Illustration, Character Design, and Concept art is is a fun practice for me especially when inspiration strikes like lightning. I've also been able to do a bit of client work and it's additionally served as a helpful skill as I develop my comic.
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When Creating my own comic book universe, I draw inspiration from the Mythologies of indigenous Mexico and Central America. Many comic book/superhero "universes" have incorporated ancient European mythologies such as Greek, roman, and Norse, but you don't see much representation from the great societies of Maya, Aztec and more. The Aztecs and the Mayan were advanced technological civilizations, even though they are at times portrayed as stone-age brutes. TO highlight their technological prowess I chose an "Aztec-futuristic" approach to the fantasy world I've created.
I am a big marvel/comic book movie fan but it's not a secret that they've historically lacked in diversity. For this reason, if I get the urge to draw a hero from one of those movies/shows, I try to shine light on those of color.
The assignment below is a practice in character design for a friend of mine. His project is one that will incorporate basketball, a board game, and the blockchain. I don't know the full specifics but I was commissioned to design four "Anime meets NBA" characters. I was given creative freedom so of course, I took it a step further. I started where you might have guessed: with my obsession with pre-Hispanic cultures which have a ball game reminiscent of basketball and soccer which is played by using the hips to try to get a ball in a vertical hoop. From there I decided I'd create a different character from different points in time and space.
Sometimes when reading a book, I get inspiration to draw the characters as I see them in my minds eye. I was reading a book called 'Gods of Jade and Shadow' About an indigenous Mexican girl who finds herself on a quest with a dethroned Mayan god of death who is out to reclaim his position that has been stolen by his brother.
