Finished Commission!

I had a lot of fun creating this commission art piece.  My good friend Eddie Urueta contacted me and asked if I could create a Jaguar Aztec Warrior with peacock feathers all around it in my style.  I looked at the pictures that he sent and I got excited for the project.  

The first thing I had to figure out was the peacock feathers.  The client wanted the feathers not to be stringy or thin.  He wanted them fat and bold.  I agreed. I like creating recognizable things in a unique way.  The feathers have a nice design quality to it.  I like breaking out the thin pens to get those fine lines in the feathers.  I had to study peacock feathers for while to make sure I had all the features correct but I like the result. 

The next thing I had to figure out was the Jaguar.  It was really cool to look at all the different artistic takes on the Jaguar Aztec Helmet.  I was most inspired by wood carved masks.  They had such a unique look to them.  I used that as a guide with my own take to create the Jaguar.  I made the flower ear plates with Mayan symbols in the middle of them with long dramatic feathers.  

My client also requested for the Mayan calendar to be in the sugar skull.  There was not enough room to put the whole Mayan calendar in the skull so I only incorporated the main parts.  I used the face in the middle, some circles symbols, and the same color scheme.  

Once everything was inked in black I could start using color.  It was a little tricky incorporating all the colors but it all turned out great.  Prints available in the shop.