Martin Handford

Martin Handford
Born	September 27, 1956 (age 69)
Where's Waldo? work	Illustrator and creator of Where's Waldo?
Sources

Martin Handford (b. September 27, 1956) is an English illustrator and the creator of the Where's Waldo? series, known for its highly detailed crowd scenes. As of 2025, his books have sold more than 86-million copies in over 33 languages.

“ I can't tell you how pleased I am that Waldo has taken on a life of his own. I'd like to inspire children—to open their minds to explore subjects more—to just be aware of what's going on around them. I'd like them to see wonder in places that might not have occurred to them. ”
—Martin Handford

Early life

Martin Handford was born in London on September 27, 1956, and grew up in Hampstead as an only child with his divorced mother. His earliest memories were playing with his toys. "My favorites," he said, "were my Teddy Bear, of course, my own toy train set, and the very many plastic toy figures which I arranged into crowds and armies."

Handford says he started drawing when he was five, often using crude stick figures to create crowd scenes on a single page.

As a child he enjoyed watching television comedies, going on walks and observing people, and regularly visiting the local cinema. Historical adventure films such as The Vikings, The Adventure of Robin Hood, El Cid, Zulu, and especially The Alamo deeply influenced him; he often returned home to draw scenes from these movies in meticulous detail.He also drew inspiration from his toy soldiers, which he frequently arranged.

After school, when most other children went outside to play games, Handford drew pictures. Handford stated, "I have always done pictures of crowds... miniature pictures with lots of activity, usually with a sense of humor."

"The Vikings" (age 8}

"Gettysburg, 1863" (age 9}

"Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves" (age 9)

"Tank Battle" (age 12)

Education

“ History lessons were my favorite, especially in primary school. It was here that my passion for nineteenth century American History was ignited. However, secondary school was not as enjoyable, and I worked more and more on my special interests at home to supplement anything I felt I was missing at school. Art college came as a release, and I thoroughly enjoyed both the studies and the social life. ”
—Martin Handford

Handford studied illustration at Maidstone College of Art for three years, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree and enjoying both the coursework and the social atmosphere.

Unlike his peers, Handford focused almost exclusively on densely populated illustrations rendered in fine detail using felt-tip pens. Despite encouragement from his teachers to experiment with other styles, he remained committed to this approach throughout his studies. His final-year exhibition reportedly drew unusually large crowds, attracted by the novelty and complexity of his work. One memorable piece depicted a packed scene at Lord’s Cricket Ground, complete with thousands of spectators and a tiny representation of the famous 1975 Test-match streaker—an inclusion noted for its humorous accuracy and level of detail.

While in college Handford was in punk band. Handford described the group by saying "we were quite obnoxious." In a 1990 interview, he stated that his biggest regret was not becoming a pop star, but admitted, “The thing was, every time we played, my role in the group diminished. The first concert, I was the lead singer. The second, I played bass. The third concert, we got a female lead singer in, and I was the backup singer to her. And at our last concert, I was the dancer — I wasn’t allowed to do anything musically."

Early career

The 1981 album cover for Magnets by The Vapors

Before becoming a full-time illustrator, Handford spent three years working as an insurance clerk. Outgoing and social as a teenager, he found the job enjoyable and valued feeling part of a team. Although unrelated to art, he later said the experience gave him confidence in making future career decisions. Around this time he took on freelance illustration work and specialized in crowd scenes, working with clients in media and advertising.

By the early 1980s, Handford was receiving professional illustration commissions and was in growing demand. While working in an advertising agency, a former classmate had the opportunity to commission him to create a Christmas card for the agency. Handford was asked to illustrate an amusing Oxford Street holiday scene and was given broad creative freedom. He delivered a highly unconventional and provocative crowd composition featuring irreverent portrayals of a crowd of Santa Clauses engaged in disorderly or outlandish behavior.

He created the album cover for The Vapors' 1981 album Magnets. It depicts an assassination scene close up, but from a distance looks like a human eye. The assassin can be seen on the roof at the top right of the album cover, putting away his sniper rifle.

The pivotal moment came in February 1985 when David Bennett, an art director at Walker Books,, noticed one of his illustrations and asked his to create a book of crowd scenes. For the project, Handford introduced a unique character simply as a linking device between scenes—"an afterthought," he later said. Unexpectedly, the character became the central attraction for fans.

"Military Squares" (1981)

"Catch the Streaker" (1982)

"Flasher at the Nudist camp" (1982)

"Clash of the Samari" (1983)

Creating Where's Waldo?

Martin Handford working on "Where's Waldo: The Musical" from 1993's Where's Waldo in Hollywood.

A director with the initials MH on his chair can be seen in the final scene of Where's Waldo in Hollywood. This could be Handford placing himself into his own book directing "Where's Waldo the Musical."

Each Waldo illustration would take Handford up to eight weeks to complete. He'd place Waldo only after the main composition was underway, choosing a location that feels like an ideal hiding spot. Handford describes his drawings as “full of both activity and entertainment,” and filled with visual humor and puns. Handford has said "My pictures are always humorous and usually set in far-off lands, so I hope readers understand that the scenes are not real and that no one is really getting hurt."

To create a scene, Handford would typically work from the upper left corner down and to the right, drawing sections with a pen outline and then filling them in with watercolor paints and a brush. Handford said he would usually start out with "a list of about twenty gags that I want to put in a picture, but more come to me as I am working."

“ Once I've decided on the subject my mind moves quite freely along a route of related ideas. For example, once I had decided to do an underwater scene, my thoughts went to fish, different colored fish, fish with different names that could be visual puns, like dogfish and catfish—then to other sea creature like crabs, sea lions, mermaids even. Then I considered the setting, including rocks, seaweed, and buried treasure. One thought leads to another, until I have enough ideas. ”
—Martin Handford

Handford would occasionally reference history books before starting a scene, but he says he has "a photographic memory for detail that interests me, like historical buildings, costumes, and such."

Handford told Where's Waldo? Magazine that his illustrations are "always humorous and usually set in far-off lands," adding that he hoped readers understood the scenes were not real and that "no one is really getting hurt." Although the books often use historical settings as backdrops, Handford emphasized that this does not imply ignorance of the real violence associated with those periods. "It doesn’t mean I'm oblivious to the actual savagery that a lot of mankind has been capable of," he explained, noting that he was brought up on the Tom & Jerry cartoon school, where the violence was never real.

His personal favorite Waldo illustration is "A Tremendous Song and Dance" from Where's Waldo in Hollywood.

Other works

Handford was one of several artists featured in the Little, Brown and Company nursery rhyme book "Tail Feathers from Mother Goose: The Opie Rhyme Book released in 1988. He illustrated the two-page spread for "Susianna" showcasing a crowded southern gala.

Handford contributed "Roody Hoster and his Sleepless Nights!" to the 2001 anthology book Little Lit: Strange Stories for Strange Kids. The spread featured the story of a boy who lives in a converted chimney stack filled with the interesting "lost things" that the crows brought him each night. In a Where's Waldo?-style search, the reader is invited to help find aliens, worms and his odd socks hidden in the picture. Woof—or the tail and hind end of a similarly red-and-white-striped dog—makes a cameao hidden within the scene.

Influences

Handford's childhood love of illustrated history books remained with him throughout adulthood. One of his lifelong favorites was The Golden History of the World illustrated by Cornelius Witt. In 1990, Handford received a letter and painting from Witt after publicly expressing admiration for his work—a moment Handford described as especially meaningful.

Other oft-cited inspirations include illustrated history books, especially those that pay great attention to military costumes and period detail. Handford said that he looked at "as many comics as possible" and also particularly like the educational magazines of the 1960s and early '70s. He was said to have an extensive comic book collection.

As a child Handford was obsessed with films like The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn and The Alamo with John Wayne. He has stated that they combined all the elements that excited him the most – "battles with enormous color and movement, and great heroism on the part of the main characters."

Handford would often work while listening to The Clash, The Bee Gees, or video tapes of Sergeant Bilko from the 1950s. "They really boost my morale," he would say.

Personal life

Martin Handford in 1989.

Handford reading an international variation of The Fantastic Journey in 1989.

“ I love the idea of an exciting journey that never ends, filled with color, energy and people smiling – what could be better? ”
—Martin Handford

Handford has been noted for his privacy and avoidance of photographs. He preferred working at night and rarely travels, saying his ideal vacation destination is "home." However Handford pushed back on press characterizations describing him as kind of nocturnal reclusive, saying "I'm not; I’ve got very good friends."

In 1992, it was reported that he lived in on a quiet street in Saint Albans, north of London with two Labradors named Bonny and Dougal. His modest home was described in 1990 as "a glorified art studio" and "very, very small". His drawing table filled the bedroom and relegated his bed to the living room. He stated in 1990, "I'm obsessed with it. If I'm not working on my pictures, I get very fidgety and bored. My friends always tell me to relax, take it easy."

In the early 1990s, he married an artist, Elizabeth, and they had a son and a daughter in the following years. By 1997, when the Where's Waldo? series celebrated it's 10th anniversary, Handford stated "at this moment, I'm not maniacally working as much as I used to because I have my family to attend to."

Handford sold the rights to Where's Waldo? to the Entertainment Rights Group, the world's largest independent owner of children's brands in 2007. He made £2.5-million (approximately $5-million USD) in this sale.

“ I feel really fortunate that something I've done is making other people happy. It may sound like a cliché, but that realization is one of the nicest things you can feel. ”
—Martin Handford

See also

Martin Handford's signature

• The World of Waldo: Meet Martin Handford (interview from Where's Waldo? Magazine)

External links

• Martin Handford on Wikipedia