TOBY WILLSMER
Tell us a little about yourself as an artist, how you got started, and a bit about your career so far.
I produce digitally painted 2D artwork that has a traditionally painted look and feel to it. I initially discovered digital painting when a friend of mine showed me a small A5 tablet he was using around 1999. I had a break for a few years between 2000-2007 when life got in the way. Then my wife bought me a cheap drawing tablet she found in a supermarket and after plugging it in, I fell back into wanting to make a go of art again.
I started digital painting for myself again in 2008, went full-time in 2019 and set about getting myself out there in the market as a freelance illustrator. Not easy, as anyone will tell you, but by then I had a solid, consistent style that people recognised when they saw it. I was doing commissions for people and selling my work as fine art prints when I heard of the Artstars Competition that 2000 AD were running. I went in for it with the Robo-hunter piece and won! Shortly after that I spoke to the editor of 2000 AD and showed him some work I had done. He liked it and offered me my first cover for 2000 AD. Since then I’ve continued to do cover artwork for 2000 AD and hopefully for many years to come.
Inspiration for me comes from many different sources, music is a huge one along with any raw energetic imagery regardless of genre and mountains! I live in New Zealand, so cool scenery and mountains are never far away. I listen to music a lot when I draw up ideas as it really gets the creative brain cells firing.
What’s your relationship to comics and 2000 AD specifically? Are there any key characters or stories that you feel epitomise what 2000 AD is all about?
My dad bought me my first comic in the mid ‘70s. It had the Hulk in it and I was blown away by the imagery at that young age. I’ve had a love of comic artwork ever since then.
2000 AD has always embraced the evolving visions for their characters and this is clear with each artist putting in their own stylistic
2000 AD embraces evolving visions for their characters… each artist puts in their own stylistic touches