One of the most important Aztec gods in my Godlings comic, Tezcatlipoca.  His name translates directly as "Smoking Mirror", a feature of his design.  The original illustrations of this god are extremely difficult to interpret, so in my version, the black (obsidian) smoking mirror is on top of his head.  In actual Aztec mythology, he was associated with the jaguar, so I gave him jaguar tattoos, and in one creation story, as he and Quetzalcoatl battled a giant monster and created the earth from her remains, his leg was bitten off.  I decided not to have hm hobbling around on one leg, as he's meant to be my scary villain, so I gave him a skeleton leg instead.

At the same time, he was always described as a very handsome, young god.  Every year, in fact, the Aztecs would choose the most handsome young man around, dress him up, and parade him around as a ceremonial Tezcatlipoca.  He'd be treated like a god for the whole year, and then - a great honor - he'd be ritually sacrificed.

 That's why the Aztecs are my villains.

 In this piece, I was following instructions as to materials and technique.  I chose to paint in lots of authentic Aztec designs with white acrylic paint in the background, so that they'd show through subtly.  You can even see the original design of Tezatlipoca off to the right.  There are also symbols for "jaguar", "water", "war", and "snake".