“As a person, I find myself creatively drawn to a vague mix of goofy, surreal and whimsical pieces. I definitely found this to be the case throughout illustration as I progressed – I found my stride within my ideal realm of art.”
At the start of his final year at AUB, Ben made a big decision – diverting from the 2D, cartoonish look he’d been pursuing for so long and taking a plunge into the deep end of 3D photo-textured animation.
Since graduating from BA (Hons) Illustration in 2023, Ben’s personal work has revolved around ‘opening the can of worms’ that is board game design, including tabletop role-playing games (TTRPG) and Dungeons and Dragons (DnD). What started as tackling basic card game ideas and playable prototypes has since developed into a long-term passion, with feasible games in what he describes as his ‘now refined 2D look’.
“I think this was what really helped me land on the idea that it wasn’t what the illustration looked like, but what it represented; the jokes hidden within and the energy of the crazy, visual notions were my ‘style’.”
But this isn’t all Ben’s achieved since graduating. Outside of curating his unique style, he’s now the Director of Creatives of an events company and focusing on graphic design and illustrative marketing.
“Originally, I applied for the internship with the intention of showing off my ability within a more creative sector, as an attempt to garner both marketing experience and in-house or freelance design work post student life. This worked as there was a space for a creative in the company, so I asserted the idea of me doing more design work, which led to me juggling both my internship and being their in-house designer for a good few months.”
With a gradually increasing workload and more responsibilities, Ben’s role has now become full-time in design for events and marketing, which involves managing the visual output from within and outside the company, be it from social media specialists or freelance creatives.
“I understand both what I can do and what I can learn to do. The whole journey took a lot of self-belief, that being the only thing pushing me to take the opportunities I wanted to seize. I trusted myself being able to take a large responsibility within a company even if it wasn’t directly aligned with my last few years of university work. Also, it’s okay to ask for more – if you work somewhere and you have ideas that could be helpful for your growth and the companies, then take the leap.”
Outside professional work, Ben has always been drawn to the making of games and especially the artwork alongside them. From first being introduced to Warhammer and video games by his dad to rediscovering DnD during his time at university – and now exploring the TTRPG space as a potential creative career path – he’s taking steps with portfolio development and commissioned work to naturally grow into the tabletop space.
“I know I’m very motivated to be in this world – I love running games for friends and designing worlds, which links perfectly into this sector I’m trying to explore. My first major project was a card game called ‘Frights’, which became a prototype and will most likely be a passion project I whittle away at for a long time. Currently, I’m building small rule sheets and mock-ups for brand-new game ideas along with third-party content you can use in other games, such as DnD.”
Ben’s long-term plan is taking his experience of creative directing into this, with the intention of hiring creatives with similar passions and marketing expertise to publish real, playable products. This goes alongside making the most of short form socials like TikTok and Instagram Reels to give an exclusive, bite-sized look into what making a TTRPG board games involves.
“I’m heavily sinking my teeth into these games I am working on. I see myself having some form of platform to expand portfolios and promote collaborative work between those I haven’t the chance to work with since uni. A shift into short form content is both scary as a possibility, but one I shouldn’t give up on. The final aim of all of this, in a very blunt way, is to have something I made, that I'm proud of, weigh down a shelf or two in Waterstones.”
Ben’s greatest advice to current students and past, regardless of their creative form, is finding your specific niche and enjoying the process. He’s also learnt some valuable lessons from his career journey, too.
“Remembering to learn how to play the cards you are dealt is important; there is a way to spin almost any opportunity you are given. There will be plenty of bumps in the road but take it slow and you’ll manage your way over them fine.
“For pursuing events specifically, there are so many small venues that have awful artwork. Many places don’t have a designer and need help with their creative side, so ask them, shoot them an email. Internships are so, so useful for getting your foot in the door – make sure you slip in before it closes.”
To see more of Ben’s illustrations and artwork, check out his Instagram.
