Martin Handford spent much of his childhood drawing and his earliest influences were cinema epics and playing with toy soldiers. After art college, he began working as a freelance illustrator specialising in drawing crowd scenes for numerous clients. In the late 1980s Martin started working with Walker Books on a book containing crowd scenes. As the book progressed, Martin introduced the idea of searching for a character and Where’s Wally? was born!

Martin gathers his inspiration from a huge variety of sources; films, museums and art galleries, reading comics and books, and collecting ephemera and trivia. He is fascinated by crowds, and is attracted to their vibes, patterns and details – especially humour. “I love the idea of an exciting journey that never ends, filled with colour, energy and people smiling – what could be better?” he says.

For over 35 years, readers of all ages from around the world have been fascinated by the Where’s Wally? books and their unique, mesmerizing search-and-find fun.