[ SECRET POST #2273 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2273 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 05 pages, 117 secrets from Secret Submission Post #325.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 2 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - posted twice ], [ 1 2 3 - trolls ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Whitewashing in fanart

[(Anonymous)]

This is something I see fairly often on tumblr--where someone will post art of a character or characters, and you go, 'Wow, that person should not be so pale.' And, like, sometimes I just think I am being over-critical, but I am in a fandom where one of the most popular characters is a brown guy (woobification, one half of the most popular m/m ship, English accent, etc. the works for your usual tumblr darlings), and it is...really noticeable.

I don't want to be the person who reblogs something to say, 'This is WRONG,' but I also don't think it should be just continually let go. I have considered leaving an anon message in the ask box of one artist or another saying, 'Hey, I really like your work, and my one constructive criticism would be to suggest you take a look at the skin tone of character x,' but I have never done that before. I don't know. I don't want to be the 'fandom police' or whatever, and I generally assume that the whitewashing is not intentional, but. What would or do you do, F!S?

(I went back and forth on whether or not to post this, because it is sure to get some unpleasant responses, but I really would like some input.)

Re: Whitewashing in fanart

[(Anonymous)]

It's a can of worms you don't want to open. The person might be experimenting with colors or their color display might be different from yours. Almost nobody intentionally changes the skin tone of an established character. Unless they're consistently lighting up only dark characters, I don't think you should point it out. That being said if more than their skin tones are off, you could point out the color errors out.

Re: Whitewashing in fanart

[(Anonymous)]

SA

But that might just be me. People being overly concerned and calling out whitewashing makes me a lot less likely to share any drawing I do of a non-white person, because I'm afraid I screwed something up.

Re: Whitewashing in fanart

[(Anonymous)]

It's likely unintentional-- most amateur artists don't have a very good handle on skin tone variance and only recently have i seen tutorials for darker skin tones. You definitely shouldn't reblog it telling them they're wrong, since it's probably a technical thing. An ask (maybe anonymous if you don't want to catch flack) telling them you feel they could improve their technique would be more helpful.

Re: Whitewashing in fanart

[forgottenjester]

You know, it can be an honest mistake of the artist. Some are still learning. I also remember there was a lot of wank about one artist's work for LoK and it turned out the reason her Korra was lighter skinned was because of the tint of her computer screen.

Anyway, on point, I don't think it would hurt for you to anonymously tell them that you think they should work on their skin tone. In fact, it could probably really help them. I know I love getting critique on my writing and so as long as you word it nicely they should have nothing to get upset over. Also, you could be saving them a lot of trouble down the line. Tumblr is a beast. Any wrong, whether perceived or true, is never forgotten and once that rock starts rolling downhill it can't be stopped. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people harassed into deleting their tumblrs for something as small as having a differing opinion. The racewank that could start from something like this has the ability to get huge if not nipped in the bud early.

Because let's face it. You're probably not the only one who's noticed. Someone is going to say something eventually and they probably won't be as nice as you. They'll probably do it in the notes. It will get reblogged from there and then it's history.

So yeah, and if they answer your anonymous critique with scorn then you know they're probably just a whitewashing asshole and you don't have to deal with them anymore.

I wish I had more advice but that's about it. Good luck.

Re: Whitewashing in fanart

[insanenoodlyguy]

If this is happening that frequently... maybe you should check your moniter. Look at it on another computer first before you decide "whitewashing. Whitewashing everywhere."

Re: Whitewashing in fanart

[(Anonymous)]

Or pull up screenshots of the original to compare against.