Martin Handford (born 27 September 1956)[1][2] is a British children's author and illustrator from London who gained worldwide fame in the mid-1980s with his Where's Wally?

In 1986, Handford was asked by his art director at Walker Books to draw a character with peculiar features so that his pictures of crowds had a focal point.

[3] Wally is joined on most of his travels by his friend Wenda—who wears clothes with the same colours as Wally's—and by an evil character named Odlaw (Waldo spelled backwards) who dresses in yellow and black.

Handford has gained the reputation of being a methodical and diligent worker: sometimes it would take him up to eight weeks to draw one two-page sketch "Wally" and the characters surrounding him.

series of books was planned for filming in 2005 by Nickelodeon Movies but was cancelled due to a management change at Paramount Pictures.

[5] The style of art executed by Handford is an example of "Wimmelbilderbuch" drawings, originally popularised by Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Brueghel the Elder and Hans Jürgen Press.