Some early concepts for Namor, in a lineup with Atuma, Namora and the Talokan. Lineups like this are often used to gauge the design direction of an ensemble of characters. with so many design elements to tackle in one image, you end up going through many variations and re-working the same piece over the course of months as you explore each character's look.
One of the challenges of designing the Talokan was finding the right balance between so many disparate elements: Mesoamerican culture, the classic comic book source material, and the fact that they've been developing as a people underwater for 400 years. In my research I was drawn to Aztec and Mixtec mosaic work, and thought it would make an for an interesting flexible and body-hugging armor. For the Talokan I was also playing with different ways of incorporating liquid rebreathers into personalized harnesses decorated with traditional Mesomerican motifs. Skin tone was another area I was exploring. I wanted to avoid a flat and cold blue tone for the Talokan, nuancing it with a lot of greens, reds and purples to give it life. For Namor I was aiming for a greenish-bronze sheen over a warmer subsurface glow.
In early images, I came up with a composite face for Namor before Tenoch Huerta was cast in the role, inspired by a mix of Javier Bardem and Gael Garcia Bernal. I tried out just a hint of Namor's classic widow's peak to see how far I could go without losing the ethnicity.