We were lucky to catch up with Keith Alexander Lee recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Keith Alexander thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I would break down the practice of illustration into two parts. The technical part, and the idea generation part. For the technical part, there is schooling of course. I learnt a great deal from my professors and my peers during my time studying. A lot of it also has to do with practice. The thing about drawing is you can always get better. So I am a big advocate of daily warm ups and practices outside of work/school hours. For the idea generation part, I have the same answer, school definitely helps, but daily practice is what helps you to continue to improve. Working as a professional in the field, I have learnt that while creativity on demand does happen, but it should not be something you rely on. The Key to deliver work that is at your best at any point in time, is to always be prepared. As to what could I have done to speed up the process, there really isn’t too much speeding up that could be done. The beautiful thing about both the technical part and idea generation part of illustration are both skills that crystalizes through consistent practice over time. The only thing I would say is that I wish I started earlier, so I would’ve had a few more years of practicing under my belt.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a currently working as a conceptual illustrator. My work can been seen in editorial and advertising market. As an illustrator, I function as a visual problem solver for my clients. It is important to identify my clients’ key messages and create an illustration that best suit the tone and theme of said message. I find joy in adding my own twist of challenging normal conventions and have the audience look at the issue at hand from a different point of view together with me. If my illustration can have anyone go “hey that is really interesting!” that I would feel happy that I have done my job.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I think the most rewarding part of being an illustrator is being able to continue to create illustrations. To be fortunate enough to have the freedom to pursue this career and in turn create work that resonates with others. It is always reward to look back at earlier works of mine and see how I have improved both in my technical skills and in my conceptual thinking.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I think the most rewarding part of being an illustrator is being able to continue to create illustrations. To be fortunate enough to have the freedom to pursue this career and in turn create work that resonates with others. It is always reward to look back at earlier works of mine and see how I have improved both in my technical skills and in my conceptual thinking.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.keithleeillustration.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keithleeillustration
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithleeillustration/
- Other: https://www.salzmanart.com/keith-alexander-lee.html
Image Credits
Keith Lee Illustration