My name is Ben Simons, I am extremely passionate about illustration, with my focus being illustrating children’s books and designing fiction book covers. I work predominantly with acrylic and watercolours and experiment with creating interesting textures and varying levels of detail within the compositions, which I then scan into Photoshop and render digitally. I like the challenge of creating completely original images from text, and testing exciting layouts and using dramatic perspective to enhance certain focal points within the story.
My interest in illustrating children’s narratives comes from a desire to explore new and interesting ways of creating a narrative through imagery and I have a deep interest in developing my work to suit multiple age ranges, and explore what types of illustration are appropriate for children at different ages and stages of their cognitive development.
Projects
Work history
Gallery Assistant
Farnham, United KingdomFreelance
Helping out when the gallery is installing or taking down a new show.
Graphic Design Assistant
- Bristol, United KingdomInternship
My previous experience includes three months of work experience in a book publishers in Bristol (Arkbound). I worked alongside the graphic designer and editor, mainly working on designing book covers and applying my knowledge of digital rendering and other illustrative techniques. I also worked with designing covers for their own magazine. This gave me a beneficial insight into the variable deadlines of certain projects.
Skills
- Abobe Indesign/photoshop/illustrator
- Drawing
- Layout Composition
- Image Composition
- Painting
- Patience
- Highly Motivated
- Type
- Book Binding
- Team Player
Education
BA (hons) IllustrationUniversity for the Creative Arts
- Farnham, United Kingdom
Graduating with a FIRST