#@creatingblackcharacters

[aliencatwafers]

My contribution for Black History Month

@creatingblackcharacters

Blackness is humanity! Black people are human! Black people deserve love!

I brought in a quote from Desmond Tutu because he was a priest who fought against apartheid in South Africa and he supported women and gay rights. From what I’ve read about him, he was a loving man and he acknowledges the truth about society. Our humanity depends on each other since we are social. If you deny one person’s humanity, you deny your own in turn. We are human and we must acknowledge the humanity of the oppressed. It is good to celebrate Black excellence, but we must also celebrate Blackness in joy and humanity. We must celebrate the humanity in Blackness. Celebrate Black love!!

I wanted to submit my piece for Black History Month! Beatrice is the main character in a horror novel I have in the drafting stage (and likely won’t be ready for several years). These are her siblings! Beatrice is the oldest (20 years old), followed by Layla (18 years old), Damon (15 years old), Nina (11 years old), and Tyrone (7 years old). While she’s separated from her siblings in the story, I wanted to have them all together. Beatrice looks after all of them best she can. She loves English, reading, history, has her special interest in Native American history and culture alongside Black culture, and adores slam poetry. I wanted to try a hairstyle from Flexi Rods on Beatrice. Her earrings are very important to her. Layla adores fashion and setting trends - she reads up on the latest fashion trends and decides to set her own. She also wants to design her own clothes too and wants to own a nail salon. Damon is the shy track star of the family, but he secretly wants to be an artist - he feels he can’t show his softness in society and that he will be shamed since art isn’t seen as lucrative as sports is. Still, Beatrice encourages Damon to hang out more with Layla and be his own person no matter what others say. Nina is most likely to go towards STEM. She’s the astrologist in the family - she is full of adventure and loves studying the stars. She insists Pluto is the planet and NASA is drunk. We then have the very quiet and observant Tyrone. His giant trench coat and pants are from the thrift store. He loves mystery novels and watching crime documentaries. Tyrone can easily stomach true crime like it’s nothing. Many get concerned that he’s a drug dealer or a murderer in the wings but that’s very racist and far from the truth. Tyrone is a sweetheart and an acquired taste - he’d probably be a detective in the future. They’re all loving siblings and deserve the world.

[creatingblackcharacters]

Well!

So first, let's clear a common misconception: no, President Abraham Lincoln did not love Black people nor see them as human equals. At best he was centrist about it (though, even his implication that 'exceptional' Black men ought to vote got him assassinated).

"My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do, it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union...I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free."

The "freeing of slaves" after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 was meant to kneecap the economic and military powers of the seceded South. Lettuce stop making a white savior figure out of Lincoln, or thinking that my people's shackles were unchained via anything other than desperate war strategy and extreme violence. Think on that, for a moment.

That being said!

But not everyone in Confederate territory would immediately be free. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later. Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as "Juneteenth," by the newly freed people in Texas.

Consider going through the Smithsonian website to learn about Juneteenth! Recognize why it's an actual day of freedom, versus July 4th and the independence of a select few.

[6edbuge]

My art for @creatingblackcharacters' Black History Month Challenge !! @feliville tagged me to participate and I am delighted to : -]

I wanted to draw my black oc Rosalynn to convey positivity and joy to my black viewers through my art! She uses magic to light up the world around her; I want it to say, You're beautiful, you're bright, you light up the world :D

I looked into black hairstyles for her; the two braids at the front are Twists, and I found a ref for the texture of her ponytail, i hope I have portrayed these well It was very fun to draw!!!

Ik the month is coming to an end so no pressure if there's not enough time, but I tag @skullsenpai, @mikak-kristiak and any1 else who might wanna participate <3 Happy black history month!

[mercury-and-scry]

some explorations of Willomina's hair, because she deserves better than the white woman wig I put on her in the original design looool. settling on no2 for now, I think,,,,

have to give credit to @creatingblackcharacters here for their lessons which helped me a) realise the issue in my original design and b) provide a good idea of where to go with the redesign!

[mimitay-art]

I drew something for @creatingblackcharacters Black History Month Challenge!

Wanted to make fanart for one of my fave Black musical artists- Chenayder!! She makes sort of lo-fi pop/R&B that has a really dreamy vibe to it. Such a huge talent n so young too 😭

Obv a song I'd recommend is 'Colors' that she did with MAVI!!

What I want to say to my Black viewers with this is, like Chenayder, keep being unapologetically yourself and make the art, music, writing, etc that you want to make! It’s the importance of self expression, and I support you 100%

For tagging friends... let's go w @ashestoashesjc (ur another fave 🫶) and @julevanwilde It doesn't have to be a drawing! But there's also a week left so don't feel forced lol

Might also make a second piece for this with my oc Basil before the week ends!

[creatingblackcharacters2]

Did you know that the creator of #Inktober stole his work from a Black artist?

Now you do!

I want to kick off October by talking about #Blacktober, an event for supporting Black and Black biracial artists that ran from 2020 to 2023!

According to the organizers' own website:

In response to the creator of Inktober plagiarizing his art book from Alphonso Dunn, and the antiblack harassment Black cosplayers and artists face for re-imagining their favorite characters as Black in media and an art community where we're underrepresented - we created #Blacktober in 2020 in hopes to celebrate ourselves, nurture the community and create a positive, empowering space for Black creatives.

Any Black creative and/or cosplayer can tell you that creating or cosplaying beloved characters while Black will lead to vitriol. From comments as supposedly "harmless" such as "oh thats the "Black version" of [character]" (instead of acknowledging that they are the character), to more overt antiblackness like "n***er [character]" and "[character] isn't Black!" with the intent to mock both the creator and the character in question. They suggest that the Blackness is an insult to the character, that it's not accurate. Far less normalized is anyone saying "white [character]" or "cracker [character]" about white people cosplaying nonwhite characters.

Virulent antiblack racism towards organizers and participants was amongst the main reasons that the organizers had to let go of hosting Blacktober.

We've had a blast with everyone these past 3 years watching fan art to original creations be born out of a passion for seeing ourselves in media. However, we, the organizers, are no longer able to keep going with this event, especially with the current state of social media. We've had to combat a lot both on the front lines and behind the scenes. Not just the organizers, but also those participating. This, along with time, was two of the few reasons why we've decided to sunset.

While Blacktober itself is unfortunately no longer an organized event, Black and Black biracial artists might still choose to draw something for the month under the #Blacktober tag.

No, this is not for nonblack creatives to participate in themselves. Not for you nor your Black OCs!

It's a shame that racism constantly seeks to destroy what Black people create, and that it's so common to steal, take credit for, and benefit from our work. But you can avoid being a part of that by supporting Black creatives in your space! I am sure they are there, if you put in the effort to look for them! Search the tag- you might find old AND new work! This also includes standing by them when they speak up on mistreatment within your communities. When you don't speak against antiblack racism, it means you tolerate its existence. And when you tolerate antiblackness, guess what it makes you? We can't say fandom is for everyone, and then not act to make it so. Let's do better.

Happy Blacktober!

[kiirodora]

My piece for @creatingblackcharacters' Black History Month Challenge! This is Barbara, a character from a story idea I'm still working on. She's the daughter of the town's baker, and has an undying passion for baking herself. I wanted to reflect her beaming joy upon finally getting a cupcake right, after countless attempts. My message to my Black viewers: Whatever you are dreaming of, as long as you keep chasing it, you WILL get there! I filled up the background behind Barbara with doodles of her various failures to emphasize nothing has to be perfect first try. You can always try again, and every time you stand back up, you'll have more knowledge to achieve what you want! Oh, also! While searching for inspiration for this piece, I came across this blog post written by Chef Carla Briggs, the owner of Viola's Heritage Breads in New Orleands. I learned a lot about how much Black people contributed to the food industry from that read. Norbert Rilleux singlehandedly revolutionized sugar processing-- that's chemical engineering in 19th century! Here I'll be tagging some of my friends. I am terribly sorry to post this late into the month so it leaves very little time to contribute, but if you could that'd be awesome! @feluka @talasem @onedumbazz Finally, I'll put here the initial sketches I made for Barbara's attire and hairstyle in this piece:

And one more sketch showing Barbara's father Helios eating one of her failed attempts with glee (it's still cake, after all!)

[icarus-in-the-sheets]

-----------⛦˙☠︎︎⋆Fear (he/him)⋆☠︎︎˙⛧-------------

aka Ekilar Diocles, Guardian of the Rhean Rescue.

Created for a diplomatic mission that needed another background character who was a martial fighter, but who has become a vital and staple member of the focal location of my D&D world-build.

Fear is coming in as both our Gay Pride character and as I had originally intended before it was suddenly June, an exercise in my studies of CBC's Lesson 1.5: Hair for Thought. Find character building processes, original sketch, and backstory below the cut!

He is Gay Romantic and Demisexual. He is slow to love, loyal and steadfast in his love, and lets heartbreak linger a little too long. My default for characters is bisexual and polyamorous until proven otherwise unless I have a specific plan for them. I did not have a specific plan for Fear's sexuality and let him guide me. He guided me to one of @ceruleanties' characters named Hank, a dilf of a graviturgy wizard with a kind heart and smile. I related personally to the stubbornness and aversion to change that Fear was developing as a character, and re-imagined it alongside a Demi identity as well [I do not identify as demi myself but my allo identity is in question often enough in my head that demi is relatable to me plentifully].

Fear's physical design went through some iterations before becoming what it is here. His first design was rather generic, as I was just wanting to draw a randomized character design. I used a tail and horn art reference chart from DeviantArt to design him, and I notated that he had dark blue skin and cyan accents and drew him in a generic leather outfit that was notated as being white with simple straps/belts.

When I started looking for characters in need of overhaul for CBC's course I was looking primarily at dark brown characters like Finley who were designed with a human or human approximate skin tone, but without a racial intention. However, I noticed that as a dark-skinned man, he also may have needed attention, despite not having a human skin tone. Other things about the importance of his faith and the community he adopts and protects also reminded me of positive tropes associated with strong Black characters, and I felt the change would honor that.

In regards to Lesson 1.5 and his hair specifically, I have pictured above two styles - sponge twists and long locs in a bun. I came up with these two very different styles in response to two very different times in his life.

For his younger years living in the cold depths of Hell, when keeping up appearances and masking his identity in a false persona of violence and anger, he took time to style and color his natural cyan-white hair into a black-tipped sponge twist and kept it short for the mercenary-style work that he did so that it would stay out of his way. The style was about appearances - something he could put effort into controlling while the untrained eye would see it as effortless.

After he dropped the toxic masking of his youth, Fear moved out of Hell and adopted a community, giving him time to heal and grow -spiritually and mentally. His protected locs represent the growth and healing he found in that recovery. They are something he nurtures, showing that he isn't just a warrior and protector of his community, but also learning to protect himself.

I have *a lot* more to say about Fear. As well as a lot more research to do on his characterization and probably on his design. For example, I discovered while writing this that I have research to do on the specific fashion choices I've made for him and the ramifications that have for him as a Gay Black character. He means so much to me and his story is near and dear to my heart. I love him so much and he keeps coloring outside the lines and throwing me new surprises.

[theblasianwitch]

@creatingblackcharacters Is currently hosting an event for Black History Month. And I for one am so for it!!

Please have a look if you'd like to learn more about their challenge and participate

Not sure who to tag as I'm not sure how many people I know on here are artists or writers, but if you make things of any kind you can still participate. @crazycatsiren @thecomfywriter @venusrrvelez

For my contribution (the word feels wrong but my brain doesn't know what word to use at the moment): Szar Rei Ra, Jay Benu, Anthony Benu, Bora, Fiona Ra, and Xana.

In my series "Different Yet Same" I have many characters of varrying backgrounds. Everyone's background, upbringing, family history, and culture are as diverse as they are. I'm going to describe all of them, but put certain emphasis on one's I feel embody Black History and have something to offer in terms of being more culturally sensitive and understanding.

Szar Rei Ra is the main male character in my story. Without spoiling too much, he is a descendant of the Egyptian God Ra and has a heart for the people that was noticed and taken advantage of. Realizing and breaking away from that leads him into making a community of diverse individuals to help him with his role as an important figure for the future of the world on a whole.

Fiona Ra is Szar's older sister who was quite literally bound to the body and whims of a man via a curse placed by their older brother. She was released once the old patriarchal system was destroyed and is now trying to live life and use her divinity to help others while recovering from her trauma.

Jay and Anthony Benu are a married gay couple. Jay is from Libya and Anthony is from a secret society deep within West Africa. The creatures they are are based off of are from various African mythology but would be recognized, I hope, by my future readers from certain pop media of the 2000s where these creatures were white washed and Asian coated. The creatures they are heavily impact their outlook on life as Jay is more protective and pessimistic and Anthony is a symbol of life, prosperity and safety and is very optimistic. They serve as a hidden Easter egg to educate others on the origins and true nature of the creatures they are.

Bora is an intersex demi god who's upbringing led them to isolate themselves from society. In my second book they are forced to face the fact that they are one of the few gods on earth allowed to actually do anything for the people who have and still are suffering from the African Slave Trade and African Diaspora. The second book is very heavy on humanity suffering the consequences of their actions via divine intervention and having to come to terms with what they do and a need to change.

Xana is a North African bouda, a hyena shifter of African folklore and mythology, sometimes called a werehyena. Her story is part of the second book as well. Hyenas are a very female led and dominate species so her character and her people are used to show the determination and strength of Black women and just how much women do for society. Her people are one of the few matriarchal societies throughout the series.

I do hope people give my story the chance when it's first book is released in April. As a mixed race person who has suffered from all ends of my spectrum it serves to show just how connected we all are and to remind people of the humanity that exists within all of us. "There is nothing in this world that humanity hasn't done to another human." That is a quote that has stayed with me throughout my life as it is repeated quite a lot by my mother whenever injustice happens. World history, TRUE world history proves that and shows why so many people seem afraid of another set of people. Fear drives people more than anything, but we should not need to fear each other because we all bleed red; we all live on the same earth; we all are capable of the same emotions and therefore capable of both love and hate. All my life I've chosen love and only suffer from those who don't.

[onedumbazz]

my submission for @creatingblackcharacters' CBC Black History Month Challenge [sorry for dropping this late]

Jessabelle is a gall that likes the simple life, and enjoys crocheting, fashion, strawberry picking and spending an unholy amount of hours in mmos or stardew valley.

this was the og doodles of her

My message to Black viewers: you lot are like stars, forever shining valiantly even in the darkest hours. all of you are strong and beautiful and don't ever let others tell you othewise

Black Creators: all of the ones i'll list are on youtube

T9 [also on twitch]: a great lad to watch play games in the horror genre and gives out good critique/reviews of games

Definitely Bored Oranges: cool lad that covers dramas and do good reviews also

KaypeaCreations: a wonderful gal that makes the cutest poseable dolls and others out there

3KageSummit: i've only recently started following them but they did a great and interesting video about racism in anime

GoldFro.: Also another creator i've started to follow recently but he did an amazing video on the Ugliest Trope in Modern Horror

tags(hope yall are alright with being tagged): @goonsgospel @selfindulgentfandomstuff @champyisthere

[creatingblackcharacters]

How many of these sound familiar?

Congratulations, you're utilizing AAVE!

How often do you find yourself recognizing when you are? Do you actually know what these words mean? Do you know when they're being used improperly? Are you interested in learning to respect the history behind the dialect?

This thought process, and others, are discussed in my lesson, "It's Giving" AAVE, and the Denied Yet Undeniable Impact of Black Culture.

[creatingblackcharacters]

Before writing that Black queer &/or trans character, ask yourself:

Another set of resources that I've typed up for my upcoming lesson. I'm sure that even more questions could be asked; I hope that Black folk feel free to include their own additions in the tags! But these ought to be enough to at least get anyone to start self-reflecting during their creation/watching process!

[creatingblackcharacters]

No, That’s Not ‘How Color Works’. - Whitewashing

Whitewashing, as defined by Merriam-Webster:

"to alter (something) in a way that favors, features, or caters to white people: such as a) to portray (the past) in a way that increases the prominence, relevance, or impact of white people and minimizes or misrepresents that of nonwhite people and B) to alter (an original story) by casting a white performer in a role based on a nonwhite person or fictional character"

In fandom context, we know it to include:

Making someone’s skin lighter

Making someone’s hair a thinner texture

Changing someone’s nose to be thinner

Shrinking their lips

Changing the character in their entirety to be someone else

The Normalization of Whitewashing

Remember how I mentioned last lesson that despite the nature of poorly drawn Black characters, most audiences are not turned off enough to discourage the action in professional works? Similar idea with whitewashing. Not the same- unlike the Ambiguously Brown Character, which claims to have plausible deniability, overt whitewashing is usually enough to make fans speak up! But that’s the key word here- overt! It has to be “bad enough” to make enough people speak up, but as we’ve seen many a time, “bad enough” seems to have a much higher threshold for nonblack viewership (sometimes the limit doesn’t exist!)

Some visual examples

This is a link to my personal thread on a Netflix show I was watching- Worst Ex Ever. Now, while the show itself was quite enlightening, there was something I could not get over. I thought I was going crazy. And that was that no matter how dark the person of color would be in real life, the animated portions would draw this light pinkish-brown. Every. Single. Time. It's like they couldn't fathom scrolling down the color wheel. And this is a Netflix original! Netflix has plenty of money for someone to have caught this in creation. But... it was produced. And put out. And they're making more of it.

I asked all of the Dragon Age fans about the series, and uh… I didn’t know things were this bad, guys! Apparently this is a man of color, but it doesn't seem like the creators want you to know that 🤣. Jokes aside, as I’ve discussed before, the noticeable whitewashing- and that was one of many racist things I was told- was not enough to prevent sales... so why would they stop? I can only hope this new game, with all the updates, is enough to turn the tide. But the series has gone on for a while now, that if they’d chosen to do ye same olde… there clearly would not be a lack of financial support to prevent it.

Colorism as a Tool

Even when actors of color are cast, colorism often plays a role in normalizing whitewashing to audiences, even to Black audiences! People think “oh well at least they’re Black!” as if that is the only important part. It is not.

While Aaron Pierre, the actor cast for John Stewart of Green Lantern fame, is a GORGEOUS, STUNNING man, he is not the dark-skinned man that John Stewart is supposed to be and should not have been cast! To me, this is overt colorism, but clearly for many people this is not “enough” to warrant concern or even prevent the casting itself- including the studio behind the movie! Black fans have plead for years for the character of Storm to be played by a dark-skinned, preferably African, woman, and it has never happened.

It naturally happens in fan spaces as well, which is another indicator that colorism as a tool for whitewashing is quite effective for audiences. If I see one more Zendaya fan cast for Kida from Atlantis, I will scream. It’s been happening for years, and I don’t think any of the people who just want to see her and Tom on screen either understand or care that Kida is a dark-skinned character. Zendaya doesn’t look anything like Kida- it doesn’t matter if she’s Black too! Just because someone is Black does not mean they can play every single Black character! I’ve even seen people fancast Emilia Clarke of Game of Thrones fame, to which… I don’t have the words. I can’t fathom what would cause these decisions other than racism.

The Common Excuses

I must be honest. I don’t really feel like re-iterating how certain things are not okay and how to fix them, because I’ve already discussed these things in massive detail. So I’m just going to direct the excuses I regularly hear to my lessons, where you can read up on them.

“Their hair/eyes are like that because they’re biracial so-”

Relevant Lessons: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 8, 9, 10

There is nothing wrong with having biracial characters with a range of features. I am not saying that! Because yeah, genetics do happen!

But I mentioned this in my last lesson, and I will re-emphasize here, that using biracial identity as a way to whitewash is a sinister form of racism. The intention here- the real intention- is the issue here! The idea that somehow this character can only look the way you want them to look by "diluting" their Blackness… I don’t know how you can explain yourselves out of that one.

You don’t get to use us as an excuse for diversity while still trying to maintain your preference for Eurocentric beauty standards. Black biracial people don’t always look light skinned, thin-haired and ambiguous, and even the ones that do don’t deserve to be treated as your fetish for pretend antiracism. If you just want to draw a white person with a tan, do that. But don’t change a character’s entire look just so you can work in some whiteness. If you want to claim that canon Black character’s mother was white, then I guess they inherited some of her personality because their features should not change.

“It’s my style/It’s the color-”

Relevant Lessons: 3, 4, 10

I hate all excuses for whitewashing, but I’ve grown to despise, hate, abhor and loathe this one the most as I’ve become an artist. I wish there were stronger words to describe just how much I hate the “style” and “color” excuse.

Are style and use of color oft intertwined? Absolutely. I’m not saying they aren’t. But out of everything, there are two things I want artists to understand:

1. Style does not cancel out racism! No style forces you to choose ashy greys and to change peoples’ features. That’s you! If you look at something, and it looks offensive, you change the style. You grow as an artist!

2. “Everyone who is brown will look ashy so I just-” if you recognize that your Black characters look strange in comparison to your nonblack characters, then it’s time to try something else! I don’t understand this sudden need for “realism” when it comes to color and lighting, but not when it comes to hair, for example. No one cares about realism when giving every and all Black characters wavy tresses they probably wouldn’t have, but suddenly milquetoast watercolor attempts at brown and off-putting lighting is “how it works”. That’s not fair.

The color picker is an available tool! I use it often!

Dead giveaway of purposeful whitewashing: if someone gets the outfit color palette right via color picking, but the skin color is multiple shades lighter. That means they were looking at that character and chose not to proceed.

Dead giveaway of purposeful whitewashing: if the white characters in the show are completely correct in their palettes. Again, that means they cared enough to look at everyone else… and not the Black characters.

If you use the color picker and the color picked is… disrespectful, you do not have to use that! You can simply choose a better color that is still similar to the brown that ought to be depicted!

“It’s the lighting-”

Relevant Lessons: 4, 5

If your white characters do not shine like snow in the sunlight because of your lighting, then your lighting does not make your Black characters suddenly light tan.

If your Black characters look bad in your lighting of choice- for example, putting a very dark-skinned character in electric white lighting can be ghastly- try changing the intensity or the color of the lighting. DON’T change your character’s skin color!

I'm going to show you some pictures of South Sudanese model Nyakim Gatwech. Pay attention to the choices of light, color, and makeup.

Look how BEAUTIFUL she is! Look at the choices of intensity and color of light, and how they make her look different in each image.

Now look at this image in comparison:

In this image, whoever did her makeup and took this picture did not take into consideration her skin tone. She's also under this really intense lighting. This is an example of "increasing the lighting does NOT make an image "better"". She didn't need to have lighter skin or "more lighting" to look good. She needed BETTER lighting, lighting that worked with HER.

To see this as an example in drawn art, @dsm7 makes an excellent argument for proper lighting and color, why it is an issue to use it as an excuse, and how to solve that problem.

‼️DISCLAIMER FOR NEXT EXAMPLE‼️

Okay. I am about to show y’all a fan-created example from my personal experience. It is a TEACHING EXPERIENCE ONLY. I am not including the artist’s name in this image. It happened a couple years ago, and it’s over- they’ve chosen to be who they are despite me kindly confronting them about it. The only reason I’m including it at all is because I feel like it would be remiss to have such a clear-cut, multi-level example, and not teach with it. That said, no, I am not telling anyone to act out towards them. Again, that is not what I’m telling you to do. The last thing I need is a literal lynch mob of angry nonblack viewership for trying to teach you all, and y’all sitting there watching it happen to me. Every example of whitewashing is not going to be so obvious, but I hope you learn how to spot the examples in the art you see and share.

I'm obviously a Hades fan, particularly of Patroclus- despite my disdain for the lack of effort in his canon character design. So I've seen a lot of things. That said:

“Well it’s just MY design of them-”

Relevant Lessons: ALL

The sepia coloring did not do this. The lighting did not do this. The design is the exact same as the Hades version, even down to the shape of the hair curling in the back. The only thing that is different… is the man himself.

Y'all. Y'all! You CANNOT take a pre-existing Black character and say “oh well this is my design of them” …and the design is of a whole white person. Because if the rest of the fit is the same, and the only thing that changed is the Blackness… Racism. If you’re going to “make up your own design”, then do that!

“Blackwashing”

Speaking of: I’m sure someone edgy out there thinks they’re so smart as they retort to the screen: “but if that’s not okay, then why is Blackwashing okay?” To which I say- shut up. 😐

The “definition” by fandom: making a nonblack character Black, usually an anime character, but characters in general.

Funny enough, the actual definition in the dictionary (or closest to) is “to defame”, in contrast with whitewash (as in whitewashing history). Maybe racist fans ARE using it correctly when they say you’re blackwashing their characters, when they mean you’re making them “less likable because they’re Black now”. 🤔

Anyway: Blackwashing is not real for the same reason reverse racism is not real.

Me painting these characters brown is not going to take away from the fact that there are far more of you in media than there is of me. Me saying that I ‘headcanon a character as Black with 4C hair’ is not going to make the studio go “oh! Well they must be Black with 4C hair now!” Me saying “oh I think I’d like this character better if they were Black” as a beta tester (less overtly, obviously, because I’m not racist!) will never make a studio change that character. Black viewers have minimal value in comparison to the power of the white viewer’s dollar. I could draw white characters Black every single day of every single game media… and they would still produce majority white characters. There has not been centuries- if not millennia, when we consider Jesus Christ himself, even- of purposeful “Blackwashing” with the intent of removing the original ethnicity- and thus importance- of white people. No one has ever been allowed to forget when someone is white. No one has ever been allowed to forget or not acknowledge white people.

How it could be "solved"

Personally, I love Black edits and I welcome them here. I find them creative and fun. But if you really, REALLY didn’t want us to make those edits, then naturally, we need more Black characters in all of our media!

I wouldn’t have to make edits if I saw more of me to begin with in the things I like to watch- but when we have those characters, racists act an ass about them. We’re not allowed to even be present! I’ve seen too many gamer bros mocking the existence of Yasuke in Assassin’s Creed, and he was a real ass man. But if we made a game about African peoples in African societies, how many of the gamer bros would actually play those games? Do you think there’d be as much support, when we hear so much about Black characters that are treated so abhorrently? How many games do we have where people would love their faves just as much if they were Black? I even learned that Solas was apparently supposed to be a man of color. IMAGINE how many people would not have liked that man, with the same exact plot and characterization.

Something I’ve noticed recently: apparently "Blackwashing" is not a thing when White fans “allow” it. Take this recent trend with Miku. International Miku was beloved! But if you draw any other character as Black on any other day, there will be people that are horrid about it. Ask any artist, Black artists and Black cosplayers especially, who’s ever done it what their comments are like. I’ve read entire missives akin to white supremacist drivel on how it’s somehow morally wrong to make characters Black. Meanwhile no amount of “hey maybe you shouldn’t do this” prevented the movie Gods of Egypt from being created, with a cast full of British White people.

Solutions to Avoiding Whitewashing!

1) Using References!!

Do I think you should know what Black people look like? Yes. We’re humans. It’s 2024. Everyone knows what we look like when it’s time to hate and discriminate against us, so you know what we look like when it’s time to love and depict us. If you’re on Tumblr, you have access to the Internet. ESPECIALLY if you’re in the U.S., as Black people are the source of damn near every piece of online pop culture. If you can find my dialect to make my jokes, you can find pictures of me.

Would I rather you use a reference every single time so that you can only strengthen your depiction of my people? ABSOLUTELY.

Anyone on the Internet telling you not to use a reference or that you shouldn’t need a reference? Unfollow them. You don’t need that negativity in your life. Why would you deprive yourself of a tool to create? The greatest portrait painters in history had to look at their subjects! You are not getting paid nearly as much to do this as Hans Holbein, and he had to stare at Henry VIII correct else lose his head- you can pull up multiple references. I’d far rather be judged for using hella references than be judged for being a racist!

Part of the issue is people draw what they’re used to, what they’re comfortable with (thus last lesson). But if what you’re used to is not what someone will look like… That’s not okay. Their features are not the issue, your skills are the issue. Learn! Practice! There is no rush. No one is rushing you to be perfect at drawing Black characters, and no one is rushing you to post them. You can just practice! If you’re not a professional, you can take as long as you need to draw! If you need to draw that piece of hair over and over until you feel like you have down the shape, you do that! If you need to use a tool that would draw the hair for you, you get that tool!

If you want to post, you can say you are practicing! If you make clear you are practicing, then be willing to accept that people may have feedback. I’d far rather deal with someone saying they’re unconfident and practicing, than someone posting a whitewashed caricature and closing their ears because “well at least I’m trying!”

2) Empathize! Care about actual Black people when you create a Black character!

Imagine, if you will, in the Twilight Zone: you went to an artist, and you asked for a white character (I typed in “regular looking white dude” on google). There’s hardly ever any white characters, you’re so super excited about this one! You paid good money, because you’ve seen just how amazing this artist creates! They’re so good at drawing characters of color! But no matter how many times you ask, they send you back an image of… Assad Zaman.

That man might be fine as hell! Gorgeous! Beautifully done! Chef’s kiss. Stunning! But… He’s not white. That’s not what you asked or paid for. You can’t even fathom how they mixed this up, they don’t even look alike! And when you confront them, they gaslight you, they call YOU the issue for not understanding how you can’t tell that this is a white man! They would never get this wrong! They have white friends, you’re the racist! But you’re not stupid, and you have functioning eyes- you can SEE what this drawing looks like! And… It’s not you.

It’s dehumanizing. It’s being told that there’s a “better way” to look like you, and that’s by… Not looking like you. You, as you exist, are what’s incorrect. Your identity is incorrect, not their drawing. It’s better to have thinner hair instead of an afro or locs, it’s better to have lighter skin, it’s better to have a straighter, thinner nose over a round one, and smaller lips.

And what makes it worse is knowing that people who don’t look like you? Probably won’t care. They won’t be willing to see- not unable, but unwilling- that playing with this caricature is harmful, that they’re propagating harm by not acknowledging it. They’re letting you know that your humanity means less to them than the clout received with a whitewashed or half-assed Black character, and that people will applaud them for that ‘attempt at inclusion’. And people will applaud! They will be entertained by the mere performance! And that hurts.

I’m going to say this, and it’s awkward and I try not to say it directly on here, but… Having Black friends and/or being around actual, real life Black people would help. I can tell from some of the questions I receive that Black characters and their traits- especially things like our hair and our cultures- are being treated as… alien concepts. But even if, for whatever reason, you legitimately don’t know any Black people, you do not need to know us individually to care about our humanity as a whole! Even if you do not know we’re there, we are, and we could possibly see your work!

By acknowledging Blackness and making room to understand what it means- and that includes how we can look- you are doing the bare minimum of acknowledging our personhood. If you cannot do even that, you don’t need to be drawing us.

Conclusion

Here’s the thing: if you want to draw a white man with tanned skin, do that. Just do it! You do NOT have to erase me to have more of you! There is not a single fandom where the majority of the white fans ever said “gee, not another white guy!” It simply doesn’t happen. God knows we wish it did sometimes. You will always have an audience for white characters. There’s no danger to any of you of “being erased”.

(Without putting on my political hat, I will say that a lot of white people who consider themselves to be far from white supremacist will express beliefs in line with great replacement theory if you push them hard enough. It is unfortunately not as uncommon an idea as you might think. I would do some self-evaluation.)

People are going to notice that you only ever draw white people, but… To be frank, that has never stopped anybody from being successful. Again, Jen Zee, at Supergiant with the terrible dark-skinned characters… Still has a job. at Supergiant. A professional studio. Dragon Age. Multiple games of consistent whitewashing and racist writing. Still going. If racism prevented creation and popularity, I wouldn’t have to have this blog. Alas, that is the society we currently live in.

But if you ACTUALLY want to depict Black characters, if you ACTUALLY want to do right and be respectful- not because you want the clout, but because it’s the right damn thing to do- then you need to commit! This means drawing them as they are meant to be! Accept that you’ll likely lose some fan base, who was there (whether they were aware of it or not) for the white and lighter skinned characters. Accept that this means that trying to appeal to those people by whitewashing characters is 1) wrong, 2) racist, which is 3) something you chose to do when you could simply have just… Drawn more white people.

I’ll say it again: antiracism is hard. It’s hard doing the right thing in a society that rewards racism so easily. It’s really hard knowing that people will stop supporting you or caring as much about your work when you start including Black characters as actively as you do white ones, especially if you start talking about the importance of it. But in my honest opinion, I’d far rather be someone that cared about others, with genuine fans, than someone that was racist for the fleeting internet clout of strangers. And that may be less ‘hopeful’ than I normally am in these lessons, but… People make choices. And people who have been informed- as you are now- are aware of the choices they are making. It’s the thought that counts, but the action that delivers- let’s choose better actions.

[creatingblackcharacters]

Welcome!

I'm going to update this list as I post more. So make sure to check periodically!

Anon Office Hours: Wed 12:30pm - Friday 6:30pm. (EST)

I DELETE ASKS THAT DO NOT CAPITALIZE THE IDENTITY OF "BLACK" ☺️

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FAQs!

Please take the time to review the one relevant to your questions! They are long- some longer than others- but they likely have a link contained within that can better guide your research!

��Syllabus📝

Lesson 1: "White Man Painted Black"?

Lesson 1.5: "Hair for Thought"- how visualizing affects your writing

Lesson 2: “That One Hairstyle? RETIRE IT!” Black Hair is an Art (pt.1)

Lesson 2.1: Addendum to Hair pt 1

Lesson 2: "It Takes HOW LONG?" Black Hair is an Art (pt.2)

Application! Examples of Protective Hair Coverings

Application! Ice's Lazy Loc Wash Routine

Application! How to: Simplified Braid

Application! Daisy E's Simplified Hair Drawing

Lesson 3: "Defying the Default"- Skin Tones and the Presence of Black Characters

Application! What are Black fans looking for in Commissions?

Lesson 4: "Do Black People Blush?" Bringing brown complexions to life

Application! Humanæ- Resource for Skin Palettes!

Lesson 5: "The Same Place As the Music" Lighting & Color

Lesson 6: "Let's Have A Talk, First" Stereotypes, pt 1

Lesson 6: “Why’s she so rude?” (She’s Not)- Stereotypes, pt 2

Lesson 6: "Is He the Threat (Or Are You?)"- Stereotypes, pt 3

Application! How to Spot a Stereotype: An Example

Lesson 7: "That's the Black one!"- Imagery and "Black-Coded" Characters

Lesson 8: “Across cultures, darker people suffer most. Why?” Multiethnic and Multicultural Blackness

Lesson 9: “Romance Will Not Solve Racism”- Interracial/Biracial/Blended Black and White Relationships and Families

Lesson 10: “The Ambiguously Brown Character™”- The Attachment to Eurocentric Beauty Standards

Lesson 11: “No, That’s Not ‘How Color Works’.” - Whitewashing

Lesson 12: “The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth” - Violence, Violent Imagery & Black Horror

Lesson 13: “It’s Giving” AAVE, and the Denied Yet Undeniable Impact of Black Culture

Lesson 14: “On Human Dignity.”  Blackness, Gender & Sexuality

Lesson 15: How To Guide Your Research

[creatingblackcharacters]

✨Manifest With Me✨

In 2025, We are no longer accepting the white character design with a vague brown tan/ashy dark skin, a slight curl pattern, and no/limited specific background as an "of color"! The "I'm Not Racist, Here's My Brown Character that Represents ALL Acceptable Melanin™" category has been permanently cancelled! If you are uncomfortable hearing this, know I am talking to you- and that's okay!

This year and henceforth, we encourage the creation of unambiguously Black characters! There is no shame in it- from your choice of features*, to your choice of cultural background. There are plenty of ways to make it known that your Black character... Is supposed to be Black!

(*Blackness runs the range of physical appearance- it's not just skin color! It's an identity!)

If you feel your character cannot be identifiably Black without concern for your "skill" or your "popularity", it is time to look within- and I have an entire blog dedicated to offering you resources and reflection during such a task!

Happy New Year- let's all choose to be more intentional creators this year! 💝

[creatingblackcharacters]

Zira from Pretty Please I Don't want to be a Magical Girl!

Rubric