The Art of Archer book excerpt shows how the characters came to be

After seven seasons, Archer basically has its formula down pat. Although the eponymous protagonist’s profession has swung back and forth between spy, cocaine dealer, and private detective, most episodes still feature him deploying his finely-honed killing skills in the service of adventure, without a care for who or what he hurts. But as Dey Street Books’ new book The Art of Archer demonstrates, Archer and the rest of the show’s characters went through several changes early in the development of the show.

Most of the Archer creative team (creator Adam Reed, art director Neal Holman, executive producer Matt Thompson) had previously worked together on Frisky Dingo, and maintained that show’s production method of using photographic references for characters. Using models, the team made gradual changes to each character until they arrived at the designs familiar to fans today. As Holman says in the book, “the odd thing is that no one person ‘designed’ Archer; we all worked on it, kicking the design back and forth around the house until Adam gave us the okay.”

The Art of Archer is on sale now. Check out an excerpt below.