Alan Baker

Training When studying zoology didn’t pan out for Alan – he found himself drawing instead – he switched to illustration, and took a degree at what is now the University of Brighton. He graduated in 1976 and has been an illustrator ever since. Approach Some of Alan’s earliest memories involve colour, and how different shades react to the lighting conditions. Today, he works up his compositions on screen using Photoshop, then hand paints the various elements of the image, layering them together digitally at the end of the process. Style Though his subject matter is often fantastical, there’s a canny realism and high level of detail in Alan’s work. Skin, hair, fur and feathers are all deftly recreated whether they belong to a dragon or a dormouse. Awards Whitbread Award 1979 Benson & Hedges Illustration Awards Gold 1984 Creative Circle Awards 1990 Gold and Silver in Press Advertising YES Award of Excellence 1992 Children's Choices Award 1995 Children's Choices Award 1996