Bigheads: Kyle T Webster

• Kyle Webster grew up all over the world because his parents were travelling teachers, so from a young age he was very cultured, living in places such as Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan etc.
• His earliest memory of anything art-related was a Star Wars colouring book that he received back in the 70's.
• He has a background in graphic design work, but has been focusing on illustration since around 2003.
• HE IS VERY ADAPTABLE AND HAS A CERTAIN DRAWING CONFIDENCE, almost like the idea of having an alter-ego

• He is NOT a metaphor guy
• Custom brushes are his thing, he has over 120,000 custom brush customers!
• Although custom brushes are a digital tool, Webster stresses the importance of hand rendered techniques, stating that his brushes won't be good to anyone who doesn't know what the natural media feels like
  
  
  
  

• His advice with digital processes would be that the best results are produced by drawing with a large cintiq, as drawing must use the WHOLE ARM.
• Great illustration goes beyond the page
• His advice to uni students would be to pay attention to colour theory, as this is an integral part of an illustrators tool kit, and also gaining an understanding of contracts, rights and fair fees, as he feels as if he was taken advantage of.

Reflection

I was SO impressed by Kyle Webster, he came across as being such a hard working and genuine person who had such a respectful mannerism in relation to the illustrative trade. His relationship between analogue and digital processes is very well balanced, as he is highly aware of each of their values, and how they can be used in the best possible ways.

The one thing that I admire about Webster's work is his versatility.  To work in such a broad number of ways is something that isn't very common with professional illustrators, as they often want their style/tone of voice to be distinctive, therefore sticking to only a limited number of image making methods within their practice. I can see two sides of the argument here, having recognisable work is great for personal development and building a good client base, yet the ability to show a broader range of skills somehow speaks to me more. I feel having a versatile ability broadens your horizon in the way that you communicate with your audience, and that is not always possible and as effective with such restrictive ways of working.

As I am a keen experimenter, and haven't yet developed my own 'tone of voice' or specific 'style' in my work, the success of Webster massively reassures me, and has inspired me to keep trying out new ways to communicate and develop as a multi-skilled image maker.