I haven’t been posting much art on tumblr lately because I’ve been focusing on IG. I posted 5 different entries of the six fan arts challenge there that I’ll post here as well eventually. But I decided to make a sixth entry for it, this very one that I’m posting now.
Here you have Ariel, Hermione, Queen Elsa, Daenerys, Howl Jenkins Pendragon, and Usagi Tsukino aka Sailor Moon. + Katniss.
YES they are all black and the fact that someone gets upset by this FICTIONAL characters being portrayed as black people is exactly why I made them like this. And the fact that someone gets upset by this when REAL black people is being murdered on the streets for the simple reason of being black is why BLACK LIVES MATTER.
A lot of white people have the discourse that they don’t like when they change the race of an already existent fictional character, that why don’t they make new original characters instead, yet they happily accept when POC characters are changed on movies and portrayed white. but let’s be honest, it is just racism and a racist discourse. I agree on the second part that we MUST have way way more original main POC characters but I completely disagree with the first part. I think that we as creatives and creators of content have the absolute freedom to redesign characters however we want (specially fictional characters!!!). We have that power! People accepts willingly redesigns that make characters look ABSOLUTELY different as long as they are still white, but are ALWAYS ready to complain if they are portrayed black. Also the other commonly used discourse of accuracy is ridiculous too. Specially on fiction. People is eager to believe in dragons, trolls, and magic or aliens but no in black and other POC having leading rolls on fantasy. Because a girl building a magic ice castle out of thin air is believable AS LONG AS SHE IS WHITE. If she is black it somehow doesn’t make sense. *cough* racism *cough*
By saying this I am the first one that has to check on my own privilege as a white spanish european person, because most of my art depicts white people. That’s no one’s fault but mine. So I acknowledge myself on that. It is NOT something I have to try to change. It WON’T happen again. Because when I decided that I wanted to live my life making art, I wanted to inspire and make people feel welcome with it and I now can see that I’ve been failing in part due to my internalised racism. And again I think that as creator of content I have the power to educate people with my art.
So DRAW, BE CREATIVE, BE DIVERSE, BE INCLUSIVE! BECAUSE REPRESENTATION MATTERS.
BECAUSE BLACK LIVES MATTER. BLACK TRANS LIVES MATTER.
AND NO LIFE MATTERS UNTIL BLACK LIVES FUCKING MATTER.
And please educate yourself! Because it is not the job of black people to make you stop being racist, as it is not the job of women to make you stop being misogynist or the job of LGTBQI+ people to make you stop being an homophobe. It is YOUR responsibility. The resources to do it are out there, if you don’t do it it is because you don’t want to.
LISTEN to the voices of the people systematically being abused and oppressed! and don’t undermine and devalue their words with your “But...” arguments. Listen and acknowledge what they have to say because it is their reality, their truth, and no one knows better what that reality is but the people living it!
P.S. I love film version of Howl but honey I’m all in for this redesign I made of him! He is my cannon now! Future Husbando! <3
And yes, representation matters.
And right now AND always black lives fucking matter!!
P.S.2 Katniss is a bonus. I drew her on one of the previous five six fanarts compilations I made, but I received some “why did you drew her black” comments. And, though she is described as an olive skin person with grey eyes in the book, the response is BECAUSE I FUCKING WANTED TO. <3
I hope you like my art and reblog BUT PLEASE DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION AND CREDIT <3
