Quentin Blake was born in London in 1932 and has drawn ever since he can remember. He went to Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School, followed by National Service. Then he studied English at Downing College, Cambridge, going on to do a postgraduate teaching diploma at the University of London, followed by life-classes at Chelsea Art School. He has always made his living as an illustrator, as well as teaching for over twenty years at the Royal College of Art, where he was head of the Illustration department from 1978 to 1986. His first drawings were published in Punch while he was 16. He continued to draw for Punch, The Spectator and other magazines over many years. He is known for his collaboration with writers such as Russell Hoban, Joan Aiken, John Yeoman and, most famously, Roald Dahl.