June 15th, 2009 Ben Powis
Hi all, I have opened a new print shop at MySoti.com where I am offering, for the first time online, prints of my work. Right now there are 3 pieces to choose from, at either A4 or A3 size, in poster or canvas formats – ‘Rainbow Bird Cave‘ looks great as a box canvas!
Please check them out and if you think they would make a nice gift for someone you know (or maybe just for yourself!) you can order them through the website very easily. I’d love to hear from anyone who buys one!
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May 14th, 2009 Ben Powis
I am working on a lot of stuff I can’t talk about right now, some exciting stuff coming up towards the end of the year though! Here is a shot of my desk from today, spooky!!
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April 23rd, 2009 Ben Powis
Hi everyone!
My comic Turtle Guitar is in the new Layer Zero (by Insomnia Publications). Layer Zero No. 3 is entitled Choices and it is released on the 11th of May. Layer Zero is a collection of fresh comics artwork and stories by young and emerging creatives, you can pre order the book on Amazon, or if your going to the Bristol Comics Expo this year Insomnia will have it available there – I can’t wait to take a look!
In unrelated news, strange whispers of a new story are being heard within the forests of Afar…more on this soon! 
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March 20th, 2009 Ben Powis
Ninja Mountain Podcast
Some friends of mine (Jon Hodgson, Andy Hepworth & Scott Purdy) among others, have been involved in a new podcast for artists and illustrators (primarily working in the fantasy and sci-fi field, although I think the podcast would be of interest to any freelance creative) named Ninja Mountain. They cover some great topics discussing loads of key aspects on the industry, informative for beginners and entertaining for the seasoned pros. A new episode is released every week and they have already been going for two months, so there’s a great backlog of episodes to go through if your a new listener. Check out the Ninja Mountain Scrolls blog for all the show info and links to download services (including iTunes). Enjoy!
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December 31st, 2008 Ben Powis
Wow, another year has come to an end. At this time of year I like to take a look back at all the things I have done over the last twelve months, before moving onto the next, and remind myself of all the great experiences and cool projects I have been lucky enough to work on.
I started the year with a commission from the BBC Radio Times. The piece about a spooky story called ‘All The Colours of Love‘ – which is a wonderfully inspiring title!
January also saw the print debut of my first comic Turtle Guitar. I can’t believe it’s only been around for a year! In truth is has been around a bit longer in digital format – Turtle Guitar was originally published on my website for free around October 2007 but people started asking me if it was available in print. Printing comics was something that I has assumed would be out of my league financially, as comics publishing is currently not my main income. But after a little research and a lot of quotes from various printers I discovered the cheapest way to print my work how I wanted would be my local printer, so we went ahead and Turtle Guitar was born in print!
I was very pleased with how the comic came out, the quality of the printing was great and the colours (which are so important to my work) are really vibrant! While all this was going on I was already working on my second comic, but with these nice shiny copies of Turtle Guitar in hand I wanted to get some people to look at them…
I sent some copies off to the people in charge of the Liveline Comics show in London who had an open call going on, and too my surprise they phoned me up and said they would like me to exhibit at the show!
I had the printed Turtle Guitar on show as well as 3 framed pieces – 2 prints and 1 original pen and ink page from my next comic. I was very excited to check out the show and see all the other work there but the day before I was in Edinburgh and arrived into London a little too late – doh!
I made a few calls and sent a few emails, managing to get Turtle Guitar into Gosh! Comics, Traveling Man stores (Leeds, Manchester, York & Newcastle) and importantly onto the London Underground Comics stall in Camden Lock Market. LUC has sadly drawn the curtains on it’s Camden stall a couple of weeks ago, after just over a year of selfless hard work pushing UK indie comics to the public – I would like to offer all those guys my humble thanks for their work on the stall! Good luck in 2009!
Illustration Friday entry from February 2008.
Now we fast forward through April and May, where a bunch of things happened but if I was going to write about them all I will be half way through 2009 before I finish this post! I was featured in ImagineFX though, which was cool!
It was at this time of year that me and my good friend Scott Purdy released our first flock of Pocket Monsters to the world!
Pockets Monsters come in the packets as seen above, they each contain an original drawing of a strange/wonderful creature by either me or Scott. We had a lot of fun doodling the little critters and they sold out fast, jetting off all over the world – thanks to everyone who helped us re-home our monsters! Pocket Monster Series 2 have already seen a pre-release late in 2008, look out for them returning with work form more artists in 2009!
During this month I was also able to reprint my illustrated story book ‘Whale Hunt‘. Using the same printer who produced Turtle Guitar I was able to improve upon the quality of the original books – Whale Hunt is still a firm favorite wherever I sell books!
Late in May I had finished my second comic, which I announced as ‘Where Grows The Bitter Herb‘. I had been trying to find time to get it sorted out for printing, the incentive came in the form of the London Underground Comics event NoBarcodes – a gathering of UK small press comics artists and writers in Camden Lock market. I raced ‘Bitter Herb through to have it ready in time, picking it up from the printers the day before I traveled to London!
The comic was met with a great reception (selling out!). I had a really great time at NoBarcodes – sharing a table with Dan Cox, Chris Getliffe and Jon Scrivens. I got to meet a bunch of other UK comics creators and checking out a LOT of really great comics and artwork! It was my first experience of a comics con of any kind, making me hungry for more!
Check out this awesome model of the player from Turtle Guitar by my friend Emily Arnold, this fella became our mascot through 2008!
This year also saw the release of Candycreeps, an RPG game set in a weird and wonderful world where the dead walk the earth, do the shopping and walk the dog all side-by-side with the living (and the reanimated theme park mascots…!). I was lucky enough to be asked to produce the cover for the book, along with 4 full colour chapter pages and a bunch of black & white interior drawings. The book was so much fun to work on, owed in most part to the people in charge, Nick and Elizabeth, whom it was a pleasure to work for! The book is avalaible now and I would encourage everyone to check it out (not just because my work is on the cover – its really fun!!).
In November I opened a new mini website ‘World of Afar‘. The online home of the world my comics (Turtle Guitar and Where Grows The Bitter Herb) are set in. The site will expand and grow over the coming months, containing sneak peeks into the next comic and exclusive insight into the world of Afar for those keen enough to explore!
It was around this time I got an email from Richard Bruton at Forbidden Planet. He had seen a couple of my comics and was kind enough to write a glowing review of Whale Hunt and Turtle Guitar – so I sent him a copy of Where Grows The Bitter Herb and he liked that too! Hi to Richard if you are reading this, your reviews kept my spirits lifted and my pencil moving through the lonely world of freelancing!
ThoughtBubble came around in again in November. I missed out on it the year before so I was determined to make it this time! I booked a whole table to myself and headed up with a suitcase full of comics, table cloths and price tags. This was officially my first full sized comics convention, I was nervous and excited but the day went excellently. The planning paid off – everything went smoothly, the table looked great and all the comics sold well! A big hello! to everyone I met there, too many to mention (sorry!)
So here we are in late December, I was posting a picture every day through this month, but I’m afraid I let it slip! All the Christmas shopping, festive drinks and turkey got the better of me I’m afraid.
I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year and thank everyone who bought a comic, said hello, or clicked onto this blog over the last year…there is plenty more to come next year!
~ Ben
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November 30th, 2008 Ben Powis
Today I am excited to be launching a new minisite dedicated to the world in which my comics Turtle Guitar and Where Grows the Bitter Herb are set! I have plans to expand this world with further stories and artwork, there will be a new comic coming next year, more details on that soon(ish)!
As well as information on the current comics, the World of Afar website will also act as a collection of lore for the world. This begins in the Bestiary section where you can find out more about some of the critters you may have already met in the comics.
I am looking forward to growing the site slowly, over the coming months as we lead towards the launch of the next comic. New creatures will be added, glimpses into new stories or new locations and a bunch of Tunes from Afar, the audio section which is currently a work in progress but will feature audio tracks to accompany the stories, adding another level of atmosphere! So what are you waiting for…
Keep an eye on my blog for updates, or sign up to my mailing list to be notified when the World of Afar is updated!
I would love to hear what you think!
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November 18th, 2008 Ben Powis
Thought Bubble in Leeds was fantastic fun! A big thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello and to everyone who picked up some comics too!
It was my first ever ‘convention’ – excluding No Barcodes in Camden market earlier this year – and also my first visit to Leeds, so full of new experiences. We didn’t get to see much of the city, between traveling and selling comics, but the view from the hotel window was nice!
I’m not pulling a funny face, I’m just munching on my breakfast apple! We managed to get the table setup pretty smoothly and I was really happy with how it looked, I also managed not to forget anything, not bad for a beginner huh!
Here is the table from the front, notice the little Turtle Guitar character model in front of ‘Bitter Herb – he was our table mascot for the day – he really enjoyed himself!
Finally here is a picture taken by Richard Bruton of Forbidden Planet, which is the only photo of me not eating an apple! (And the table looks pretty good in it too!).
Thanks again to everyone who stopped by - see you again next year!
Strange Alchemy Store Update
We had some new items for sale at Thought Bubble which have now been added to the Strange Alchemy Store:
Badge Packs
3 Unique badges in a pack backed with one of four artwork designs.
Each pack contains 3 Limited Edition badges featuring work from my publications backed by one of four designs.
Pocket Monster Series 2
Pocket Monsters are back with Series Two! Own an Original monster drawing, in your pocket!
Each pack contains 1 Original Monster Drawing, signed Birth Certificate and care guidelines. Each monster is hand packaged by the artist!
And also, for a limited I have a special offer running where you can get Where Grows The Bitter Herb, Turtle Guitar, Whale Hunt and 3 badges, signed on request, for a bundle price of just £10!
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November 7th, 2008 Ben Powis
I am going to be at Thought Bubble Festival’s one day comic book convention on Saturday 15th of November! Come say hello and buy some books, I will have copies of all my comics, some Pocket Monsters and a bunch of badges!
Thought Bubble’s comics convention is taking place at Leeds newest, hottest (and biggest!) venue Saviles Hall (opposite the Royal Armories). Don’t cal me if you get lost because I have no idea where I’m going either 
Check ThoughtBubbleFestival.com for all the information!!
See you there!
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November 6th, 2008 Ben Powis
Click above to check out an interactive digital magazine version of Turtle Guitar, made on MyEBook.com – a great new service where anyone can pop togeather a high quality digital book. Interesting stuff!
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October 17th, 2008 Ben Powis
Richard over at the Forbidden Planet International Blog has been at it again! This time he has given Where Grows The Bitter Herb a glowing review!
“…it’s the execution of the plot that turns this into something quite lovely. Incredibly complex and detailed art; lush colours and intricate, complicated backgrounds populated with simply drawn creatures of varying degrees of strangeness.”
You can check out the full article right here, on the Forbidden Planet Blog!
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Stuarthill on 
Samba on 
