Penko Gelev was born in 1968 in Asenovgrad. He graduated from the Art High School in Sofia.
He was a teacher, publisher and editor of the comic magazine „Riks“, did special effects for cinema, wrote scripts for films, produced four feature films („Wizzards“, „Kolobar“, „Yellow Dog“, „Robbery“) and three TV educational shows („Fairy tales about Physics“, „Fairy tales about Astronomy“, „Good Day, Mr. Jasmine“). He has drawn 22 comic books for the British publisher The Salariya Book House (2006-2012). In 2010, The Salariya Book House won an award for Children's Publisher of the Year in the UK. He is the artist of the comic books „Mowgli“, „Illicho and Augustus“ and „Illicho, Augustus and the Seven Dwarfs“. He currently works as an illustrator and comic book artist and creates animated films. In 2013 he illustrated the book „The Tale of the Magic Flute“. For these illustrations he received the Konstantin Konstantinov National Award in 2014. Penko Gelev is a part of the group „The Rainbow Project“, with which in 2012 they released the album „Over the Rainbow“, and in 2016 - „Over the Rainbow 2“, after 2017 - the albums „Arakel“, „Arakel - blow-up“, „Arakel - mimicry“ and „Arakel - ultramarine“. For the first two albums, Penko drew the comic strips „Dicho the Field-keeper must die“ and „Tamara“. In 2016, Sotir Gelev and Penko Gelev won the award of the Literary Club „Peroto“ in the category „Children's Literature“ for the comic „Ilyicho, August and the Seven Dwarfs“, of which Penko is the artist and Sotir writes the script.
He is the artist and producer of several animated films, including the feature-length „Zoetrope“, as well as „Viola“, „Phantom“ and „Florentine Night“, also feature-length. In 2024, he made his debut as a director with the animated film „Ballad of Ferris the Self-appointed Knight and Smokie the Fire Breathing Dragon“.
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Animated films
Ballad of Ferris the Self-appointed Knight
and Smokie the Fire Breathing Dragon – director, art director, producer, 2024, (23 min.)
Three Birds – producer, 2022, director M. Nikolova (15 min.)
Three Birds – producer, 2022, director M. Nikolova (15 min.)
Florentine Night – art director, producer, 2022, (78 min.)
Phantom – art director, producer, 2020, (28 min.)
Viola – art director, producer, 2019, (42 min.)
Zoetrope – art director, producer, 2016, (100 min.)
Gazmask – art director, producer, 2016, (9 min.)
Imago – art director, producer, 2015, (17 min.)
Vector and Lector – art director, producer, 2014, (16 min.)
Chickens – producer, 2012, (1 min.)
Orbis – art director, producer, 2012, (9 min.)
Kerata – art director, producer, 2011, (9 min.)
Doroga – art director, producer, 2009, (12 min.)
FEATURE FILMS
Robbery – short, producer, 2017, director Maria Nikolova (27 min.)
Yellow dog (TV) – producer, 2011, director Maria Nikolova (27 min.)
Kolobar – writer, director, 2001 (54 min.)
Wizards – writer, producer, 1999, (107 min.)
Documentary films
Lucifer – producer, 2020, director M. Nikolova (56 min.)
Daga – stories in pictures – producer, 2016, director M. Nikolova (77 min.)
Lyuben Zidarov's Magic Mirror – producer, 2014, director M. Nikolova (77 min.)
Recipe for Magic – producer, 1999, director M. Nikolova (54 min.)
TV SHOWS
Fairy Tales about Physics and Fairy Tales about Astronomy – producer, 2001 – 2007 (263 episodes, 27 min.)
Good Day Mr. Jasmine – producer, 2008 – 2009 (45 episodes, 27 min.)
COMICS
Arakel – Ultramarine, S. Gelev, Daga Project – illustrator (with 5 more artists), 2023
Arakel – Mimicry, S. Gelev, Daga Project – illustrator (with 5 more artists), 2020
Arakel – Blow-up, S. Gelev, Daga Project – illustrator (with 5 more artists), 2018
Arakel, S. Gelev, Daga Project – illustrator (with 5 more artists), 2017
Tamara, S. Gelev, Daga Project – illustrator, 2016
Iliicho, August and Seven dwarfs, S. Gelev, Enthusiast – illustrator, 2016
Dicho the Field-keeper must die, S. Gelev, Daga Project – illustrator, 2012
White Fang, London, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2011
Robinson Crusoe, Defoe, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2011
Great Expectations, Dickens, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2011
David Copperfield, Dickens, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2011
New Headway 4e Pre-Intermediate SB, Oxford University Press – illustrator, 2011
Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2010
The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2010
A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2010
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Stevenson, Salariya Book House– illustrator, 2009
Hamlet, Shakespeare, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2009
Jane Eyre, Brontë, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2009
The Three Musketeers, Dumas, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2008
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2008
Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Verne, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2007
Treasure Island, Stevenson, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2007
Man in the Iron Mask, Dumas, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2007
Dracula, Stoker, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2007
Frankenstein, Shelley, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2007
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hugo, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2006
Oliver Twist, Dickens, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2006
Moby Dick, Melville, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2006,
Kidnapped, Stevenson, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2006
Gulliver's Travels, Swift, Salariya Book House – illustrator, 2009
Iliicho and August, S. Gelev – illustrator, 1994
Mowgli, Kipling – script, illustrator, 1994
Ozma of Oz, L. F. Baum – script, illustrator, 1993
The Damnation, S. Belov – illustrator, 1991
Corporal Neck, S. Gelev – illustrator, 1991
Aksols’ Song, S. Gelev – illustrator, 1991
The Wizard of Oz, L. F. Baum – script, illustrator, 1990
BOOKS
Ballad of Ferris the Self-appointed Knight
and Smokie the Fire Breathing Dragon, S. Gelev, Enthusiast – illustrator, 2016
Kalinchitza – kapchitza, Dora Gabe, List – illustrator, 2023
Nicodemus, is this the universe?, S. Gelev, Four Hands – illustrator, 2023
Detective Philip's Christmas Case, S. Gelev, Enthusiast – illustrator, 2022
The Tale of Tsar Saltan, A. Pushkin, List – illustrator, 2022
I'll tell you a story – illustrator, 2022
Viola, Enthusiast – author and illustrator (with S. Gelev), 2022
Adventures of Mr. Blueberry on water and land, S. Gelev, Tochitza – illustrator, 2020
The Mahabharata, Jean-Claude Carriere – illustrator, 2018
Iliicho, August and Gergin, S. Gelev, Enthusiast – illustrator, 2017
Sketching from imagination, 3dtotal publishing, UK – album, illustrator, 2017
Where are you sunshine, J. Spiridonova, Kragozor – illustrator, 2017
Casual conversations, S. Gelev, Four Hands – illustrator, 2016
Fantastic illustration, Designerbooks, Hong Kong – album, illustrator, 2016
What magic is hidden in the snow, J. Spiridonova, Kragozor – illustrator, 2015
Be my friend, J. Spiridonova, Kragozor – illustrator, 2015
The Tale of the Magic Flute, Mozart, Schikaneder, J. Spiridonova, Enthusiast – illustrator, 2013