London based Illustrator and Cambridge School of Art graduate Rod Hunt featured prominently in the book charts over Christmas with the book he illustrated for the BBC Top Gear production team. The hugely popular Where's Stig? enjoyed chart-topping success - including a listing as Book of the Week in Bookseller magazine, a No. 1 slot in the Sunday Times bestsellers list and No. 6 in the overall UK chart.

The programme's presenters, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, have been worth £44m to UK book retailers over the past five years, but this time it was their mystery resident racing driver that took centre stage. The Where's Wally?-style book, which sets out a hunt for the white overall-wearing driver, was one of the best-selling hardbacks in the run-up to Christmas, with sales figures in excess of 175,000 - over double that of Jeremy Clarkson's recent release Driven to Distraction.

Rod Hunt has built a reputation for retro-tinged illustrations and detailed character-filled landscapes for everything from book covers to advertising campaigns and some large scale installations as well. Most notably he illustrated the cover of Change The World 9 To 5, the best selling environmental book by We Are What We Do, and various theme park maps, including one for Chessington World of Adventure.

Now a freelance illustrator, Rod graduated with a BA (Hons) in Illustration from the Cambridge School of Art. It took him two years to build up a portfolio to work as a full-time artist and, in 1996, he set up his own business with support from the Princes Trust, his local Training and Enterprise Board and the Association of Illustrators. He has worked as a full-time illustrator ever since.

Asked about his time at Cambridge School of Art, Rod said:

"Back in my university days I painted all my work in acrylic paint using hog's hair brushes. It was at Cambridge School of Art that I had the time to develop my skills, thought processes and had the space to experiment. In 2001 I reinvented my work and moved to working digitally. It is probably the best thing I ever did. I went to my clients and told them I had gone digital, so they asked me to send them a couple of samples, which they all liked it. There was no resistance really, and it has opened many new doors in my career.

"Unless you keep progressing your work things can get a bit stale, and I think it's very important to indulge your personal interests in your work and create your own unique voice, as that is what will set you apart from everyone else."


For more information please visit Rod Hunt's website.

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