Vector illustration is a series of lines, shapes and paths created in Adobe Illustrator. Working as a vector allows for easy scalability, although i normally work to A4 size or sometimes A3.
Illustrator allows me to stylise the characters and initially change my layouts at a later stage if i so wish, by using layers to organise my work. It takes great patience to produce these characters, an example of the Tenth Doctor is below, it has thousands and thousands of lines!
For as long as I can remember I’ve loved Doctor Who - from the sense of adventure,
the wonderfully diverse traits of each Doctor to the fantastical array of enemies
and cultures.
Two years ago, while working as a graphic designer and web designer, I developed
the concept of Kasterborous, an online magazine of articles fused with artwork -
an attempt to provide Doctor Who online content in a way that so far had not been
attempted.
In those early days my computer illustrator skills were still in their infancy; earlier I
had been a keen user of oils and acrylics before graphic design took over my life
and lead the inevitable move into the world of computers.
As my enthusiasm waned after a year of constantly illustrating for Kasterborous,
I developed a love for a style of work that seems to have been lost to the past, and
set about refining and improving my work, quality over quantity. Inspired by the likes
of masters such as Chris Achilleos and Alan Willow and their Target book cover art
of the 1970s and the wonderful illustrations of Frank Bellamy whose work for the
Radio Times is still some of the best I have ever seen, I set about to try and rekindle
the lost spirit of what made that art seem so timeless in the first place.
In an age where photographic design is at the forefront of the Doctor
Who franchise I felt I had an opportunity to continue a long standing tradition of that
yesteryear, a tradition maintained by some fabulous artists over the years, artists I
would like to thank and acknowledge, for inspiration, guidance and critique.
From the graphically strong compositions of the highly detailed work of Alister
Pearson, the iconic illustrations of Andrew Skilleter and the inspiring work of the likes
of Daryl Joyce, Pete Wallbank, Peter McKinstry, Lee Sullivan and Chris Achilleos, a
big thanks goes out to you all, without which this site and indeed my illustration
would not be here to view now.
A big thank you also goes out to Stuart Crouch of Peacock Design, who gave me the
opportunity to work officially on 'Who'. And to Christian Cawley and Brain Terranova
for your longstanding support and Ed Ford for his developing instinct!. Bless ya!
And finally to my fiance Jen, who puts up with it all.
So please enjoy my humble slice of Doctor Who.
Anthony Dry
December 2006