Under, the pair inform us how they designed 5 characters from Maya and the Three, specializing in the dazzling costumes — one of many present’s most eye-catching parts. Their feedback are accompanied by growth art work.
Maya in Coronation Costume
Jorge Gutiérrez: For this loopy gown we checked out Mexico’s “nationwide costumes” through the years for the Miss Universe pageant, that are generally ridiculously excessive. Mexico has received 3 times! The headdress was impressed by Montezuma’s headdress, who was the Aztec emperor on the time of the Spanish conquest. This isn’t an outfit that displays Maya’s character in any respect so we pushed that concept.
Sandra Equihua: This scene is Maya’s coronation in addition to a tip of the hat to conventional quinceañeras, that are consultant of a transition in a younger woman’s life from childhood to maturity. The place attire used to solely be white for quinceañeras, these days they go to extremes to be distinctive and indulgent in coloration or design. However as a typical rule, they’re often humongous. We needed to take this concept and go loopy with it!
King Teca
Gutiérrez: I needed this unhealthy hombre to appear to be a loopy Aztec tank! I used to be very impressed by the normal Aztec Eagle Warrior sculptures I noticed on the Templo Mayor and Museo Nacional de Antropología in my hometown of Mexico Metropolis. And the epic Eagle Warrior work of Jorge González Camarena, particularly El abrazo and La fusión de dos culturas. I used to be additionally impressed by a design I noticed on the facet of a taco truck after an evening of tequilas in Tijuana!
Gutiérrez: [When drawing inspiration from traditional Mesoamerican designs,] we had been at all times tremendous respectful and did a ton of analysis. We additionally studied trendy reinterpretations in Mexican tattoos, city murals, and widespread tradition in Mexico. Since we’re each Mexican (and mestizos, that means blended blood) we actually allowed ourselves to be magical, whimsical, and experimental. I consider artists will at all times assist tradition evolve and that is our private fantasy reinterpretation of those worlds.
Barbarian Princess
Equihua: We determined to make use of heat colours and patterns paying homage to varied textiles and symbols present in historic Incan tradition. The symbolism of the pumas may be very particular to our magical world.
Her father, the Barbarian King (designed by Jorge), is a towering hulking mass, so I believed utilizing a slender design for the Barbarian Princess could be perfect to make him look much more intimidating (which is sort of humorous, as a result of he’s very childlike in lots of facets, however will nonetheless chop your head off if indignant!).
Gutiérrez: [As the designs transition to 3d models, the costumes are tweaked] a lot lower than you suppose! I love to design characters and don’t have a director or producer above telling me to simplify! Sandra’s superbly graphic character designs are typically extra streamlined and my largest notice is at all times, “I need extra loopy please!”
Time and cash are the actual limitation: we needed to decrease the quantity of arms, hair, and material to remain on funds. Earlier than I began at Netflix, I employed Esteban Pedrozo (in Paraguay) to do ZBrush variations of the characters of Maya and “the Three” (Rico, Chimi, and Picchu) to promote what they’d appear to be to everybody. And the ultimate manufacturing variations performed by the good crew at Tangent Animation had been extraordinarily near that.
Chimi
Gutiérrez: Since “the Three” are impressed by the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Lion from The Wizard of Oz, Chimi is form of the Tinwoman. This kingdom worships Girl Micte, a fantasy goddess of loss of life, and Chimi is her largest fan. Chimi was born with Albinism (and was outcast for this) so she paints herself in a different way than everybody else.
Equihua: Chimi’s design was conceived to create a distinction with Maya’s stature. Whereas Maya is petite and curvy (like her membership), Chimi is lengthy and svelte (like her arrows). There’s an magnificence to her persona whereas Maya’s design creates a juxtaposition to Chimi along with her stout legs and the way in which she strikes.
Lord Mictlan
Gutiérrez: I figured I might solely get one likelihood in my life to design my very own fantasy model of a Mesoamerican god of struggle, so I needed to go all out and be a bit steel. The 2 cranium heads characterize the concept that struggle is about two endlessly opposing forces.
Gutiérrez: I referenced the traditional photographs of each Huitzilopochtli (Aztec god of struggle) and Ek Chuaj (Mayan god of struggle, human sacrifice, and violent loss of life!). Additionally the Skeletor work from the He-Man Nineteen Eighties toy containers, Lord Humongous (from Mad Max 2: The Highway Warrior), La Parka (a skull-themed masked luchador), and Thulsa Doom (from Conan the Barbarian).
