World Cup 2026

Project

Personal

Description

Player portraits

Description

The FIFA World Cup provided the perfect opportunity to explore more faces. This series celebrates players from around the world whose skill, personality, and presence have shaped the modern game. This was a deeper dive into the power of line, limited texture (especially with the line drawings) and selective color (in some cases) this allowed me to focus on different methods of expression. I was always, "how can I express this player's energy?".

The full color portraits honored the players who were both established legends and a couple of younger stars (Mbappé and Vinícius Jr). These were the focal points of the main illustration. In my opinion, a given. Each portrait began with observational sketches and reference gathering before being refined digitally in Procreate. As the matches went on, I became addicted to all of the players and capturing their faces. Their intensity and strength. I couldn't seem to stop drawing. I kept going. Of course most of these portraits were created during each match, so the intensity was naturally infused. I hope it shows. The goal (or gooooOOOOoAAAaaaal) was to create a cohesive series that balanced immediacy with personality while allowing each player’s character to remain unmistakably their own.

At the time of this entry, the stage is set for a Spain v Argentina final. What a beautiful game. What a joy to witness.