Personal Project

Loosely based on prehispanic myth. I chose the names Balam & Tezcatlipoca because both were associated with jaguars in Mayan & Aztec myth. The temples and the beach are also loosely based on Mayan temples, and the Tulum coast.

I tried to adapt a style similar to Boris Vallejo's oil paintings while still keeping my own style of drawing. Once again, the clouds and waves are a tribute to Hokusai, although I'm not entirely sure if I managed to capture his work using this style. He's one of the greatest artists to ever live.

It's the first time I try to take a more realistic approach. It's not perfect but I'm happy with what I have managed to do so far. I will definitely do something like this again.

Listening to music helps me set up a good mood and a good work flow. This time I listened to two songs particularly often, First Nations Flute Player and Caifanes - Afuera. After minute 2:50 in Caifanes - Afuera, the lead guitarist plays an interlude that has some prehispanic tune. It's pure genius and kicks ass! Although today I listened to mixes like this one.

His face is loosely inspired by Jason Momoa. I'm a fan. She was more freely drawn. I decided to give her a black jaguar fur, since only female jaguars have that pigmentation. The feathers are also chosen differently. It's not only color choices, in future projects I will expand on the whole mythology I'm creating.

As I added the details, I tried to think of what kind of accessories would they wear. I added some seashells and a fang / claw necklace. The face painting goes completely across his face, while hers is only on the area around the eyes.

I based the engravings in the gold jewelry on the Mayan codex symbols. It's not a direct copy, since this is not meant to be Mayan. The symbols next to the Jaguar are meant to represent the moon (left) and the sun (right).

A little feathered hatchling. A creature inspired by the Quetzalcoatl myth as well as dragons. The original Quetzalcoatl already looks like an oriental dragon, so I decided to give it a twist of my own. I will probably make another drawing focused on this creature.

The temples are also inspired by Mayan architecture. Once again, they are not direct copies of any archaeological site, but a mixture of elements used in different sites. The jaguar heads on the cliffs are a fantasy addition, carved by the gods themselves. The closest to this in real life is Tulum, Mexico, which has very unique architecture and is right on the Mexican Caribbean coast. I recommend you to visit it.