shi-gu

[shi-gu]

Doodles

Capri and Donají won't really ever meet, as they're 500 years apart in time. I also think that Donají would be puzzled at why people like to eat ice. She is a big fan of ultra spicy food.

By the way, there's already a full illustration available you-know-where. It'll be posted in a couple weeks publicly, but if you want to see that, and other works earlier, you know where to go.

#codexblack #codicenegro #original characters #aztec #mesoamerica #donaji #zapotec #itzcacalotl #capri caramelo #doodles

[shi-gu]

How do the Mayan years work on the calendar?

I appreciate your comics showing it in the CE years as well but I'm curious how they work

I'm afraid I know close to nothing about the particularities of Maya cultures, let alone their calendar. As for the rest of Mesoamerica, although with variations from region to region, they had two calendars: A sacred-ritual one that lasted 260 days, and a solar one with 365 days, which works just like ours. These two calendars matched every 52 years, which was considered a very special happening and some people dub that 52-year period as the "indigenous century." There's intense debate about the calendar, and whether it adjusted to take into account leap years or not, and it is a VERY complex topic to which many researchers dedicate their lives, so I can't claim to know the exact answers. Maybe your question was related to the naming convention though. The sacred calendar uses a system of 13 numbers + 20 day signs, with a total of 260 possible combinations (hence its duration). So for example, you start the year with day 1-Crocodile, then 2-Wind, 3-House, and so on. After number 13, the count goes back to 1 but with the 14th day sign: 1-Jaguar. From these 20 day signs, 4 were used for the years: House, Rabbit, Reed, and Flint, and also used 13 numbers. So you have a succession of years like 1-House, 2-Rabbit, 3-Reed, 4-Flint, 5-House [...] 13-House, 1-Rabbit, and so on. This count will only reset after 52 years when the cycle restarts.

Here's the 20 day signs (these are those used in Mixtec and Nahua calendars, but other groups like the Maya and Zapotec had different signs, although the calendars were all synchronized):

[shi-gu]

A collection of gentlemen with dubious pretensions.

I made these designs prior to the miniCodex of the other day. Some had already appeared, but others are completely new characters.

This is the last thing I post about Béelia's suitors for a good while. Next thing will be more along my usual work haha

#codexblack #codicenegro #aztec #mesoamerica #original characters #zapotec #suitors #Béelia

[shi-gu]

lo siento si has contestado este en otro lugar, pero ¿cuál idioma imaginas que hablen Donají y Itzcacalotl? ¿tenía mesoamerica una lengua franca?

Ya me habían hecho la pregunta antes por acá, pero es una buena oportunidad para contestar en español. En esa época, el náhuatl era la lingua franca usada en buena parte de Mesoamérica, pero su uso muy probablemente estaba limitado a las élites y a los comerciantes y aún así en la mayoría de los casos más bien se usaban intérpretes, por lo que es muy poco probable (o de plano imposible) que una campesina como Donají lo hablara. De todos modos, parto de la idea de que sí lo hablan todos, sólo para simplificar las cosas, porque más adelante aparecerán personajes de otras culturas con lenguas distintas y el problema de la comunicación hubiera complicado las cosas más de lo necesario, cuando ese no es uno de los temas en los que quiero centrar la trama. Siempre digo que pueden contar Códice Negro como uno de esos casos donde todo el mundo y hasta los marcianos hablan el mismo idioma y a nadie le parece raro. No es lo más realista/apegado a la historia, pero es de esas libertades que se pueden tomar en la ficción.

#codexblack #codicenegro

[shi-gu]

so béelia is ur all time favorite milf huh? 🤣

No, no, I have no idea what you're talking about. It's all just pure and wholesome appreciation of fashion.

#Béelia #only pure thoughts

[shi-gu]

There's this dress trending around, and through someone's suggestion I sketched this for fun and giggles. I didn't plan on posting it anywhere, but a friend convinced me of doing it, so here it is.

#dress trend #Béelia #rough sketch #original character

[shi-gu]

A bit more about Donají's family, and the situation with Béelia and her swarm of suitors (this is set a few years prior to Codex Black).

#codexblack #codicenegro #donaji #béelia #aztec #mesoamerica #zapotec #original characters #mini comic

[shi-gu]

A meme I saw around on Twitter. I haven't made any efforts to change my style for a long time to be honest.

#art style #timeline #original characters

[shi-gu]

A quick sketch of Béelia at ages 15, 18, and 35. Drew these for a miniCodex I'm going to post next week.

#codexblack #codicenegro #Béelia #aztec #mesoamerica #zapotec #original character #sketches #age progression

[shi-gu]

This is lovely, thank you so much!!!

El cuervo común (Corvus Corax) es común en casi todo México, incluido la mayoría de Oaxaca, pero me parece genial que hayas dibujado una de las pocas especies endémicas de cuervo de México. Sí, los primeros libros ocurren en Oaxaca, aunque más adelante la historia continuará en otras regiones.

Fanart of Itzcacalotl for @shi-gu's graphic novel Codex Black! Very inspiring!

Me encantaron todos los Mexicanismos en el comic, en especial la apariencia de Coyolxauhqui despedazada usado como comedia, ¡me morí a carcajadas!

Donají es fantástica, pero no me puedes mostrar un chamaco con alas sin que lo dibuje. Le di un cuervo sinaloense de amigo porque parece ser la única especie de cuervo que vive cerca de Oaxaca, donde me parece que es la aventura. Ojalá adiviné correctamente.

¡Me muero por leer el segundo libro!

#codex black #fanart #Thank you so much!

[shi-gu]

"Dark Donají"

A brainwashed, evil adult Donají, from a Codex Black fanfic that a close friend is writing. Obviously not canon haha

This is a March reward release!

#codexblack #codicenegro #donaji #original character #aztec #mesoamerica #adult version #brainwashed #not canon #patreon reward

[shi-gu]

A few people have noted an absence of men or elderly in Donají's family. Aside from Donají's missing father, her grandparents, along Bio' and Yela's father, died before she was born. Here's Donají's (spoiler-free) family tree.

March 21st is Donají's birthday!

I had wanted to do a family portrait for a long time. From left to right:

Béelia (Donají's mother).

Donají herself.

Yela (Cousin).

Gueela (Aunt)

Bio' (Eldest cousin).

Also a February reward release!

Some people may be seeing Gueela for the first time. She's Béelia's older sister, and has a very frail health so she doesn't go out often. She's the mother of Bio' and Yela.

[shi-gu]

March 21st is Donají's birthday!

I had wanted to do a family portrait for a long time. From left to right:

Béelia (Donají's mother).

Donají herself.

Yela (Cousin).

Gueela (Aunt)

Bio' (Eldest cousin).

Also a February reward release!

Some people may be seeing Gueela for the first time. She's Béelia's older sister, and has a very frail health so she doesn't go out often. She's the mother of Bio' and Yela.

#codexblack #codicenegro #donaji #original character #béelia #yela #gueela #bio' #aztec #mesoamerica #zapotec #oaxaca

[shi-gu]

Today she chose violence.

#CodexBlack #codicenegro #donaji #pencil sketch #WIP

[shi-gu]

Alternate outfit for Itzcacalotl.

I liked the idea of giving him a gauze/transparent tilmatli. Also, he's not wearing his usual headdress, but I want his red feather to be present in all outfits, so I tied it to his necklace as a ribbon, in the same fashion as the depictions of ehecacozcatl and anahuatl ornaments in codices.

A February reward release!

#codexblack #codicenegro #aztec #original character #itzcacalotl #gauze #tilmatli #ehecacozcatl #character design #mesoamerica

[shi-gu]

Donají, poncho vs quechquemitl

Did this for Codex Black's book 2. Donají's iconic garment is actually a quechquemitl, but I explain there why I use the word "poncho" instead.

This was a February P*treon reward!

The quechquemitl is the traditional one from the Huastec region, where this garment is believed to have originated. Meanwhile, the poncho is based on the traditional one from Cuzco, Perú.

#codexblack #codicenegro #donaji #original character #aztec #mesoamerica #huastec #peruvian #poncho #quezqueme #quesqueme #quexquemitl #quechquemitl

[shi-gu]

It's Miku Day!

#miku day #初音ミク #hatsune miku #fan art