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El Tlacuache y el Tigre

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Title translation: "The Opossum and the Tiger"

Detail shots!

My latest project for my Illustration 2 class; a two-page spread for a children's book. We could illustrate pretty much any myth/legend/folk tale for this assignment. I chose the Huichol legend of fire (couldn't find an English version, but here's a Google translation)
Note: Even though the legend explicitly says "tiger", it is important to know that when a tiger is mentioned in most Mesoamerican myths, they're really referring to a jaguar. (I blame it on European translators who, not yet knowing what a jaguar was, plugged in their own country's term for a jungle-dwelling big cat)

During the process, one of my classmates suggested I draw this in a "Mexican" art style (I assumed she meant the Aztec style). While it was a nice idea, the problem with most Mesoamerican styles is that they tend to be very angular and/or flat, and typically limited to profile views. Even so, I liked the idea enough to try a mix of a more cartoony style with some traits of the Aztec* style. I rather like the result :)
(*My primary reference was The Codex Nuttall, which is actually not Aztec but Mixtec. The styles are similar enough, though. I would've liked to have used a Huichol art style, but I'm not sure how well that would've worked.)

Edit: Now there's a cover!

Watercolor on coldpress paper, 18x~11-14

Artwork © Comixqueen 2012 (Me!)
Many thanks go to my sister, :iconnekonotaishou:, for helping me out with that jaguar snarl! Thanks sis! :hug:
Image size
1400x932px 2.11 MB
© 2012 - 2024 comixqueen
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Mexicankaiju's avatar
Escuchè de esa leyenda mientras averiguaba del Tlacuache y si habìa algun mito ò leyenda en la cultura mexicana de èste animàl. Y fue como encontrè acerca de èste cuento del Tlacuache que se robò el fuego para los humanos. En un sitio decìa que era una leyenda azteca, pero hace como un mès descubrì que la leyenda es de origen cora o Huichol, y decìa que el nombre del Tlacuache es Yaushu.

¡¡El dibujo que hiciste està bien padre!!:D (Big Grin) :D (Big Grin)