After appearing in comics, games and blockbuster films, the alien robots that convert into machinery, vehicles and more were set to become the latest iconic characters to feature on Royal Mail stamps.
Focusing on four of the most popular Autobot characters: Optimus Prime; Bumblebee; Grimlock and Arcee, each is depicted in battle against their main adversaries, the Decepticons. Working closely with the illustrators of the original comics Andrew Wildman, Stephen Baskerville and John-Paul Bove, new images were commissioned and produced in battling pairs - so you literally have to tear them apart.
One of the most fascinating and enjoyable parts of the stamp development was seeing how the three comic artists worked so brilliantly together, with Andrew first creating the pencil sketches, Stephen inking and John-Paul applying the final colour.
As a hidden added extra we included a UV reveal to the main stamps which when exposed featured the relevant faction’s symbol along with coded nameplates written in Cybertonian text.
With such a rich archive available to select from, and a particularly enthusiastic fan base, Royal Mail was keen to produce an extensive array of products. We were subsequently asked to design everything from a Dinobots miniature sheet featuring another unique and specially commissioned image, first day covers, presentation pack, prestige stamp books, collectors sheets, medal cover packs and fan sheets featuring classic comic covers.
