The momota was the first creature I designed for "Creatures of Yaxche." In the summer of 2017, I had taken a trip to Yucatán, Mexico. I had always wanted to pursue creature design for my senior exhibition, but before my trip to Mexico, I had no idea just what kind of creatures I wanted to paint or even what location I wanted to base Yaxche off of. Luckily enough, I was able to see a cenote in Yucatán. Not only was the scenery beautiful, but the resident birds were gorgeous and unlike any I had seen before. Motmots had caught my attention due to their brightly-colored crowns on their head, as well as their wiry-tails with small feathery tips. Hence, the Amazonian motmot was the main inspiration behind the momota.

        However, I wanted to make an impressive aviary creature, so I designed the momota to be a large bird, much like an ostrich, yet retaining the grace and behavior of a crane. But for the momota to truly stand out as a creature, and not just as a bird, I gave it a casque like that of a parasaurolophus from the Late Cretaceous Period. The casque adds an ancient element to the design, which makes the momota seem as though it could have once existed on Earth, adding a sense of familiarity.

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Image: Momota Family. Oil on Canvas. 2017.