Happy birthday to Itztli and happy international jaguar day!!
In honour of this, here's some of my pieces from my fabled final concept art-ish project for my shorter art course! :D
.
Starting off with a reference sheet, sort of, the left is his younger appearance I usually call Itzcoatl, where he worked more within politics than he does in later days.
Note that the feather part of the crown is pretty ceremonial, usually the emperor just wore the crown itself. There's no evidence, in fact, that Moctezuma ever wore the famed headdress that was given as a gift to the Spaniards. But I like feathers and so did they, so why not drip him out ;)
Pretty straightforward, otherwise, the 1400s is more accurate to what they actually wore irl but clothing trends change overtime - that's also something I wanted to show off specifically. (Also he got Tezcatified over the years as that religious psychosis hit him full force)
With his younger self, the following is some war planning! Including some Tezcat and Quetz artworks in the background redrawn with my designs of them c: the Tezcat is based on his new ref which I still haven't finalzed LMAO, but pshh. Some day
Including the military commanders of the empire; the Motelhuih, Tepehua and Atlixca, as their titles are! And an advisor Quecholcoatl sneak. War waits for no man and why not look pretty in his dancer outfit while being clever
The map is of Tenochtitlan and its surrounding cities, north is to the right. The piece that represents Tenochtitlan on the map is a carved version of the glyph of the city!
Playing around with some architecture... showcasing their canals and also the main temple area with the Templo Mayor. The trees are cypresses and some others which I can't recall the name of right now. They used trees to bind the earth in their chinampas and extend the surface area of the city, since they lived on an island in the middle of the lake! Even considering this is near the temple area and this was probably on land, it was still a swamp nonetheless. And trees are drippy
And some more sketches. Stuff. Itz with a baby jaguar, some temples, a Quetz sneak
And finally here's some of the initial sketches for the pieces ^^
And one that didn't make it cause of time and staying on theme but I might finish it some day c;
Some of my main research sources for anyone interested: Codex Borgia, Codex Florentine, Condex Mendoza, the site of Mexicolore, The Fifth Sun by Camilla Townsend
.
After this pitch is over I will finally be able to do some personal art again without a guilty conscience yay!! Been doing some 3d sculpting lately so you might maybe see some of that some day, who knows
Polar out!!
Fall Month: 1 
Day 
