Not too long ago, there was some twitter drama about cultural appropriation, so I figured I'd throw my hat in the ring.
"Cultural appropriation" is a ridiculous term coined by individuals gatekeeping entire cultures and trying to separate people from each other. They usually do not represent the views of the cultures they say they're trying to protect, and the only thing they accomplish is preventing the natural spread of those cultures... because that's indeed how cultures spread and gain influence: We humans have always looked out into the world found cool stuff that other people have made, and immersed ourselves in them. Our modern day cultures are a hodgepodge of things that have come before, and nobody "owns" a particular style of clothing, hair, or art.

Anyway, so, even if this idea was a tongue-in-cheek jab at that drama, I didn't set out to push people's buttons with the art itself. "Cultural appropriation" is, if anything, a way of honoring those cultures, and that's what I set out to do here: I don't know a ton about Aztec culture, but damn if those jaguar warriors aren't cool! I did my best to capture that.

I always try to push myself somewhere new with my drawings, and this time, I think the emphasis was on shading metallic colors like gold, as well as making light patterns on his body from the sun filtering through the canopy. The latter in particular was an interesting challenge and I thought it turned out really well!