Kyle T. Webster’s name is synonymous with digital painting. This bold statement was true even before he joined the Adobe team in 2017 and released his custom brushes to every licensed user of Adobe Creative Cloud. The drop down menu of brushes in adobe applications now include his simulated media based brushes ( oh and his name ). These are the brushes that so many have used, purchased, and cherished for over 10 years; one million users, 1600 custom brushes.
How did he ever find the time to make so many? Why does anyone need 1600 brushes? The answer to both is easy….urgent necessity and endless curiosity. Drawing and painting is a fundamental need of humanity, for many it is the core of the creative process, a springboard for the ideation process and also the end of a tireless creative journey. For Kyle it is like breathing. Kyle has always been looking, observing, and searching for new ways to make and express his observations. As a student, he was always in the studio, not just the digital studio but in the life drawing, the painting studios, really every studio. He was searching for connections and opportunities to make and see more. He makes brushes because he needs them to make new marks and they thrill his creative adrenaline and spark new possibilities… endlessly.
He shared them with the world generously and humbly, often having free give aways along with bargain bundles for sale and downloading. One million users later, he had Adobe’s attention and had already found his way into the hearts and creative practices of many.
Kyle is now developing with Adobe a touch surface digital painting project named Gemini which integrates vector and pixel brushes and revolutionary live brushes that show real time blending and media interaction. Gemini was announced at the Adobe Max conference last month with Kyle T. Webster as the keynote performing a live demo of digital painting. It is to be released in 2019 and to use Kyle’ s words…its bananas!
His innovations have generated an ecosystem of digital brushes which inspire, inform, and sustain creatives from many disciplines. He has been invited to present to Pixar, IDEO, and the national AIGA where he was given the very prestigious Fellow award in 2017 which recognizes designers who have made a significant contribution to raising the standards of excellence in practice and conduct.
Conduct….. His recent illustrated children’s book, Please say Please, lays a beautiful foundation for inspiring considered conduct; something we are is desperate need of today. Kyle has consistently done this through his generosity and community engagement. Earlier today several students said, “ I love Kyle….he came to my high school and talked with us about careers in art and digital painting.” Kyle has always given to the people around him, his time, his energy, and his insights which are significant. He is a creative citizen par excellence! He is an Adobe Design Evangelist, an Illustrator Wizard, and a Design Gangsta!
Kyle Webster is everywhere. We see his work in grocery store on the beer aisle with the standout design work for Foothills IPA. His work can frequently be found in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Entertainment Weekly, Scholastic, Nike, IDEO, and many other distinguished editorial, advertising, publishing and institutional clients. He is on our phones with two top 50 mobile games, White Lines and Plates, which offer smart, addictive play, for a mere 99 cents each!
Moments like this, welcoming back an alumnus of distinction to share their work and accomplishments with our students today, is the cherry on top of all the hard work of teaching. I will always cherish the memory of arriving for class and seeing Kyle with his charismatic smile and sleep deprived eyes. The screening of his first animations which are now both classics, Sleepy Head and Auto Portrait, will stay with me and many others forever for their playful and intelligent portrayal of the human condition.
The first line in Kyle’s bio is < Kyle T. Webster was lucky enough to grow up overseas in Singapore, Cyprus, Pakistan, and Taiwan, where there was always something interesting to draw.> I would like to parallel this with UNCG is lucky to have Kyle as an alumnus and member of our creative community. His inventiveness and conduct is a credit to this institution and a challenge to all to believe in power of creative curiosity, generosity, and the benefits of best conduct. I know that his stellar career will continue to provide him with limitless interesting things to draw and I look forward seeing it all!
Congratulations Kyle T. Webster!
http://www.kyletwebster.com/about/