Nobrow 5 - Repeat Pattern and Process

Nobrow 5 debuted at 'Pick Me Up' London last week and is now available from the Nobrow website. The theme of the issue is 'A Few Of My Favourite Things' which needed to be worked into a repeat pattern using 3 regular pantone spot colours and 1 gold metallic pantone. Blimey! It was bloody tricky but the results were worth it. The cover of the issue is by Micah Lidberg and inside features work from Bjorn Lie, Nick White, Meg Hunt, Matthew The Horse, Jon Boam, Rob Hunter, Nishant Choksi and many, many more.

I thought it might be interesting to run you through each spot colour layer for my piece. It was made up of a grid of monster and robot faces. Here is the original sketch that I retraced with a pencil, ruler and compass on my light box. Everything I do is hand drawn. I don't use vectors.
The first pantone is yellow and I used the colour at 100%, 70% and a 40%.
The highest opacity that I used the blue at was 85% due to a conversation with Rob Hunter about how dark the blue will print compared to how it appears on the computer screen. Rob had a pantone chart and the difference from screen to printed paper was quite significant. Losing the 15% knocked some of the intensity out which worked out for the best.
Next up is red. It's really more of a pinky red than a deep red. By crossing it over with the yellow, the pinkish red gets boosted to a strong red. I think I only used the red at a maximum of 90% and a minimum of 20%.

Here we have the pinkish red and yellow crossing over and making a strong red. It was fun to work out the areas to leave pink so that the image didn't appear too flat and boring. You always wanna give a bit of 'Shazam!'

The blue and yellow create a green and the different shades of green are made by using different opacities of each spot colour.
Here is the blue and red crossing over without the yellow. These two colours create a purplish secondary colour that highlights the dark areas of the image.
For the gold spot colour to work at its best, it should not be over-layed or under-layed. Industrial litho printing is very, very accurate so I just cut the shapes to fit directly into the spaces. Here is an example of what it looks like without the other colours.
Here is the finished illustration. It really made my brain blocks hurt but I feel very happy with the final result.
Here is a photo of it in the latest issue. My digital camera is very old and very rubbish so this probably isn't the best representation of the printed article which is why you should go and buy it. It smells great too.
Hope this was helpful. Toodles. x

A Sample of the Animated 'Ouroboros'.

Howdy Folks! Here is a 29 second glimpse of an animated test for my comic book, 'Ouroboros', published by Nobrow Press. FYI- you can buy the comic HERE. Anyhoo, hurry up and click play!

This test sample has been put together by the fantastic, Daniel Binns (click on his name and check out his showreel... A M A Z I N G!). I can't thank him enough for bring the story to life.

I've been trying to think up some ways to raise funds for this project so that I can pay Daniel to finish the animation. I'd also like to raise enough to pay musicians to score the film. I have some exciting ideas for that but lack resources so if anyone has any ideas of ways to help raise some dollar or feels they can help then all input would be hugely appreciated. Post a comment, email this to a friend or send me an email at ben@bennewman.co.uk. It would be great if we could circulate this sample and see if it picks up steam. Thanking yous.

Mural for BodyTech Gym, New Zealand

The incredible Pete Rana from the BodyTech Gym in New Zealand got in touch with me just before Christmas to design a mural for his new gym. The mural changed into a super giant piece of work printed on canvas and stretched over a metal frame (similar to how old billboards use to be). Anyhoo, Pete wanted me to adapted my 'Jungle Gym' piece for Nobrow issue 2 so that it could be blown up to 9.5 metres by 3.5 metres. Seeing the photos below really puts the size into perspective. Whoa! Its pretty bloody big. Thanks again to Pete for asking me to create this for his gym and also for the great encouragement he provided me. Total dude! I hope to work with him again soon. Above is one of my roughs for the project and below is the adapted final version.
Here are some photos of the 'Jungle Gym' in the BodyTech Gym. I'm very pleased.

Getting Past the ‘Digital Divide’

Over Christmas I had some editorial work from 'Teaching Tolerance' magazine in the U.S. The article was about the 'digital divide' in American schools and how some children who have computers, mobile phones and internet access at home have the opportunity to develop further and faster than those who don't. The full article is available to read HERE.

Here are close up character details.

Illostribute to Earl Oliver Hurst

Featured above is my contribution to the fantastic illostribute blog run by a very, very lovely chap called Toby Neighbors. Each illostribute post looks at a grand-master of illustration from yesteryear and after running through a short study of their work, a selection of current/

modern illustrators are asked to pay tribute to them by creating a piece of work in the spirit of the featured artist. This recent post looks at Earl Oliver Hurst and you can see the picture I chose to pay homage to below. Click HERE to head over to illostribute to see what all the other brilliant illustrators did (check out my good chum Stuart Kolakovic's contribution, it's bloody brilliant).

Zingolula Cudaduda for the Ministry of Stories.

I was very pleased to be asked to take part in helping out the 'Ministry of Stories' based in London, who have set out to create a learning centre where kids from 8-18 can get one-to-one tuition with professional writers and other volunteers. The centre is fronted by the Hoxton Street Monster Supplies which sells everything any monster enthusiast could wish for, click HERE to see pictures from inside this incredible shop.

Anyhoo, the monster bit is where myself and a host of other (much more talented) illustrators come in. We were each asked to draw a monster that the children had come up with and boy oh boy, did they come up with some insane monsters.
I was asked to draw the monster, Zingolula Cudaduda and all the illustrators were given a limited palette of blue, red and black.

"Zingoula lives in a lion’s cave, stocked with secret gold he stole from the bank. He’s great at scaring people (and with a mouth as big as a white board, ears as big as a 72 inch TV screen, and feet so big they shake the ground, it’s easy to see why) but sometimes this back fires – he’s so good at scaring people he can’t make any friends.

He bathes and goes fishing in the canal all the time, but his arms are still always as greasy as if they were covered in Vaseline, and he has rusty toenails and lips as dry as sandpaper.
After a meal of chicken (and humans) and a play in the forest, Zingoula settles down with his prized possessions – a photo of his mum and dad, some toe nail clippings, and another photo of Zingoula killing some humans. Every night he hopes he doesn’t have bad dreams. He’s terribly scared of giant dinosaurs!

Zingoula Cudacuda was created by the Year 6 class at Burbage Primary School."

Photos by Alistair Hall.

All That Dreams... Featured in the Guardian Guide.

Tom Frost dropped this on my desk this morning. I was lucky enough to have my illustrations used to help promote Nobrow's incredible 'A Graphic Cosmogony' in the Guardian Guide from the weekend. I am truly flattered.

The New Bento Bestiary NOW ON SALE

(Hold down shift and....) ITS HERE AND ON SALE NOW!Scrub up and revise your knowledge of a selection of Yokai, the ancient spirits and demons, from Japan. Yes sir, the Bento Bestiary is back and mass produced in hardback format with super fresh reinterpretations for you and all the family to enjoy at the affordable price of £12. Published by the super kind folks at Nobrow and ready just in time for Christmas (provided you order soon dear reader). Scroll your optical receptors down to see some photomographs of this lovely book.
Words provided by the excellent Scott James Donaldson, who has truly made this book something special. If it doesn't make you laugh or feel weird and confused then you have no soul (or you're reading it upside down.)
I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who bought the original limited edition Bento Bestiary, without whom this new edition would never have been made. The Bento Bestiary is available from all GOOD bookshops internationally, you can also pick the Bento up by CLICKING HERE from the Nobrow website. Lastly, here is the front and back cover spread. Thanks for reading.
PS - If you are in Bristol on the Weds 8th December then drop by the Here shop and gallery as Scott, myself and Bjorn Lie will be signing copies of our new books (and plowing ourselves with cheap booze) between 7pm and 9pm. You can RSVP on Facebook by clicking HERE or just turn up on the night. Bjorn's new book is called 'The Wolf's Whistle' and I think it might just be the best book I own, it truly is eye wateringly incredible.

A Graphic Cosmogony ON SALE NOW!

I remember last autumn when Al from Nobrow started to kick around the idea of creating a comic anthology and now a year later here it is in all its glory. WOW! I think you'll agree, after perusing the photos I've nabbed from their website, that it is one sexy looking book. Hot damn, gotta love that cloth spine (drool!). The incredible front and back cover have been illustrated by the insanely talented Micah Lidberg. When I first saw this cover illustration, I wanted to go and throw my pens, pencils, brushes and computer in the bin. Its just TOO good.
Get ready for that tasty cloth spine. BAM!

'The Graphic Cosmogony' contains interpretations of the creation of the universe by 24 illustrators over 7 pages (24 hours in a day, 7 days a week. Neat, huh? Yes... yes, it is). Each interpretation is completely unique and printed in 4 whacked out spot colours. I played a small part in helping to edit the book in the early stages and also contributed 7 pages to the anthology. You can see one of my double page spreads below.
Further below is my favourite image that I produced for the book and I can not wait to see it in print on Thursday, when Nobrow have an official launch for the book, alongside the opening for Jon McNaught and Rob Hunter's 'Murmuring landscapes' exhibition at the Nobrow Gallery. RSVP on the facebook page by clicking HERE.
This splendid artifact can be purchased via the Nobrow website for a mere £24 by clicking HERE and will also be available from all GOOD bookshops in the UK, USA and Europe.

Here is the complete list of all the talented illustrators that contributed a 7 page story to the book; Stuart Kolakovic, Mikkel Sommers, Brecht Vandenbroucke, Luke Best, Rob Hunter, Jon McNaught, Ben Newman, Andrew Rae, Luke Pearson, Jack Teagle, Jon Boam, Jakob Hindrichs, Clayton Junior, Daniel Locke, Isabel Greenberg, Mike Bertino, Nick White, Rui Tenreiro, Sean Hudson, Luc Melanson, Katia Fouquet, Yeji Yun, Matthew Lyons, Liesbeth De Stercke.

My Favourite Raymond Chandler Quote

I've read every book Chandler wrote. He is utterly brilliant. Chandler's use of simile in his work makes me smile no end. I decided to illustrate one of my favourite lines from 'The Lady in the Lake'.

Pre-order the Brand New Bento Bestiary Now

Hold on to your hats, folks! Here comes the brand new Bento Bestiary ready for pre-order (its only £12 English sterling). Every pre-order comes with a Nobrow canvas bag (while stocks last), which just so happens to have one of my lazy ass pictures on (what are the chances? Fair, I'd say). Here is the canvas bag illustration below.

Here are couple of inside shots from the new Bento Bestiary. KA-BLAMMO!

Pre-order the book by simply clicking HERE! If you are a book shop, gallery or any shop of any kind, the Bento Bestiary and all other Nobrow books are available in the UK and Europe through Turnaround Distribution and in the USA by Last Gasp! (West coast) and AdHouse Books Distro (East Coast).

The Solar System

My brand new 'solar system' poster is now available to buy online by clicking HERE. This large offset litho beauty is £10 plus £4 p&p and is packed with useful information about our sector of the Universe, which will entertain the young and the young at heart. I've been wanting to create large mass produced posters for a while now as I've grown a little bored of solely designing and printing limited edition prints. The idea was to create something that can be pinned to a wall or put in a lovely frame at an affordable price for all. I'd been looking at educational posters for children and found that a lot of them were lackluster and the very formal information provided was incredibly unexciting. Anyhoo, hopefully this is just the first of a series informative posters I'll be producing.

I'd like to thank Taylor Brothers for such fantastic customer service and printing this poster so beautifully and also Dunstan Baker at The Fine Art Print Company for all the hard work he put into making this happen. What a diamond!If you run a shop or gallery, please feel free to email me at ben@bennewman.co.uk for wholesale prices and shipping costs. Thanks for reading!

Sneak Preview of New Print

Excerpt from a new large mass produced poster. Should go to the printers this week. I hope.

The Compass of Lunacy

Wowzers! I can't believe I forgot to post about this. The Compass festival has been a regular Bristol occurrence for five years now and each year it just gets better and better. This year's theme is 'Lunacy' and the festival is taking place in the Old Coronor's Court, Stokes Croft, Bristol. Events range from spoken word evenings, burlesque performances, DJ nights and film screenings. I went to see Ingmar Bergman's horror film 'The Hour of the Wolf' on Sunday and it was amazing. Next Sunday, 31st October, they will be screening Jan Svankmajer's adaption of Alice in Wonderland which I'm super excited about as it's been years since I last saw it. For more information about the festival and it's events click HERE. At the top of this post is the front cover illustration for the event programme and the back cover below. I wonder what theme I'll be illustrating next year?

'Journey to the Centre of the Page' Screen Print

This screen print is now for sale on my online shop! All 50 of these one colour puzzle prints have been lovingly solved individually by me. Yes, I sat and drew the route out of the maze by hand with a red chinagraph pencil fifty times and amazingly managed to go the wrong route on a few. Each print is also hand number and signed by me. They are approximately 45 x 32cm big and are available for £35 each, you can purchase them HERE.

Dicephaly Brothers SOLD OUT!

I'd like to say a big thanks to everyone who bought one! Very kind of you and I hope you enjoy having it in your home.

Self Portrait

Frigo Fingers: When the Apes Met.......Jazz

I'm currently exhibiting a piece of work in the "When the Apes Met..." exhibition, curated by the Frigo Fingers Expo, and is taking place in both the Joker Gallery, Bilbao and the Vertigo Gallery, Mexico. The theme for the show was to take the characters from 'Planet of the Apes' and place them in unusual pop culture settings. I went for a Jim Flora homage and drew them as if they had released an album. I don't have much information about the show as I can find very little in English about it on the interwebs but there are heaps of great artists and illustrators taking part in the show and you can click HERE to see more.

Rockus Bockus Wine Label Design

At the end of last year, I had the pleasure of being asked to design a wine label for a company in San Francisco called Gundlach Bundschu. They wanted to create a wine so great tasting you couldn't believe how affordable it is.

Jeff Bundschu, the president of the Gundlach Bundschu, wanted to take the god of wine, Bacchus, and re-invent him for the modern day. Hence the birth of Rockus Bockus. I'd like to say a big thank you to Jeff and Susan for being such great people to work for and for choosing me to work on this project as I've always wanted to design a wine label.

Bento Bestiary Update Part Three

I streamlined Jorogumo for the new Bento Bestiary and I'm really pleased with the results. I was originally going to keep the colouring the same as the 2009 version but while tweaking the print layers I accidently ended up with pinks and purples, which fit the feel of the character better than the original. She sure is sexy!