to it.
For those early in their journey, my best advice is: stay curious, keep learning, and don’t be afraid to evolve. Whatever skills you try to grow, every step forward is a step toward mastery.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

The number one challenge I’m currently facing is one that every YouTuber encounters in their career: defeating the dreaded algorithm! Just kidding: but in all seriousness it’s no secret that growing on YouTube has become more challenging over the years, especially with the rise of AI-generated slop, corporate sponsored channels, and misinformation spreading like wildfire across the platform. Unlike fast-paced, mass-produced content, my videos require significant time and effort to create, from researching scientific papers to animating detailed reconstructions. This makes it harder to maintain a consistent upload schedule and scale audience growth. To tackle this challenge, and reach my goal of over 100,000 subscribers, I’m focusing on three key strategies: workflow refinement, diversifying content, and building community. After doing everything on my own for so long, reaching out to talented collaborators has helped improve my workflow. I now have a primary animator, Tyler Stone, who helps with dinosaur walk cycles, and two talented SFX designers, Ryan Smith and Jamal Green, who help with sound design and music. This helps to cut production time and allows me to focus on the parts of the process I enjoy more, like creating the artwork. Since long-form animated videos take time, I’m expanding into shorter, engaging content that complements my main videos. These videos are ways to give my audience behind-the-scenes snippets for upcoming video projects, and help keep people engaged between major releases. And lastly, I’m actively working to grow a community around my channel. In addition to YouTube community posts, I’ve recently created a monthly newsletter on my Patreon that’s available for free members to view. While exclusive content is reserved for paid members, this newsletter gives more people the opportunity to stay informed about upcoming content for the channel. Ultimately, my approach is all about adapting without compromising what makes my content unique and special in the first place. While improving the quality of each video and fostering deeper connections with my audience, I’m working towards the long term sustainable growth of my channel. And if all fails, I will at least know that every video I put forward is one that I can be proud of! And lastly, I’d like to give a special shout out to my beloved wife, Michelle. From the day that we first met, she has always been my number one cheerleader, and I am able to carry on because of her continued support. Love you forever and always, Amar Jaan!

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