Mohawk country protoharmens

Early on in the development of what would become Journey into Mohawk Country I had not yet even decided what style I would be drawing the book in, let alone the appearance of the main characters. This is a sampling of the very earliest drawings of the character of Harmen van den Bogaert, the author of the actual journal that serves as Mohawk Country’s text. Harmen looks much more “realistic” here than in his final evolved stage (and more than a little comic-booky). This reveals my own initial conceptions of the book as a drier observation on the customs of the Mohawk, with the three Dutchmen regulated to largely observational roles. As I drew the characters over and over, however, personalities began to form, personalities which would help dictate the final story as it was presented in the graphic novel.