Here’s a portrait of our hero, Max. It was trickier than you might imagine putting Max’s image on paper in such detail. After all, when you picture Elvis, do you picture “early Elvis” (e.g., young, skinny, iconoclast) or “late Elvis” (living legend, well fed, sequin jumpsuits….)?!?

By the end of The Fiend and the Forge, Max is no longer the young boy who rode a train in Chicago. Instead of an innocent twelve, Max is now a battle hardened sixteen or seventeen-year old who has seen more than most. I wanted to portray him at this stage as it’s a more interesting phase to tackle by way of the eyes, posture, expression, etc. You can judge for yourself whether the portrait captures Max’s essence, but I will say the process of creating these little character snapshots has been an interesting exercise as it’s forced me to think deeply about each in turn…

I’ll be posting more soon, so check back now and again. Just a few short months until Fiend is released…can’t wait!