Piers Baker


Piers Hans-Peter Baker is a British cartoonist best known for his comic strip Ollie and Quentin, distributed by King Features Syndicate, about the curious activities of a seagull and a lugworm.

Early life and education

The eldest of five children, Baker was a student in Surrey and Somerset. During a year of volunteer work in Egypt, he survived a plane crash. Back in the UK, he began studying at the Epsom School of Art. After he accidentally left his artwork on a train, he chose to leave college and instead seek employment.
He is the son of actor Tom Baker.

Design and illustration

He began his career as the junior member of a small advertising agency where he developed his graphic design skills and eventually launched his own graphic design firm, specialising in food packaging illustration and design. As he recalled, "In the years following, I helped run a small design agency where my specialty was designing ice lolly wrappers for . Much of my work can still be seen in trash cans around the UK and Europe. In 2000, I decided to pursue my lifelong ambition of becoming a cartoon illustrator and worked as an illustrator of children’s schoolbooks."

Comic strips

In 2002, he created Ollie and Quentin for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Four years later, it was selected by for international distribution beginning January 7. 2008. Interviewed by Janine Pineo for the Bangor Daily News, Baker explained the strip's development:
His strips were collected in the book Ollie and Quentin, published December 2011.
Ollie and Quentin can also be seen on

Whiteboard Animation

Baker is a leading whiteboard animation artist and currently runs .

Personal life

Standing six-feet-six inches tall, Baker was a champion 400m runner in his youth. He lives and works in Manchester.