Rod Hunt is a London based Illustrator and artist who has built a reputation for retro tinged illustrations and detailed character filled landscapes for UK and international clients spanning publishing, design, advertising and new media, for everything from book covers to advertising campaigns, theme park maps and even the odd large scale installation too.
Rod is also the illustrator behind the book Where's Stig? for the BBC's hit TV show Top Gear. Where's Stig? was the UK's 4th bestselling hardback non fiction book of 2009 and 35th in books over all, selling in excess of a quarter of a million copies. The sequel Where’s Stig? The World Tour was released on September 30th, 2010.
Rod is also Chairman of the Association of Illustrators. The AOI was established in 1973 to advance and protect illustrator’s rights and encourage professional standards
Tell us about yourself. How did you get into illustration and design?
I was always a prolific drawer as a kid, but I never considered pursuing art as a potential career until I was 17, even though I was already making some money from my art by painting rock designs on peoples leather jackets. I was focused on a science route at the time, leading towards a career in biochemistry and horticulture. During my A-levels eventually the realization dawned on me I wasn’t enjoying science as a much as I should have and was spending most of my time drawing and in the school art department. My real passion was for art and after some soul searching I decided to change direction and apply to Art College. I did a one year foundation at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design, followed by an Illustration Degree at the Cambridge School of Art at Anglia Ruskin University.
Once I graduated I spent a couple of years working on my portfolio and trying to gain commissions, mostly from magazines and newspapers. I finally became a full time illustrator in 1996 after moving to London. This was pre-internet portfolio days, so being in London meant I could spend a lot of time having portfolio meetings with potential clients. My work was very different back then as I painted everything in acrylic paints with hogs hair brushes. In 2001 I completely abandoned mess and paint, and reinvented my work by taking the digital plunge and switching over to working in Adobe Illustrator.
Your illustrations are fairly complex. Can you walk us through your process? How do you begin? Do you work everything out on paper first or does it all evolve within the computer? We would love to see your tight pencil drawings for some of these intricate pieces.
I always start by doodling ideas and compos
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