I have another SHAED related updated for y'all this evening. :3
First up is my latest drawing of our protagonist Max, and a little bit more information about him.
Max doesn't like his "monstrous" appearance; this stems from a girl he has a crush on, Sparrow, rejecting him on account of him not being human enough for her, despite the fact they've been friends for a very long time (she herself is not a Normie, either, but she does appear mostly human, unlike Max). Romance is far from the focus of this story, but as Max is an angst-ridden teenager, Sparrow's treatment of him greatly influences his actions from that point on and this, in turn, eventually leads the teen into the depths of the Civil War that threatens to tear Pleasant City apart. He (and others) blames himself for some of the bad things that are happening, and becomes rather isolated and angry. The above image captures his inner struggles so well that I'm using it for my tentative book cover!
[spoiler=tentative cover]Please note that everything about the cover (including the title) is not finalized and is subject to change, whether minimally or drastically. (Some editing will need done, as for one thing his neck looks too long, but how much will be done remains to be seen. When it's time for the final cover, it may be something completely different.) The cover itself is entirely made by myself; the background is actually a photo I took that has been edited to fit the style, and the whole thing is meant to give off a comic book vibe as comics were a major influence in the creation of the entire SHAED universe. If all goes well, Silent Soliloquy (working title) will not be the only SHAED novel that I actually release. If you're wondering, the city in the photo is actually Helsinki, Finland.
And the final update is a concept sketch of a character I haven't introduced yet. Say hello to Madame Juliette!
She is a very spiritual old Normie, who has gone blind in her old age. She wears a pendant engraved with a fierce gargoyle and takes on a motherly/mentor type role for Max. She's very important to the story in quite a few ways, but most notably in that she teaches Max to find his own path and helps him to figure out who he truly is and what he should do. I think that's about all I can say about her for now, sadly!
(besides, did you add some effect to it or is it the brush you used? I like it :3)
