#bhm challenge

[creatingblackcharacters]

CBC Black History Month Challenge!

It would make me fulfilled to know that 1) we've actually been listening to what I teach here, and 2) that we care about and celebrate the presence of Black characters, Black creators, and Black fans! So, in honor of Black History Month (US), here is my challenge to you- and yes, everyone can participate!

Part #1:

Create something!

If you're an artist, you can draw a Black character (Fan, OC, Black Edit). Writers, write a blurb! If you make GIFs, make a GIFset; if you crochet, I'm sure there's somebody Black that crochets worth honoring! You're creators- get creative!

Here's the thing: I want these pieces to be happy. Happy, joyful, triumphant, powerful, victorious, loving... SOMETHING POSITIVE!

Find quotes of famous Black people to use as inspiration, if you'd like (no, they don't have to be American. Black people exist worldwide!) That'd be really nice, even!

Part #2:

Tag your friends!

There is an unfortunate social fear of sharing things relating to Blackness on this site. At least for a little while, I'd like to see some boldness, some bravery. We all deserve to be appreciated out loud. It doesn't have to be much- just a "hey, this was fun, I'm tagging such and such if they want to participate!" No pressure, but no need to coddle, either.

Keep in mind, none of this has to be complex, but it DOES have to take some active thought! You could draw a lovingly done 5th grade stick figure, and I'd value it far more than a Michelangelo-level racist piece. I want you to take what you've learned here into consideration as you craft your work. Take the time to respect your creation! Recognize how you put so much thought into this, and how it feels to have created something with such care (and then note how frustrating it would be to see something done with no effort at all!)

Just tag the page for me to see it; I'm excited to see what we come up with!

[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!)

[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

[novae-viking]

"It was as if Sparrowhawk had called him Prince Arren; son of Myth"

I got finished reading the farthest shore recently and now im really sad that i wont ever get to read it for the first time again.

So i made some art of Arren/ Lebannen for @creatingblackcharacters black history month challenge, i absoloutely adored his character arc throughout the story and how much care and attention was put into his relationship with Sparrowhawk. Like 😢they care baout eachother

I also made this reference sheet of his appearance throughout the story which also breaks down some of the thoughts i had when designing him cause we dont get a lot of details.

All in all: the farthest shore is an amazing coming of age epic about death, immortality, dragons, love, and devotion.

Feel free to participate but no pressure :]

@owlheartt @spudcat @spirirsstuff @chasani @parsnip-p @quinndelightful @coldgoldlazarus @lunex-the-cat

[feliville]

[OC] A drawing of the main character of the story I'm working on; Zayd, getting a retwist by his lover Santiago.

for @creatingblackcharacters' Black History Month challenge !

I wanted to draw something sweet + joyful for the challenge, and since Valentine's day also just happened, I've picked my main OC couple as the subjects : -]. Someone trusting their partner well enough to let them do their hair is such a sweet scenario, it's been stuck in my mind ever since I read it in this lesson.

To my Black audience, thank you so much for being here!! The amount of time and care given to learn how to properly draw Black characters will always be worth it if it means I can draw and write characters you like and can relate to; you deserve faithful and loving depictions of Blackness in any media you like 💜

Tagging @prozac and @6edbuge to participate if you wanna : -] !!

[blewis50]

Beautiful.

BHMCAS DAY 3: 70's/DISCO

[southpauz]

Pokédex Challenge

Day 32: Nidoran♂️

[alibonbonn]

For @creatingblackcharacters ’ Black History Month Challenge!

It is Wyll and Karlach having a drink at the reunion party, particularly when Wyll asks with awe if you can smell forest, after their long demon hunting spree in hell. Karlach is looking at Wyll wistfully twirling some blades of grass in her fingers.

This is dedicated to Black creators for making your art, despite the fandom racism stacked against you (not just this! In every one). Thank you for bringing pieces of your heart to this place, you deserve the carefree indulgence of fandoms, and they’re better for having you in it. <3

[lastlabyrinth]

It's the CBC Black History Month Challenge!!!!!!!!!

sqex recently failed to adapt a winning player hairstyle design, one with coils, into the game. i think all of us were pretty disappointed when they claimed they didn't have the technology to do it right. it's good that they want to try again someday. but until then i think it'd be nice if we allowed ourselves to imagine the characters of ffxiv with Black features even if they can't look that way yet in game.

if you haven't done custom deliveries yet in endwalker, may i suggest you give them a try? it's a great questline and Margrat is a brilliant, nerdy Black woman. without her effort and knowledge (and titanic amounts of coffee, judging from her energy levels) our heroes would never have reached the ends of creation to save the universe. but moreover i think she's just so charming… she is not just an engineer and scientist but an advocate for her fellow workers. and while she's already beautiful, i thought she would be beautiful with natural hair, too.

Now for the important part. To my Black followers: You belong in science, engineering, and professional spaces. You belong in stories. You belong in games!! And you belong just as you are. You are not too dark; your natural hair is not dirty or unprofessional or "too hard" to draw or model. The art you touch is enriched for your presence, and the places you're shut out from are the poorer for your absence. It's a question of effort and a question of Black presence in creative spaces, and I'm angry that we can't make a character who looks like this in FFXIV. So until (and even after!) you can, I hope you let your imagination run wild and invite yourself into every space that lacks your magic. I love you!!

there's not many days left in BHM but i'll still tag my friends @ababblesaurus, @myrfing, @flower-waltz and @saprophilous because i bet they would draw something cool if they had time….

[simkoos]

needed some fresh uni students for my current save and got a little carried away 🥴🤎

from left to right;

milan, latisha, asia, jerrod, demi, maegan, brooks, & shawna

[creatingblackcharacters]

Actually, I'll check it now just in case;

A kind but firm note for the CBC BHM Challenge- while I do love to see your Black OCs, keep in mind that the challenge isn't just about "promoting your Black characters". Not only can you do that at any point on my page, but that's not the point of the challenge.

Keep in mind that it's not about you! It's to openly celebrate the Black presence in media and in your spaces!

The only part that should center around you is the time you take to reflect as you create, and to show Black fans and creatives that yes, you value them and their image while you use it. This is supposed to be a creation of love and respect for others!

Make sure we're checking our intent as we create! I mean this, from my heart! And as always, support Black creatives!

[snvxiii]

My drawing for @creatingblackcharacters' CBC Black HIstory Month Challenge. Thank you for the opportunity to participate!

Since the flood of chaos 500 years ago, Sazh Katzroy fixes an ancient camera, developing a centuries-long passion for photography. He travels all over Nova Chrysalia, capturing day-to-day scenes to showcase the flow of life in a world where time is broken.

To my Black viewers: you deserve to be centered and considered. You deserve lovingly depicted Black characters and representation, with the goal of seeing your joy. I hope you always ask for more, more, and better.

With that statement in mind, I drew my version of Sazh leading the life I wrote he'd have in my canon of Lightning Returns. Close-ups of the three lined arts + head canons are under the cut.

Tagging @fangsded if you want to join in!

Sazh is often bombarded with too much food by the people he helps and their neighbors. He, Dajh, and Celeste still work out in the shell of an airship, but has a small place in the nearby village. It acts as a gallery and storage space for all of their art.

Sazh's favorite area to take photos of is the Wildlands. He especially likes to track the day-night cycle of the local flora, and makes projects of visiting the same spots to log any changes. It's interesting how one can capture change in a world that's stopped changing.

Sazh visits his old friends regularly, as much as he's able. He catches up with Fang every time he goes to the Dead Dunes, taking a much deserved drink. He tries to catch Noel and Snow when he finds them – as hard as that is nowadays – and short meetings with Vanille when able. He gives Lumina letters to sneak to Vanille. (Strangely, none of the photos he takes of Lumina have her appear in them.)

[feliville]

The way you render skin is so beautiful and lifelike and inspiring. Could stare at the faces you draw for ages (Zayd's smile in the most recent art you shared makes me sooo happy :'] )

Thank you so much ;O; !!! I appreciate u 💜

NGL SAMEEE I keep coming back 2 look at him, I know I keep drawing him vaguely sad, stressed or numb BUT. I also need 2 draw him smiling more he's so cutes

[airlocksandaviaries]

Tierra Stevenson, the main character of the sci-fi novel I’m working on, for @creatingblackcharacters’ Black History Month Challenge!

“I felt my being was as much a part of this universe as any star, as any comet.”

- Astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison, on what it was like to go to space.

If there’s one thing I want my Black audience to take away from my novel and my character Tierra Stevenson, it’s that you are an enormous part of the universe, part of the story, part of humanity. Too often in stories Black characters are just side characters or symbols or plot points. I created Tierra to be the most important part of the story, with the power to change the universe. My Black audience, you are as integral to the fabric of the universe as the sun in the sky and the world wouldn’t be the same without you.

Happy Black History month, friends. I hope something wonderful happens to you today. 💜💫

Tagging my friends!

@assignmentimprobable I love you very much my friend, Happy Black History Month 🫶 @adamdna @veradragonjedi @liass-21 @doodledrawreblogs @noratheelk @pandagobrr @academicblorbo

[notbeatingtheachuesations]

My piece for @creatingblackcharacters’s Black History Month challenge! This art was inspired by the Pleiades star cluster; the story of the seven sister stars and why only six are usually visible can be found on every continent in some form or another (except Antarctica), and so it may well be humanity’s oldest surviving story.

This art not only has the seven blue Pleiades stars, but also the red star Aldebaran and the three blue stars that we know today as Orion’s Belt. In Xhosa folklore, the seven stars are the daughters of the sky god, and Aldebaran is their husband. One night, their husband went hunting, but though he shot his arrows at three zebras (Orion’s Belt), they all fell short, and he could not retrieve them because a lion (Betelgeuse) was also watching the zebras. He waits there still.

To my Black fellow artists (of any type or skill level): your stories are worth telling. Your creativity and passion deserve space to thrive, and the world is better with you and your stories in it. You deserve to be respected and celebrated, this month and always.

Also tagging @swan-scribbles, @tamsong, and @aurenflare if you’d like to participate!

[amapolamystery]

I hope you've all had a happy Black History Month! Here's my entry for @creatingblackcharacters' Black History Month Challenge! I thought it was a great opportunity to celebrate the first African cartoon coming to Cartoon Network :} so here's Iyanu!

My message for my Black viewers is this: You are entitled to take up space in art communities. Regardless of skill level, regardless of experience, regardless of how big or small your artistic goals are. Every artist is valuable, and you're no exception! Expressing yourself is a wonderful thing, and there will always be someone who is thrilled to see your work! So keep creating, or don't think twice about getting started! Wherever you go, you'll find your community, because Black artists shine everywhere ✨

While this is a very last minute entry, I wanted to tag my friends @cxffncase and @bodegadulac in case they want to pitch in!