Artesania
So today I did my own research on Mexican culture. I learned that utilitarian Mexican arts like pots, ceramics, jewelry, etc. are called “artesania” and that it is a blend between the Native and Spanish cultures.
Today I decided to make another coin celebrating artesania. I tried using bright, almost neon, colors with an abstract mascot. For the mascot of the coin, I went with my favorite Mexican Bigfoot, the Chupacabra, or Goat Sucker.
I had always thought that the Chupacabra had been a legend for centuries but I found out today that it only was created in the nineties. In 1995, some farmers found their goats’ blood sucked right out and an urban legend was soon born. It has been “sighted” all across the Americas as far north as Maine and as far south as Chile. It’s suppose to be a mix between dog, reptile, bat, kangaroo, and demon. What it is, if anything, no one really knows.
At first, the upper right region of the coin (1 o-clock – 3 o-clock) was playing tricks on my eyes. At first I thought the portion of the coin on the inside of the blue band had a section of “teeth” or something that was obstructing our view of the demon/bat/reptile thing :D. But then after blinking or adjusting my eyes I realized that the chuapcabra has spines coming from the neck. If I may, I would suggest reworking the spines, perhaps making them a bit shorter and bend back or downwards a bit, maybe even making them more pointy like the claws. Also have blue collar stripe end between two of the spines. OR I was thinking it would be neat to have him a little larger (just scaled up), get rid of the spines on the neck, and actually have “teeth” that go all the way around the coin, so that we see his body behind the teeth at the bottom and his head in-front of the teeth at the top, like he is peaking his head through a hole in a fence he just broke and was about to go suck some goats! What do you think? I saw a tattoo once that looked like a demon was clawing its way out of someones side – I really liked it :D.
PS. Good to see you at Yogurtland