Context of Practice: November 2016

Monday 28 November 2016

Peer review - Practical response progress…

In preparation for the peer crit/review, the key examples of contextual and practitioner research, concept development and product proposals have been put into a3 presentation boards(below).

A3 Presentation Boards

As the development and production of my first LuchaGod design is now complete, i'm able to reassess what i have left to complete and how long it's likely to take. I took the opportunity to revise my practical proposal and brief.

The main alterations come on my proposal sheet, having had a rethink on what suitable products could accompany the 'LuchaGod' character prints.

• Having made the decision to produce digital prints that had a screen print 'feel' to them rather getting bogged down into trying to reproduce them with actual screen printing, this will free up some considerable time to spend on creating all 6 character print designs, rather than the 3 that i initially proposed.

• Also with that time freed-up i can look into designing and printing branded card bag toppers for my postcard pack, and cardboard backers for the pin badges.

• As wrestling is a something that appeals to such a wide age range i felt i needed to select products to would possibly appeal to both older and younger fans.

• Although only relatively simple items to design, pin badges & enamel pins are popular and collectable, especially if i have a range of character designs to apply to them. Die cut stickers also have been popular for years and the 'mini mask' designs would transfer onto that platform well. Again, as theres a range of designs theres an opportunity to collect the set.

Looking at the list of tasks to carry out still, it does look like a lot to ask in the amount of time remaining, but it involves a mixture of physical and digital mock work i'm still feeling quietly confident i can achieve the goals i've set myself.

Below are the peer feedback forms based on evidence of progress on my blog and physical work including my sketchbook, test prints and presentation boards.

The feedback was really positive in regards to me being able to demonstrate a strong synthesis between research and aesthetic. Also my 'continuous reflection' and analysis in my practical response development was praised.I've been urged to focus on getting the 6 prints completed rather than getting too carried away with the proposed outcomes just yet, which is a good call, as i could very well see that happening!

As there was no real criticism or negative feedback to address in my immediate plans for the coming two weeks i drew up a mindmap/info graphic fusion 'thing' so i could see my proposed product range , what i need to do to produce it, and when it needs to be done. This includes print slot times, and alternative production methods if the time factor starts to kick in.

Above: visual doodle of the LuchaGod product range, which now includes a colouring book for the younger Luchador fans, which features the all the characters from the LuchaGod range.

So, now with a short break from the dissertation side of the module, its time to get proper stuck in again with a whole lot of character development sketching and poster designing - with real focus and assertiveness, which hasn't always been the case when it comes to me making design decisions.

Saturday 26 November 2016

Funko POP! vinyl product research...

A couple of weeks back Patrick asked me what my dream job would be - i've had so many, but i wasn't expecting the question, however working for FUNKO, designing their POP! Vinyl bobble head characters immediately sprang into my mind. Pop! Vinyl is a vinyl toy line created by Funko in 2010 and are based on the Japanese style known as Chibi, which means 'short & cute'. They cover a ridiculously huge range of licensed brands and pop culture such as Disney, Star Wars, Marvel, Television & Movies.You name the person there's more than likely a Pop! Vinyl version of them!

The more i think about it, the more i think i want to do that more than anything in the world?! It'll probably wear off, but it did make me think to myself, how would someone get a job doing that at Funko?(probably a que to investigate right there).

Following this conversation, but coincidently, i found myself scoping out the POP! Vinyl section at Forbidden Planet (online and in store) for the WWE range in particularly (For the Ultimate Warrior figure, even more in particularly).

My childhood hero, the Ultimate Warrior Pop! Vinyl, and the start of a possible new obsession.

I also noticed that amoungst their WWE range included Rey Mysterio, a Luchador character (above) - which got me thinking about proposing a range of Pop! Vinyl toys for my LuchaGod characters, as an alternative to me customising the 'action man' style wrestling figures i bought at the market last month (below).This could involve me customising a 'D.I.Y' POP! figure, which is basically a white blank version that you can paint over; or the more likely method of producing digital mocks.

My thinking behind this is that i feel the Chibi- style aesthetic would suit the Luchador characters that i'm designing better than the realistic looking wrestling figures. Having such big head means i could focus the attention to the mask design, as in the poster designs - with the realistic action figure it would be hard to get the details painted right on such a small head. Another reason is that the Pop! Vinyl figures certainly to appeal to a whole age range of nerds, as opposed the action figure 'dolls', which you're unlikely to find anyone over the age of 12 buying ( unless you're a 35yo who just found some at a market).

The customIsing preparation started straight away by searching for decent size resolution blank boxes and figures to superimpose the LuchaGods designs on to.

The blank D.I.Y POP! as mentioned earlier.

The customising process all begins with me! Even though i'm neither famous or fictional, i know at least 2 people that would buy this one.I'll send Funko an email about it...

Friday 25 November 2016

Product range thoughts/research…

Had a conversation with Ben, who was floating in the studio following my tutor review, and we touched on product ranges as i mentioned i was having a headache deciding on mine.

After showing him my test mini masks, I asked him his opinions on key rings - he agreed, they're lame. He also thought that it didn't have to 'be' anything - it could just be an object for the customer to have, with no designated purpose - which is an idea i like. For too long have i lost sleep trying to consider what 'the people' want; what colours, what tone, what size, what format, how many in an edition, how much of a border to include so it make framing easier, what side of the print should i sign, does it encroach on the image too much… it goes on. I need just do it how i want and let them worry about mounts and frames!

He pointed me in the direction of www.wearedorothy.com, who, amongst a range of screen prints, tote bags and houseware, sell a election of 'random' items that don't really serve a purpose -they just, are. If people are taken enough by something, they'll go buy it.

Also he gave Jonnhy Hannah http://www.heartagency.com/artist/JonnyHannah/gallery/1 as an example, of someone who makes unconventionally shaped art pieces.

Hand painted cut-out on plywood

As I'm creating a range of Luchador characters, as part of a product range Ben suggested i possibly make a world for them to exist in. As someone who's brought his weird, cartoony characters to life via plush/vinyl toys and in animated videos, Pete Fowlers name came up.

I'm not sure I've got the imagination, technical know-how (or the time) to come up with a whole new world for these Luchadors to co-exsist in, but looking at these examples has given me something new to think about as far as creating 'product' goes, and that i should feel restricted due to shape or format.

Key rings will never be spoken of again.

Tutor feeback 24.11

Todays COP tutor meeting was mainly focused on the Practical response. I'd gotten a bit carried away with character research and development, plus distracted and overexcited about laser cutting that I've forgotten to document it. I also felt it would be better to get the point where the development and production for my first my Luchador character was complete and then make a presentation document about it all, rather than have lots of little posts with not much on there.

4-9pm is free-for-all time on the laser cutter, so after the induction yesterday, i set about making the vector version of my fir LuchaGod mini mask and dashing back down to the wood workshop to test out.

Mini Mask- On screen cutting prep. Went with mixture of halftones and
grayscale just to see how the laser dealt with it.

The test runs came out better than i could've imagined, just as it appeared on screen.crazy! The grey tones aswell, leaving me with dilemma about whether to ditch the halftones or not. I do like how the dots come out, i have taken to using them a lot in my work - but this would purely be an aesthetic choice, practically speaking they're not required to emulate tone, as the laser can handle shades of grey.

This baby version was only a few cm in diameter, and got a bit toasted whilst being cut out around the edge. Just an example of the issues that can occur, but ti think this was largely down its small size and the fact that it had quite a lot of detail on it. I should have probably paused the machine when it started to flame as well, but that's all part of the learning process!

On showing them to Fred and explaining that i'd cut a hole out one of them so it could be used as a key ring, he said; "i kinda prefer it without the hole (i agreed).Why have you made a key ring..?"

He made a bloody good point - why had i made a key ring?! No one buys key-rings anymore do they?They're mostly lame! Kids aren't grown up enough to own keys, and grown ups aren't going to be interested in owning a novelty key-ring, as far as i can tell. If I'm honest, it was purely down tio being the first thing that came to mind when i found out we had a machine that could do wood laser cutting and engraving.

It did cause me to step back and think about my product range a bit more - even though I'm vary of not slapping my designs onto every bit of tat going, in a way wrestling mercy (especially from my era) was exactly that. Hulk Hogan lunch boxes, duvet covers, clocks, disposable paper party tablecloth - you name it.

That said, I'm not going to make a lunch boxes and paper tablecloth - aside from the set of A3 prints and postcard packs, which were decided on i needed to have a rethink of what other items could accompany them and that would appeal to a very wide age bracket. I will also try and come up with a way of incorporating a laser etched item into it as well, even if it isn't a stand alone item (special edition apparel swing tag comes to mind). Or if it was to be a stand alone item then maybe as well as the a3 paper prints, i could make something a bit more 'limited edition', like A3 laser etched 'posters'. Having seen examples of this a good while back, they were the inspiration behind actually investigate laser cutting in the first place and seeing what i could do with the technology.

Thursday 24 November 2016

Dissertation - draft as it stands…

I'm slowly getting there, having had to cut a lot of the general facts and fun trivia that i love, but is what i believe is known in the essay-writing business as 'waffle'.

Black type indicates that its well formed and seems to be fitting in well, the red type means I've got to give it some attention. The red creeps in more and more notably just after the half way point, plus i've still a fair bit of stat searching to add to it.

Also not sure if i should be giveing the chapters titles. I've read some with and some without?

Images also need to be sourced and added.

Wednesday 23 November 2016

Laser Cutter induction…

Finally, after a 3-week wait (plus 2 1/2 years before anyone even told me there was such a thing) i got my induction on the Laser Cutter - and i can safely say it's changed the way i'll live my life from this day on (only partly over exaggerating there) It.is. AWESOME!

I don't think I'm the only who feels like this - the guys i was getting inducted with and people I've shown my test results to have had similar reactions; that of their jaws dropping! It's mindblowing what this machine can do, I'm just gutted i wasn't pointed in the right direction before now- i feel this would've been just as useful to our (possible) practice as say, photography studio, bookbinding or Indesign lessons.

Examples of laser settings

But i've found it now and I'm going to use it right until I lose it. Wood, everything wood - don't know what I'm going to make, but it sure as hell's going to be made out of wood! Everyone i know is getting laser engraved items for xmas!

After the actual induction, Michael ( the wood workshop tutor guy), left us to have a practice on our own - i hadn't got anything prepared to use ( or so i thought) but i managed to find some jpg scans that were lying about on my Mac desktop. They were black and white, with halftones, ideal for the engraving process, so i was told.

On screen prep

Final engraving

The results were amazing - even the thinnest of lines or finest details it'll recreate, with laser-like accuracy (obviously). My brain started to melt a bit just thinking of all the possible images i had or wanted to make that i could have etched onto various woods. Also, turns out you dont have to use purely black with halftones - it'll recreate shades by engraving at different depths, which again is mindblowing - but also really handy that i don't have to give myself a headache with bit mapping my images!

Back on the wrestling theme - the whole wood engraving effect reminded me of these WWF ice cream bars from the early 90's. It's a vague link i know.

With this brand new knowledge, i was left with a whole new challenge; how to incorporate a laser-etched wooden 'object' into the product range of my Luchador series.

Wednesday 16 November 2016

Dissertation notes for the chop....

As i work towards the draft deadline for my essay i've found myself with a very healthy word count, but i'm not entirely sure that its all going to have a place within the draft. A lot of it, although relavent, is probably only padding and general chronological wrestling facts.

Below are a selection of quotes and info that could prove interesting but ultimately only fat that i need to trim off;

In the 1970s and 80s, professional wrestlers lived in a world of blood, brutality, and bad paydays. They adhered to a territory system that divided the country into 20 distinct parts, each of which they would tour until their act got stale. They traveled by car, splitting beer, gas, and pills, before arriving at shit-box motels to pass out in beds too small for their 300-pound frames.

Nowadays, pro-wrestlers are paid eight-figure sums, tour the country in plush tour buses and break character to console teary young fans at ringside.
James Nolan (2015)

Hogan, a flag-waving tank who told kids (his "Hulkamaniacs") to take their vitamins and say their prayers, was a long way off the territories' blood and guts. Wrestling remained serious there, but in WWE it became embarrassing and cartoonish, with personas including garbage men, dentists, hockey players, prisoners, and clowns.
James Nolan (2015)

The product has become stale—it lacks diversity and is again disconnected from the world around it, with wrestlers being taught to look the same, work the same, and act the same in their training camps (a far cry from the territories), and then by a team of writers.
James Nolan (2015)

When my parents told me that wrestling was fake, it phased me for a second, but ultimately the dynamic of good vs. bad pulled me back in. This dynamic is everywhere: the Bible, Shakespeare, Greek myths... We identify with it so strongly because it simplifies life into the perfect equation of good equals us and bad equals our pain—and when good inevitably wins, we feel like we've beaten our pain, even if only fleetingly.
As fans get older and become more knowledgeable, this dynamic remains: there's always some wrestler who we feel is deserving of more—the hardest worker, the nicest guy—who we identify with in the hope that, one day, he'll get what he deserves.
JAMES Nolan (2015)

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wwe-in-decline-james-nolan-395

Americans in general love three things: politics, drama and sports. While 'legit' sports will always be superior and rightfully so, legit sports cannot give people all three of those things mentioned above. Sure they can give you sports and in turn this can be turned into drama. What they can’t do is tell you a story like wrestling. Pro wrestling isn’t called a male soap opera for nothing.

All you would have to do back then is read your local paper, watch TV, or listen to the radio. If there were any crisis' or problems going on in the country, you can bet somewhere wrestling would put an angle on it. In the '40s, wrestling would often use the world wars as its base to generate heat amongst the fans. Of course the blond-haired, blue-eyed babyface would always save the day for the good old U.S.A.

Even as late as the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, they were still using society and politics to hook the fans. In the 1980's the WWF used the cold war. Hulk Hogan, the clean cut, pro U.S.A. face would often square off against the evil Russians and in the early 90's during the Gulf War it was Iraqi sympathisers. Hogan would also fight the rich big wigs when Reaganomics's was at its worse,battling such guys like the "Million-Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Shyster (I.R.S).

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/362592-how-pro-wrestling-has-survived-over-100-years

- FOREIGN HEEL REFERENCES -

Wrestlers used to get angry with each other because one represented the Soviet Union and the other the United States, and the two ways of life were antithetical. Now when wrestlers scream at each other, dark domestic secrets are more likely to surface -- sordid tales of adultery, sexual intrigue, and child abuse.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/pro-wrestling-and-the-end-of-history/article/11968

Jacques Rougeau’s ‘Mountie’ gimmick would boast of being able to “always get his man” and things got even sillier when the real Royal Canadian Mounted Police threw their toys out of the pram resulting in the announcers stating “This man does NOT represent the Royal Canadian Mounted Police!” As part of his pre,post or during the match illegal activities he would “shock” his opponents with a cattle-prod after defeating them (with audible electric ‘shock’ noises dubbed over, so the viewer knew what was happening) sometimes hand-cuffing them to the ring ropes so they coudn’t escape or throwing water over them immediately before hand. During an Intercontinental title rematch against Roddy Piper, The Mountie’s attempt to use the cattle prod on him was foiled when Piper revealed a rubber vest under his t-shirt and would win the match by using the shock stick on The Mountie.

https://ringthedamnbell.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/top-five-foreign-objects-in-wrestling/

Wrestlers from the Polynesian Islands were almost invariably portrayed as uncontrollable savages even as babyfaces, of which a large number of them belonged to the Anoa’i; a family of professional wrestlers originating from American Samoa including, Afa & Sika, Haku,Tamu, Yokozuna, Rikishi Umaga ,and by association, The Rock. Family members have comprised several tag teams and stables within a variety of wrestling promotions, with notable famous characters including The Wild Samoans. The Islanders and the Headshrinkers. “Take your pick. Seriously, nearly every Samoan in wrestling history, from Afa and Sika to King Tonga to Tonga Kid to Umaga and almost every other one in between, has been pegged as a barefoot, skirt wearing savage who swings from tree to tree, eating raw fish and cracking coconuts against his rock hard skull”

(The Wrestlecrap Book of Lists By R. D. Reynolds, 2007)

It is possible to be foreign and not a Foreign Wrestling Heel; however, as soon as a wrestler shows any pride in being from a country that is not the US, they’ll end up becoming one. Canada's Bret Hart, for example, wrestled the majority of his career as a ‘face’ until his 1997 heel turn, when he became proudly Canadian and launched a feud with all American fans and wrestlers. This led to him being a hated heel in in the States. Also, the Foreign Wrestling Heel didn’t even need to be an actual foreigner. Simply looking foreign or having foreign ancestry is often enough for a wrestler to be given a Foreign Wrestling Heel gimmick. Yokozuna was a prime example of this.

“From the earliest days of the sport, in every fairground or VA hall where a ring was erected and a crowd assembled, there were semi-athletic butterballs on hand to shock and awe the audience with their mind-boggling bulk, put on display like their carnival sideshow forebears.”

(sourced from http://deadspin.com/5522985/dead-wrestler-of-the-week-yokozuna)

Vince McMahon, has been always a fan of the physical oddity and in 1992, from this esteemed tradition, came Yokozuna. Led to the ring by long time scoundrel manager Mr. Fuji, who was already a one-stop shop for Asian stereotypes; Yokozuna, a ‘champion sumo wrestler’ was played by 580lb Rodney Anoa'I, an American Samoan, who had never competed as an actual sumotori.
However, he was now managed by the formal kimono-wearing Japanese character Mr. Fuji (in reality a Japanese American), who would accompany Anoaʻi to the ring with a Japanese-style bamboo flute theme music, waving a Japanese flag, tossing salt from a wooden bucket, and were even escorted out by geisha girls for the Pay-per-view matches. McMahon had repackaged Anoa'i as a nominally Japanese powerhouse that set a new bar for racial caricature

As a villain, Yoko was a pure product of America's bizarre cultural moment in the 1980s and early '90s, when uncertain geopolitics left Hollywood to ponder the potential ascendance of the
Asian workforce. Many movies like Gung-Ho(1986) and Rising Sun(1994), which present Japanese businessmen (to different degrees) as employing inhumane, unfair business practices in order to take over the American econmy.( Embracing Differences: Transnational Cultural Flows between Japan and the United States. Iris-Aya Laemmerhirt .2013) The Japanese were premised on being menacing exotics with queerly dainty methods, here to destroy America from within. Sometimes geopolitics breaks kayfabe, notably with Sgt. Slaughter during the Iraqi-sympathizer storyline of 1990. Yokozuna was a part of this tradition as well, if a few years behind the curve.

http://deadspin.com/5522985/dead-wrestler-of-the-week-yokozuna

Between 1980 and 1981, Robert Remus wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as heel character Sgt. Slaughter. Famously he was a Drill Sergeant in real life in the United States Marine Corps; he shouted at the crowd, calling them maggots, bellowing at them to stand up. They immediately hated him. However in early 1984, Slaughter's career took off after he turned face and defended America's honour against the hated Iron Sheik, a character built off the back of the Iranian hostage crisis when 52 American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days (November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981) after a group of Iranian students who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

The Iron Sheik, an Iranian citizen who praised his home country and bashed the USA, is considered to be one of the greatest heels of all time. His villainous character peaked during the 1980s WWF wrestling boom and his rivalry with Hulk Hogan turned Hogan into one of the greatest television heroes of the decade.

Sgt.Slaughter and the Iron Sheik engaged in many matches throughout the year, However, with the emergence of Hulk Hogan as the WWF World Heavyweight Champion and lead face within the company, Slaughter left the company. At the time of his departure Slaughter was easily the second biggest "face" in the company, surpassing even André the Giant with his popularity rivaling that of Hulk Hogan's. At Madison Square Garden in 1984, Hogan became the first wrestler to escape the Sheik’s signature move the “camel clutch” and went on win his first WWF title. The victory gave birth to what became known as “Hulkamania,” as Hogan’s phenomenal popularity led to a golden age for professional wrestling.

In 1990, Slaughter was interested in returning. McMahon told Slaughter he wanted a heel, and his new gimmick would be that Slaughter turned on the United States due to the political situation in the Middle East growing increasingly tense, the decision was made to have Slaughter support the Iraqi cause; not for the actual political reasons themselves involving Kuwait, but more for the fact that Slaughter liked "brutality" and the Iraqi government was "brutal" while the US regime was said by Slaughter to have become "soft" and "weak". Slaughter teamed up Iraqi military general (kayfabe) General Adnan and Colonel Mustafa (formerly known as the Iron Sheik). As part of his character change, Slaughter began wearing Arab headdresses to the ring, adopted the ‘Camel Clutch’ as one of his finishing moves, and was (kayfabe) photographed meeting with Saddam Hussein. He pledged a new allegiance, to President Saddam Hussein and decried everything that America had become. He even started wearing boots that resembled the Iron Sheik's, with curved points, that had been allegedly sent to him by Hussein himself.

As Slaughter was portraying a turncoat, the fans were so incensed that some went after him personally. The hated reached its peak after he won the WWF Championship from the Ultimate Warrior at the 1991 Royal Rumble, due to outside interference from the Macho King Randy Savage. The following morning, Slaughter was told that a fan had phoned the WWF informing them that he planned to Sgt. Slaughter, Vince McMahon, their entire families and blow up their houses. Slaughter wife's briefly fled the house in fear and Sarge was told by the company that he and his family could only return home after accepting a personal security team of four armed men. The threats were so intense he also wore a bulletproof vest at all times. WrestleMania VII later that year was originally scheduled to be held at the outdoors Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The event was moved to the adjacent indoors Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena after poor tickets sales, sold on television as being for security reasons related to the Gulf War and Sgt. Slaughter's storyline defection to Iraq.
McMahon had also asked him to burn the American flag, but Slaughter refused to, suggested instead that he burn one of Hulk Hogan's trademark yellow vests. After finishing the feud with Hogan in late 1991, in which Hogan had won back the WWF title belt, Slaughter became a face again, appearing in vignettes next to American landmarks, saying, "I want my country back" and becoming tag team partners with ‘All American’ good guy and fan favourite ‘Hack Saw’ Jim Duggan.

(http://whatculture.com/wwe/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-sgt-slaughter?page=9)

In the middle of 1987, a new type of bad guy entered the WWF. “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase wanted to use his wallet instead of his wrestling ability to become champion. He wanted to buy the title from Hulk, but Hogan refused. Plan B for DiBiase was to get someone to win the title and then give it to him. The man he chose for this act was Andre the Giant.
Hogan and André met again almost a year later, on Feb' 5, 1988, in NBC's 'Main Event'. Thirty-three million viewers tuned in to see André get his revenge as Hogan was pinned even though he'd clearly gotten his shoulder up after a count of two. Then a second referee appeared in the ring that looked identical to the referee that cost Hulk the title. As it turned out, the Million Dollar Man's money had bought not just André's services, but the betrayal of referee Earl Hebner who had been given money to "have plastic surgery" to pass for his twin brother Dave Hebner, the match's officall referee. While all this confusion was going on, Andre gave the title to Ted DiBiase.The next week, President Jack Tunney ruled the title vacant and that a tournament would be held at WrestleMania IV to fill the vacancy.
Every young wrestling fan learned about injustice on this day. For many of us, this was perhaps the most infuriating, gut-wrenching moment in television history. We could halfway understand André as the bad guy, a foreign giant with foreign motives, but we couldn't comprehend his need to cheat to win. After the match, André relinquished the belt to DiBiase, and we were apoplectic. He was not just a villain, not just a cheater, but now he was a sellout. He was no better than any other WWF bad guy.

http://deadspin.com/5500057/dead-wrestler-of-the-week-andre-the-giant

Forward to WrestleMania IV in 1988 at the Atlantic City Convention Hall ,New Jersey ,though on the broadcast and television advertisments it was billed as being held in the Trump Plaza because the adjacent casino hotel was the event's primary sponsor. Andre and Hulk would fight to a double disqualification in their match. The tournament final featured Ted DiBiase vs. Randy Savage ,who was Hogan’s best friend at this point (kayfabe). When Andre started to interfere in the bout, Hogan came out when Savages' manager (and eventually wife in kayfabe and rea life) Miss Elizabeth pulled him out of the locker room. The match ended with Hogan costing DiBiase the title and Randy Savage becoming the new WWF champion.

http://prowrestling.about.com/od/thebiggestrivalries/a/andrevshogan.htm

Friday 11 November 2016

Luchador character development/planning...

I needed to make some solid decisions about what Gods & Creatures i wanted to base my teams of Luchadors on, but as there are so many Aztec deities i took some time out to whittle them down into to a group featuring the more interesting characteristics. As I'm going to be designing big bold wrestling personalities i don't feel that i could get that from basing them on the Gods of Maize, Wine, Salt or Old age - so i focused my research on those with more striking visual traits that i could use as a foundation for my own illustrations.

After a thorough research, where I've even learnt how to pronounce some of these guy's names properly, I've come to the point where i decided i won't be basing the Luchadors on Gods and Creatures of the Aztec calendar - but just the Gods, as there's far more potential with those as opposed to the simple animals signs.Some of the Gods feature creatures of some sort so they cold still appear in there somewhere.They'll still be broken into opposition groups as is the norm in pro wrestling;

2x Good (Babyface), 2x Evil (Heel) 2x Anti-Heroes, who do both good and evil and could flirt between the two, as is also common in wrestling storylines with heel/face 'turns'.

So, the final character line-up consists of;

HEEL

Tezcatlipoca ‘The Smoking Mirror’

(tez-cah-tlee-poh-ka)