Light Children : Andy Horner & Kyle T. Webster

Light Children is the creation of Andy Horner and Kyle T. Webster. Ten years after a chance visit to a roadside tourist stop inspired Andy to create the Light Children, the work of Andy and Kyle is soon to be revealed as a beautiful graphic novel.

The story follows the children at the Westover Lake Orphanage as they discover the world and where they fit. Andy and Kyle recently took time from their publishing preparation to talk to us about their creative process and the upcoming graphic novel.

BEN: You mention on the Light Children site that the novel has taken ten years to realize. Could you both talk about the challenges of maintaining momentum on a long term project? How do you draw and sustain creative impulses?

Andy: Our challenge has never been maintaining a creative impulse as much as it is finding time to keep momentum going. Now that we understand the visuals of the world and have the story mapped out it's much easier to say, "OK, here's what we need to finish next."

Kyle: Once I knew the entire arc of the fantastic story, I couldn't stand the idea of it never being published.  So, now I simply have to work on it until it's done!  The story is just too fresh and the characters are too interesting for the work to remain unfinished.

BEN: Andy, you mention the story coming to you in a wave after a chance visit. Did the rest of the story come to you intuitively or did you find yourself working through plot and character development in more traditional ways?

Andy: Developing the sprawling Light Children story has been what I imagine unearthing an archaeology site is like. It's all there. I just have to slowly brush away the dust until it's revealed. I write nothing down. The work is done in my memory–every detail, plot point, and name, until I write and thumbnail out a chapter. When I'm developing the story I call up the "site" in my head and continue brushing. To my wife, it appears as though I'm staring at the wall. I prefer it this way as opposed to writing it all out because it remains fluid, always moving closer to what it wants to be as it "reveals" itself.

BEN: Kyle, could you describe your process for creating the visual side of this work? Do you see your work as a kind of visual translation or as a co-authorship?

Kyle: I draw sketches in black and white that are very loose (blobs, really) and then do a refined black and white sketch.  I then ink a page in about 4-6 hours and coloring takes an additional 2-3 hours.  Adding the words and word bubbles takes a surprisingly long time because of concerns for page design and the best legibility and timing.  I have studied the figure and attended life drawing sessions for the better part of 12 years now, so I am fortunately able to invent 90% of the faces and bodies in the art without using reference.  Now and then, I'll use my own hands or a quick photo for reference in a particularly tough shot.  Andy provides great reference sketches for the buildings and environment.

BEN: The Light Children website is a beautiful, very well designed site. What made you choose to go with a site, posting chapters as a promotional device? How do you think the site is performing?

Kyle: We both knew that the best (virtually) free advertising available comes in the form of a website.  Having a space for our product that is accessible to anybody in the world with access to the internet is the only way to go in this competitive marketplace.  We tried to keep the site simple and easy to use, with enough character to reflect a little of the unique world that we are creating.  It certainly helps that both of us have several years of experience from former jobs as interactive designers!

BEN: What was the process of bringing a book to press like for you? What were the most valuable lessons you feel you learned?

Andy: Our first book will be printed late May 2008. What stands out to me are the innumerable questions to answer. How many pages will the entire book be? Where do we display our ISBN number as a barcode? What kind of finish, like UV coating, do we want? Which application is the best to add our text and word bubbles? What will the price be? What will our margin be? What quantity should we print? What will our multiple-book design system look like across the set? How do we get on distributor lists and into stores? It's the rude awakening of self-publishing. Key lesson: Get something done every day, no matter how little.

BEN: Where do you think Light Children fits into the current world of graphic novels out there?

Andy: It's hard to compare Light Children to other works. A friend described it once as Lord of the Rings meets LOST. As careful as I am not to compare, that's not bad, because Light Children is classic epic fantasy, which is rare on the graphic novel shelves. Fantasy works are typically introduced as prose. I can say this–If you enjoy visiting Narnia, Middle Earth, and Hogwarts, you will love the world of Light Children.

BEN: Are there any developments or information you'd like to share with our readers?

Kyle & Andy: This is really the cat being let out of the bag, because we won't officially announce this until our next newsletter. We will unveil the first book at Heroes Convention 2008, this June, in Charlotte, NC.