Steve Forney is a freelance illustrator who has been drawing as long as he can remember. As a child, he would often ignore his mother's calls to come to dinner so that he could continue drawing. In 1991, he graduated with a B.A. in political science from the University of California, where he would often doodle in his notebook during his professors' lectures. Following graduation, he decided to pursue his artistic impulses and dove into freelance illustration.

Forney works both digitally and with an airbrush. Joseph Binder, A.M. Cassandre and Abram Games, who all used airbrush in their career, have been major influences on Forney's work. Some of his pieces pay homage to these 20th-century masters. Along with an interest in history and international events, Forney enjoys travel, which is a theme in many of his works. He lives in northern California.