THE 5 WORST CHARACTER DESIGN TRENDS [in cartoons, movies + games]

these things drive me so crazy!!! What design things bother you?
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[@rieluvs]

When in kid's shows there's a bunch of boys with different color schemes then one girl who is girly and literally breathes the color pink

[@scoobysnax07]

True

[@mirandakay6504]

Ikr it's not very fair

[@mushiitzu3079]

Uhm. That girl is me... Uhhhhhh.....

[@sunny607]

I know. . Like it’s okay for girls to like pink and stuff, but when the ONLY girl character is a legit Barbie doll-

[@zoomie1427]

The girls just like strawberry flavored cocaine

[@artangels2520]

I hate when there's like one non white character and they're just a basic stereotype played for humour instead of a real character. Like, when Asians are just nerds and black characters are just there to be sassy and dramatic.

[@riahs_corner]

I get what you mean. That really is annoying.

[@WhoTookSpecimen]

Yeah, it also ticks me off.

[@yeathisistaken9773]

You speaking straight facts

[@davidandrada4968]

Y los latinos que somos?

[@starshine9629]

All I can say is Tall girl

[@apieceofgarbage7301]

When "glasses + ponytail = ugly" is brought up I always think about the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 1 where the polar opposite happens. After the glow-up the character starts wearing glasses and has a ponytail instead which definitely feel intentional and against the mentioned... thing.

[@MrFourchords]

i know

[@boopsnoot163]

Jello scrunchie

[@airyone17]

​@@boopsnoot163 Yes

[@LegendofKal]

Probably the one and only time the trope was subverted

[@XD-yn6hb]

I loved that scene.

[@riymeep6708]

The "not drawing ugly characters" one reminds me of a manga I read where the main character is a maid that the hero falls in love with. People are surprised that the hero likes her and claims that she isn't attractive, which I found so weird because both the maid and the princess (who is constantly praised for being beautiful) have the exact same face

[@gaybitchynerd]

What the name of the manga?

[@riymeep6708]

@@gaybitchynerd I think it was "Yuusha-sama ni Ikinari Kyuukon sareta no desu ga". I personally didn't enjoy it for too long but it's worth giving a shot

[@mavericktjo4548]

@Riy Meep either the maid & the princess are identical twins, or they're both suffering from Same Face Syndrome

[@NoiseDay]

I love when manga or anime with same face syndrome pretend one character is more or less attractive than another

[@inaneinacheve]

I totally get what you mean, but for me it's not because of the face, just so that they ressemble each other, like in One Piece, Hancock is supposed to be the prettiest woman, but when you compare her to Robin, Nami, Viola, Tashigi, they're different, but could you tell that she's the most beautiful out of those girls ?

[@malarky27]

Or when male animal characters don't need clothes but the girls do...

[@Johanaa]

Regular show

[@lukafarrell-anderson9408]

@@Johanaa Looney toons

[@marcoanimacoes5690]

Loz's Zoras (only Majora's mask) and Sonic (Dr Eggman have clothes too but we don't talk about that)

[@ametsunami4070]

*regular show screaming in the distance*

[@fin6147]

Ray D Greenwald 💀

[@reeseygeesey]

it annoys me when adults write movies about teenagers interacting through the internet but realize we dont use emojis ironically and dont use correct punctuation... and especially for cyberbullying, bullies dont comment things like "hahaha look at this freak LOL" as a caption. its more like stupid trends like band kids jokes and the CEO of thing.

[@shineyfish]

Adult writing a film: Actually I have never seen a teenager

[@nateduval2997]

head empty what is it called?

[@shineyfish]

@head empty :0 that sounds cool!!

[@h0pskip]

head empty :0 when do you think people will be able to read it

[@ihrtaida]

Yes! I want a movie about teens, written by teens or people that actually understand us! We’re not all 1 dimensional

[@MallowMaranta]

Similar to the last one, it always annoys me when female versions of characters are only different because they have a bow and eyelashes and lipstick. The male equivalent could have nothing that implies masculinity but the female version is female because it has long eyelashes??? For example Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Mickey has practically nothing masculine about is character and could feasibly be gender swapped without visual difference but to make a female version they add a bow and eyelashes. It's like if a character has no detail they are male, but if you simply add eyelashes and lips they are female. I don't think I explained that the best but I hope I got my point across.

[@s.terry_comics]

i got your point, and i noticed this as a kid, wich confused me when i started learning character design by myself. I was so confused by this this, because i was smart enough to understand that men have eyelashes too, sometimes even longer eyelashes than women.

[@IRllyLikeDeathSitter]

Omg that bothers me too! Like the male character is always a generic character design template and you slap a bow and eye lashes to make them a girl. Basically Pac-Man and Pac-Woman (I think that’s her name?) Yet to be fair a lot of art styles are very simple so those are pretty much the only things that distinct the girls and guys. I’ll have to admit I do that sometimes too. So yeah trying to work on that lol.

[@Thinginator]

The eyelashes thing is kinda understandable, if you want to give your character designs a unified look without much sexual dimorphism, drawing the eyes differently is one of the easiest ways to imply that one of them is female. I’ve also seen at least one comic where the only difference between male and female characters is that the female characters have a bow lol.

[@a_dyingchild645]

It's more because of the simplified style, and also the fact that Mickey Mouse is really old now, so generically that was how it was, also, how tf else are you supposed to make a mouse look female or male-

[@s.terry_comics]

@@a_dyingchild645 genitals

[@veebutcher8543]

I noticed that with the 'bait and switch' a lot of them are poc and then get turned into random creatures/animals. It just plain annoys me like I just wish they made a normal movie that includes poc just once!

[@Newfiecat]

Considering that there really aren't very many movies where characters are transformed, it's especially WEIRD that it happens so often to POC characters. In the very few animated movies that even have POC main characters.

[@kaostrashpit8488]

At least with soul he didn't turn into an animal, and we got to see many humans as either souls or alive.

[@irene3082]

No child's movie is a "normal movie", but Home, Moana, Encanto, Akeelah and the Bee, and The Wiz didn't have that. Princess and the Frog is pretty justified if you consider that it was partially based on the Frog Princess. The characters are originally white characters and the princess relied on an anti-witchcraft bracelet until she lost it before being kissed by a frog, turning her into a frog as well. Given the setting of the Princess and the Frog, it's impossible for Tiana to be a princess because she is black. This works out better because if they let her keep her status as a princess with the witchcraft bracelet and all that shit, it would be an issue of "All Disney did was change her skin tone! That's just poor effort of inclusion" or something. Also, Disney usually sticks to the idea of true love's kiss in many princess movies which is why Tiana became a frog: there was no love in that kiss.

[@cosmiqcarcinogen]

I was rubbed the wrong way when all 3 of the examples were black characters in that trope :/

[@VanNessy97]

Moral of this comment thread: Depicting POC as literal animals is inherently racist

[@existingfortheweekend2724]

People in movies: I’m ugly Everyone: you have clear skin and like things what do you mean. The movie character: I’m going to change myself for the boy anyway. Everyone:*confused screaming*

[@unicornbarfingrainbows7599]

Having hair down and wearing contacts = pretty

[@bread8095]

@@unicornbarfingrainbows7599 unless of you wear sweatshirts or sweat pants or GOD FORBID both

[@unicornbarfingrainbows7599]

im me how dare you be cold, coldness is a sin! It’s almost as bad as the god forbidden *sneakers*

[@shreksspawn2359]

@@cati2947 it's not there. 😩

[@pine-solismylemonade5542]

Yesss ikr

[@buzzinbea]

I hate when there's a group of characters and there's only one girl and her ONLY personality trait is being The Girl or being in love with the leader boy or something!

[@circleception3916]

The only thing is that actually happens

[@Artist_of_Imagination]

@@circleception3916 in your fantasies?

[@completely_normal111]

Bea Kind YES

[@josephinetteAH]

Don't play Otome game . This is exactly the main situation in all the games.

[@natasazojic8002]

Hell yes, it's cliche and annoyin af

[@ayyymacaroni]

High School Glow-Up scene Character A: "I'm so ugly...my nose is so big" Character B:"Who told you that?? That's a normal nose!" A: "Can you make me pretty?" B: "Sure!" *in glowup montage* Character A: pulls off Character B's glasses, cleans them, and puts them back on B lets down her hair, A combs it and puts it back up. "Makeup?" "Not needed." "Here's some ChapStick, use it." "What about my hoodie?" "Uhhh, I don't care, keep it?" Character B looks the exact same at the end and they're like "this hasn't changed anything at all!" "Exactly." bonus points if they end up dating

[@Iputtheunctionalinfunctional]

Something kinda like that happens in the book 'the school for good and evil' when one of the main characters gets a makeover, and when she walks out people actually like how she looks, but when she runs to a mirror she realises that she didn't actually change at all, and that the only difference was that she was confident. Honestly it's a great book trilogy and I strongly recommend it :D

[@bananaxoonana8131]

why did i think character b would rip off character a's nose 💀

[@itsakid-6288]

@@bananaxoonana8131 because your a weirdo

[@bananaxoonana8131]

@@itsakid-6288 LOLLL

[@duskdevil5662]

@@bananaxoonana8131 I was half-expecting that too, ngl

[@river-of-noodles]

I think Lola rabbit is a good character not like “omg best design in history” or “brilliant backstory and balanced personality” she’s just funny and when she gets character development she gets pretty interesting, I just think she’s neat

[@FallenIsAWeirdCat]

I never watched the full Looney toons show but I do love how Lola is designed to be attractive but also gets a lot of character and her personality isn’t just being pretty

[@jasongoldman3850]

The character's name is Lola Bunny.

[@artemiswolf4508]

My biggest design pet peeve is when they have to create the parents of a character, so they just make them exactly like the character and the mom and dad look identical, it seems like two siblings had a kid together.

[@sir.frogington8242]

Artemis Wolf Family Guy has been real quiet after you posted this comment

[@lesuperbooper4622]

Oooof, that's a big nope right there.

[@alaaaziz3565]

Or the kid looks like only one parent like Naruto and his son like you guys realize that baruto has a mom right

[@redsound9333]

Artemis Wolf I actually make the parents first then combine aspects of them to make there kid.

[@TuesdaysArt]

Ikr? The VanHoutens on The Simpsons is an extreme case of this, they look so similar that it gets uncomfortable. There's also the child from the Hunchback sequel who apparently got none of his mother's traits besides her eye color. It's almost like Captain Phoebus reproduced asexually! Also-it bothers me when *biological* children are designed in a way which isn't genetically possible given their parents' designs. If a man with black hair and a woman with blonde hair have blonde kids, something fishy is going on bc a child between a blond(e) and someone with black hair will be brunette 100% of the time. Same thing with black haired people and red heads. I think Esmeralda and Phoebus' kid would fall into this category too, unless Esmeralda is a *really* dark haired brunette. It's a mess. I'm pretty sure Melody (Ariel and Eric's kid) also fits this category? She looks like Ariel but with Eric's hair color and it's so lazy... I know it's shorthand to make the family resemblance more obvious, though it's still a pet peeve of mine nonetheless.

[@evenstarlights1625]

What really bugs me is the "pretty warrior lady" Very often you have this woman who is in a battle or anything close to combat. And the sweat just makes her look even better cause its just in the right place. Hair and make up are on point. There is no dirt anywhere to make her look ugly. I hate when movies or games do that. She was in a freaking fight! Allow the poor girl to be ugly please!

[@triantafelidesfox8344]

Evenstarlights give her mudstains and bruises and crap!! Show the evidence of the battle!!!

[@shinysoda6]

In anime it's worse,the worrier with come back from like an explosion and they just come back a few scratches,some dirt on their cheeks,and a bit of low energy -.-

[@AA-pv6mi]

I don’t see how that’s a bad thing. It’s a movie not reality tv

[@triantafelidesfox8344]

Shiny Mimikyu XD ugh yeah, and if there’s any blood it’s usually either just some random straight line cuts or sorta romanticized or something?

[@triantafelidesfox8344]

t300808 a yeah that’s true, but a lot of times it just seems like they’re prioritizing keeping the girl conventionally attractive and merchandisable and it kinda undermines the intensity/effects of the scene

[@kazooooooooooooooooooooooo9823]

About the first one, a game that handles that character design thing really well is Skyrim. I absolutely love how the beast races look and how they don't just give up on the females.

[@CoatieAnimates]

KHAJIITS ARE LEGIT MY FAVORITE RACE TO PLAY AS SO I 100% APPROVE THIS PERSON'S COMMENT

[@PhoenixAura81]

Speaking of the baby thing, the birth of that baby must've been an absolute NIGHTMARE. The mother probably would've had a serious c-section and must've bled out so much that the blood loss would be life-threatening. I know I'm severely over-analyzing a cartoon trope, but still.

[@thefooler2387]

Males: Actually looks like the animal trying to be represented. Females: Curves, Eyelashes, and pink. *WHY*

[@hethey66]

Idk why but when you said Pink it really offended me.

[@justarandombrit]

@@hethey66 Please don't whoosh me but.... That's kinda the point.

[@TheMethrayilanu]

I prefer purple as a girl

[@hethey66]

@@TheMethrayilanu Girls can wear whatever color they want (Just saying, I did understand the prefer)

[@arianamccartney6467]

as a girl myself i personally hate the color pink i honestly dont know why, i think it started in 2nd grade? I hated the color bc some of the boys and like 2 girls were saying that "pink is just for girks" so i started hating the color completely but i never really had an opinion on the color- and i prefer red, blue, and black, my fav colors

[@riotwire]

"his personality is he's the edgy skater guy that wants to start a band, his personality is he's the comic relief who plays the tuba, his personality is he is overly analytical and loves math but hates germs, her personality is... GIRL."

[@Geoenn]

I think this is the greatest description of a female film character there is. *Girl*

[@Disheartthorn]

XD

[@StormiWolfYT]

I see no problem here.

[@justapuffin7303]

Vaucha Mach The second example is basically Sans, but instead of a Tuba it would be a Trombone

[@estellesmith4118]

@@justapuffin7303 You make a fair point.

[@its.esthergirl5320]

Lola isn't that bad to me. She was attractive but they didn't oversexualize her and she actually was fleshed out as a character. She was undeniably made to be conventionally attractive, but it wasn't annoying and in your face all the time like it was with the fish. Lola is one of the few female characters that were made to be feminine, capable and have personality.

[@trulybutnotyours69]

Thank you for saying things about the “ugly girl” type tropes because it’s coded to make little girls AND boys, and all others to feel insecure and buy stuff in the beauty industry. I love your videos you’re my idol❤

[@TokoWH]

'Giving up on the girls' is really annoying because 99% of the time you can tell that it's being done specifically to try and catch the horny teenager demographic. Not only does it seriously break immersion, it carried the unfortunate implication that 'men can be as monstrous and varied in design as we want but the girls still need to be eye candy to the viewers'. :/

[@jasper2739]

As a horny teen boy I can confirm that I hate this too. They just make me uncomfortable and are kinda super cringe, I usually skip scenes like that

[@DiceLegendaryWarrior]

You act like that's good for dudes lol...Guys are always some kind of appealing look unless they are supposed to be disliked

[@natalimoina]

​@@eattheasslikeitsgrass5113I know this comment is 3 years old lol, but even though I agree Eizoken is great at designing some parts of their characters, it still suffers from all the characters wearing the same exact boring outfit that doesn't show a single thing about their character.

[@fluffle6522]

The thing I hate is when they do that thing where they’re like “hm how do we show that these two people are married.. oh I know! Make them look they are twins!” Like dude this isn’t Alabama.

[@yea6561]

Mr and Mrs Willoughby be like:

[@azure1605]

XD

[@_-lariant-_5206]

GaChA MiNImoViEs I hate that...

[@urmom-zh6zs]

@@yea6561 why specifically the willoughbys

[@baconsoda7011]

Waki is wacky I’m almost a hundred percent certain that they are siblings

[@sunderthorme]

For the ugly rep, I LOVE a webtoon called ‘the makeup remover’ because most of the characters you follow are not conventionally attractive, or only are when wearing makeup, it’s also just a really good read tbh

[@mycatisasupermodel4932]

Ah, the makeup remover was really good! I also REALLY REALLY love surviving romance (the other webtoon the creator has done)

[@alannahrobertson7713]

One thing that annoys me is when the main character is excused for doing bad things JUST because they’re the main character, like if a character is just excused for wanting (usually) the popular girls boyfriend just because she’s the main character even before we see the popular girl be mean

[@mariaeduardaalexandrinooli2750]

looking at you mlb 👀

[@LeoDBW]

The movie Sierra Burgess is a Loser is one of the worst exemple of this trope: Sierra does really TERRIBLE things like lying, catfishing, harassement, she betrayed her friends and tricked a boy to kiss her while he had his eyes closed, even the supposed mean girl (who's not even that big of a bully in the beginning) show more depth and compassion than her! And in the end, after she was so terrible, she just wrote a SONG and everyone suddenly forgives her?? Nah, screw her and the writers.

[@clownfromclowntown]

One trope I’ve always been bothered by, especially in kids movies, is female characters who have absolutely zero personality and only exist and a prize for the main male character to win at the end. This is also usually coupled with the “slow motion montage of the female character flipping her fair as the main male character stares in bewilderment then acts clumsily” bit

[@oncreativemode5486]

dude what you just said was the sleeping beauty in a nutshell

[@wasabi4697]

*coughs* sword art online *coughs* asuna

[@badliar2621]

(Spoilers for How to train your dragon JUST IN CASE) This gives me How to Train your Dragon vibes. At the beginning of the first movie this sort of thing happens with Astrid. The difference is, she is shown many times to be stronger and has arguably more personality than Hiccup himself. But sadly she does scrape the line of falling into this trap

[@walkingarmageddon5479]

*Cough* Hinata *Cough*

[@necrobiology]

did you mean: meg from hercules.

[@andriuwu4037]

There's a movie called "not another teenage movie" Where they make fun of other movies that say a girl wearing glasses and a ponytail is considered ugly xD it's so fun

[@owlthesadenby3924]

I may just watch it... You know what? I will.

[@prim3615]

I LOVE THAT MOVIE

[@bubblyromano4ever]

Ohh that’s such a good movie!!

[@maxie1283]

LOL I watched that like last week 😂

[@abbykaiherau7539]

lmaoo i'll watch it

[@That_Chatty]

Adding to the large baby one, all I think about when I see those is how painful the birth must’ve been

[@griffindettman98]

One of the things that annoys me the most, especially when the characters are animals, is when the female characters are perfectly normal looking, and then the male characters are like huge-nosed monsters. Like in The Secret Life Pets, the fluffy white dog looks normal, but then the main character looks weird and overy disproportionate. Idk, maybe it's just me, but it's really annoying.

[@00_png10]

The “not like other girls” syndrome annoys me, It’s not like i hate the character/person itself, it’s that sometimes they think Liking reading, and hating on makeup makes them superior.

[@pwney400]

yeah, that one sucks. I think it stems from the world somehow giving young girls the idea that most women are just a pair of tits with no personality, so if they're anything more than that they must be "different" or they could just think they're better than everyone else, idk

[@HUEYYYYYY]

Same, I DESPISE girl that are like that, they think liking videogames, reading, liking the colour black, etc makes them different. But in reality there are a dozen of other girls that are like that. And the amount of emojis they use,,, it makes me disgusted. And I suspect they dont even like those things and just say them to be like, "uwu look at me, Im a special snowflake!"

[@ameliasv222]

I don't even get why it's called "Not like other girls" because every single main character in highschool movies acts like that.

[@hi4588]

sighs I used to be like that . . . in third grade. most likely because of media and stuff. it's such a bad trope, and certainly damaging to little kids who look to mcs of movies as role models. "Be like this and you'll get guys" etc

[@hi4588]

I hope that no real high schooler acts like that, but kids I've seen have certainly made me think otherwise. which is stupid. they have no personality other than hating on popular shit. kyra, you're not fucking special just because you hate on everything that other girls like. it makes you a pain to be around, that's why you have no friends.

[@jessiefox3739]

I hate, hate, hate when actresses in movies who play pretty teenage girls are like almost 30 years old in real life. They are comfortable wearing really short skirts, bras for shirts, really high heels and getting naked in front of men. While actresses who are teenagers in real life are playing the ugly girl because they are comfortable wearing jeans, sneakers and hoodies.

[@clarat6927]

I also hate when the preteen boy is voiced by an adult!

[@LaevLivy]

@@clarat6927 .....*remembered most of Anime voice actor are adults*.... Whoops...

[@Artist_of_Imagination]

@@LaevLivy yeah itachi's voice when he was 10 lmao

[@destinywhigham7961]

Idk my issue with this was I grew up expecting to look like a 30-something when I hit my teenage years. Sets up a weird expectation that you just skip acne and puberty and just automatically look mature and sexy when become a teen. Wish studios would stop using sexy scenes as a crutch in movies and just use age appropriate actors for their roles if its gonna be about teens/young adults

[@bandamani]

@@clarat6927 That's not really an issue imo. It's voice acting for a reason, an adult who can pull off the voice they want and a range of emotions with it is probably far easier to find than a preteen.

[@AntejaP]

Also the idea to hate smart kids aka "nerds", as an ex-nerd, in all the schools I've been to, we were literally worshipped since we would give homeworks to copy, answer teacher's questions so they didn't ask anyone else and we would volunteer to be the first ones for oral tests

[@manuelk1853]

OMG I feel your first point so much! Like it's so annyoing that often female anthros get depicted as "humans with animal ears and tail" instead of the REAL counterpart of the male anthros. It's really offputting and makes absolutely no sense! That's why I really appreciate things like Beastars or Elder Scrolls, where they did it right. Like is it so hard to get it right? Tbh I think it's mostly just because for some reason many people dislike female anthros and can't do "sexual" stuff with it and that's why it's done in such a senseless and disgusting way, that they are humans with animal characteristics.

[@muffinmuffin8946]

Beastars was TRUE furry bait

[@manuelk1853]

@@muffinmuffin8946 Furry masterpiece*

[@muffinmuffin8946]

@@manuelk1853 you right my bad

[@twelve4462]

I dislike it when they make characters toxic but it’s passed off as attractive because they’re hot.

[@mrspo7012]

This

[@XperimentorEES]

Gotta agree there!

[@cowbearrie]

Example of this: Sangwoo from Killing Stalking. He's literally so horrible why do people think he's a good person?????

[@anitamihholap5926]

@@cowbearrie You mean people in the fandom or people he interacts with in the series? Because in the series, most people literally have no idea he's horrible or twisted. And if you mean people in the fandom, well, that's a sad level of deranged.

[@rebeccan7276]

or just because the protagonist (looking at you, miraculous ladybug....)

[@CGFillertext]

My favorite take on the “Hollywood Ugly” trope is Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Instead of taking the ponytail and glasses off and looking cute, Flint thinks Sam looks better when she has the ponytail and glasses *on*. He likes her for who she really is, not the dumb blonde she pretended to be

[@AzzyRiah]

Am I the only person who wants to experience a house made out of jello irl? Although it might get a bit sticky.

[@WinterSPF15]

Bruh literally just finished watching this an hour ago. It’s a great subversion

[@beegosling]

That movie is genius

[@TheCacThePrick]

And she liked him better when she could actually see him (when she put on her glasses) Without the glasses she sees him as buff with a strong square jaw and all that. But she prefers the real him. I love that movie.

[@Dragonfire2505]

In my oppinion girls look better when they are like that. Glasses are damn cute and girls who have more makeup on as a clown and a clevage to the feet are extremly unatractiv for me.

[@raxlua6520]

I really like the video in a whole, but just want to add some perspective on that trait you mention with Tiana and Naveen. It's not the same with Soul because, in that movie, we get to see the body of the main character (and the protagonist in it) through (nearly) the entire movie, while in Tiana, we see them a bit in the beginning and the end (and some shots with the fake Naveen). Same case in Spies in disguise (beginning and end)

[@rainboSnails]

this was posted before soul was released and the little spirit guy dominated the marketing so she assumed it would be like the other movies :)

[@raxlua6520]

@@rainboSnails That explain everything, thank you for telling me

[@donutgirl1102]

An example for the big bobble head baby design is in miraculous ladybug when that one lady pushes around or holds her baby with a huge head. Also in miraculous ladybug they pretty much copy and paste the background characters all the time which would be fine if you never focus in on them but when they are constantly saving the same looking people it’s weird

[@LightingtheDraghog]

You know when like two characters have children together and they just decide to make them literally clones of the parents? Like all the male kids look just like the dad and all the females look just like the mom? That has bothered me ever since I was a kid. I hate it so much Edit: Thank you all so much for all the likes. Glad I’m not the only one who hates this

[@hiddensinix2767]

LightingtheDraghog same thing as the female kid has traits from the dad and the male kid has traits from the mom, it’s just lazy

[@WastingPixies]

Makes me think of Harry Potter...

[@turquoisecrow4513]

MHA does this but every character looks like a carbon copy of their mom no matter the gender. The worst examples of this are Bakugou and Jirou. Like Bakugou’s mom is just him with tits and Jirou’s mom is just her with glasses

[@alidiaz7913]

Or when they only change the eye colors? Ughhhh I feel cheated

[@Maxzenel]

My brother littary is a clone of my dad so it's kinda relistic

[@dallleekah4035]

"For a culture that's so obsessed with being pretty and what makes you ugly, it seems confusing that people can't seem to figure out a way to make their characters not look convientionally attractive." Wow, if you were my butler, I'd fire you right away. How dare you spill so much incredible tea?

[@rainbowbubba5375]

Lol this comment needs more likes

[@lunedez]

I hate this but I appreciate puns of any kind so... I reluctantly will give you a like

[@dzelkva5489]

that was a lot of "not"s. an alternative version of her statement: It seems confusing that people can't figure out a way to make their character look conventionally attractive, for a culture that's so obsessed with what makes you pretty and what makes you ugly.

[@dzelkva5489]

i just added this cuz i dont understand a sentence with a bunch of "negative" words (ex: no, not, can't, don't) lol

[@dallleekah4035]

@@lunedez Wow, you took the time to like my comment AND write one beneath it?! Geez! Thanks, your honor! May I serve you a cuppa as well?

[@jhulpthefox]

Omg! The cat one reminded me of the fact, canonically dwarfs/dwarves ALL have beards and mustaches, even the women. Yet, when many people draw female dwarfs they dont add even stubbles, or when you go to some website that let's you make dwarf characters, often you don't even have the option to give them beards. I HATE it so much! The beards have so much to do with dwarfs and their cultures. Yet it's just thrown away at the first chance by everyone.

[@wegotthechoccies]

I've always hated the way wearing glasses is often treated. A character is ugly or nerdy when they have glasses. But as soon as they take them off (usually in a 'makeover' montage) they're suddenly super hot. Why. People with glasses can be hot too! I wear glasses and I'm certainly not saying I'm hot, but it's a ridiculous trope. Often, the glasses that person is wearing are too big or not suited for their face. Doesn't mean glasses aren't great

[@punkrockgal1323]

ever find it weird, that in cartoons and tv show's the "unpopular character" has like 12 friends, but the "popular kids" have like two? i just find that kinda funny.

[@awkwardorangedrawz5914]

And when you mean by the "popular kid" having two friends you mean their minions or something. Cuz they're basically pretty much never a character. They just follow the popular kid and say yes to everything.

[@punkrockgal1323]

@@awkwardorangedrawz5914 yeah pretty much

[@jn0757]

Naruto uzumaki Naruto uzumaki

[@TrufanNW]

Why are the popular kids popular anyways? Especially if they're mean.

[@jn0757]

@Slow_shinrinyoku♡ I mean when they were smaller sasuke was the popular loner and naruto was friends with shikamaru, kiba, and choji, no matter how much the plot tries to ignore it.

[@n00bplayer72]

When someone gender-flips a huge/beefy/THICC male character and makes her super curvy with a non-existent waistline and no muscle tone.

[@eruanimations3609]

Omg this-

[@starcreeper6660]

*cough* Johnny Bravo *cough*

[@hiimnormal6285]

Some anime genderbent fanart

[@liliks14]

curvy is when you have a waistline . fat is what you meant . and you're right

[@firelordoregano5632]

@@liliks14 they meant with huge hips and bust but thin waist.

[@inkfernado9114]

Something I don’t like in shows or games is when all the girls have curves and just predictable body shapes but the men all have different body shapes and sizes, which is why I like seeing strong or masculine female characters

[@80sgaytrashgoblin]

The underlying issues with all of these issues: 1) Giving up on the girls: Misogyny and laziness 2) Bait and switch transformations: Racism (they never pull this shit with the white characters) 3) Bobble head baby: Laziness 4) "Ugly" character: Toxic beauty standards and misogyny 5) Sexy animals: Misogyny (again) The reason why most of these trends are bad are the implications they give. For 1, 4, and 5, they tell girls in the audience that they can only be socially accepted if they are conventionally attractive and sexually appealing to guys, and even then they aren't worth the effort by creators. For 2, it implies that non-white people can't be the main character without turning them into something else to hide their race. (3 isn't as offensive as the other four, it's annoying at worst) TLDR: Most of these trends imply racism and/or sexism, thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[@cherubvomit]

dude fr

[@badusername3136]

Nice essay, mind if I ctrl+c and ctrl+v? I'll change it up a bit

[@80sgaytrashgoblin]

@@badusername3136 go for it dude

[@sykopr0]

Dude how to is this racist?

[@xylophone_8888]

all the examples of bait and switch are with non-white characters wtf-?? where did you get the idea it only happens to white characters

[@Avery-of1bw]

I hate the trope that if a character has blonde hair they’re automatically a bully, the antagonist, or spoiled. Same with the trend of anyone with dyed hair is emo, goth, a bully, or the “not like other girls I’m so quirky UwU XD” main character

[@willowconnallon4553]

"Not like the other girls UWU XD" made me laugh

[@elliedove7899]

Yea. I have known many wonderful blond girls, and it makes me so mad that this trope exists

[@turkishundelightful5382]

Chad

[@marymontgomery3131]

*laughs in gacha life*

[@amazinglyaverage412]

y e s

[@KeepCalmContemplateYourChoices]

The "I'm not like the other girls!" trend is becoming so overused, they start to become the other girls.

[@ryleeosborne1758]

PREACH

[@themagicpotato2943]

Not to mention it's kinda rude to people who are into things that "other girls" like. Why can't we have a strong female lead who enjoys wearing dresses and makeup and whatever without it being a rich girl learns to be nice story?

[@chickensalad2802]

sebastian banguis ‘I’m not like other girls!’ Other girls: Lol same

[@worstusernameintheworld9871]

I mean, haven't they always been like "other girls"? Everyone has their own taste.

[@august.7726]

SEBBY IT'S ME BELLA-

[@arielgalles2107]

I like how cured princess club did the "ugly" character. She's green with dry skin and greasy hair but she's also very cute at the same time.

[@emilyrose3490]

3:58 about soul, you still get to see his regular body throughout the movie, but with someone else’s soul in it. Also, it seems like this mostly happens to poc, to claim they’re ‘diverse’ (even if it makes sense for the story, it could be more balanced)

[@racheln8563]

Ah, yes, the “ugly” characters in movies-you’re not the first to notice that. I think there’s an actual name for it-“Hollywood Ugly.” It’s similar to the trope of the librarian who whips off her glasses, loosens the bun in her hair, and becomes gorgeous. That one’s been around forever, and is probably almost as old as film itself.

[@ratboy2]

Omg I watched this movie where this woman who thinks she's ugly and has issues with her body (she's not the skinny type) hits her head. She looks at a mirror, and sees a different reflection, which is that of a woman that she thinks is beautiful. She goes around making things better for herself and has all this confidence and it's got some really good messages about confidence and attitude , but what bothered me about it is the descriptions of this woman. In the beginning of the movie, a baby screams at the sight of her. She thinks and acts like she's the most disgusting person on the planet. The actress chosen for the role could be called "overweight," but she didn't fit the descriptions of the character, and I honestly found her to be attractive. It seemed silly that others seemed to think she was so ugly. It would have been ok if she was the only one who had a really negative reaction to her own body, but the moment with the screaming baby and everything else just wasn't right. "Hollywood Ugly." That seems to fit. (Edit: apparently it's called "I Feel Pretty" so thanks guys

[@Oskoreia]

Like, I rip my bun out and yeet my glasses off and I look like fucking baba yaga coming to steal some children.

[@chou8193]

Its kinda tiring these clichés happen all the time

[@SerenityM16]

It’s the worst in “Just Go With It” where there’s very little change to the character and it’s supposed to be like, WOAH LOOK AT THAT TRANSFORMATION!!

[@SerenityM16]

Hannah Wen I personally love “I Feel Pretty” partially because we never see the difference and it highlights that sometimes it’s just an attitude difference

[@tiredness7294]

A pet peeve of mine is when movies decide to not look for a child actor or baby and just CGI the baby in 90% of all the scenes it's in. Twilight did this, and boy I have never seen any newborn baby that looked so much like a middle aged man using facetune in my entire life.

[@eggarts9158]

Squidnee yeah they did it at the end of the hunger games franchise and it was literally like a one minute scene

[@venom_colada1512]

I can kind of understand this one. Literal babies are really bad on tv sets, so I can understand the use of CGI. Also . . . Children actors are either good, or really bad. I can understand why some ppl would just CGI the things, because I really don't wanna deal with those kinds of problems. Now, if the child is like a main character? Nah fuck that shit. Find a good child actor. My arguements are only for if the kid is like a minor character

[@tommyeleanor]

By the time babies are allowed to be on set, they don't look like newborns anymore. Which is why you sometimes see the 3-6 month "newborn" All they can really do if they want a newborn is buy a reborn, get a robot, or do cgi.

[@KensaiLazarus]

they can do it flawlessly though, the birth scene from Children of Men has a cgi baby and most people never knew

[@marygold4583]

The twilight one scared me

[@sketchy_atbest]

I know a lot has happened since this upload, but one of the many things I adored about Turning Red was the incredible character design AND variation. Every single character on screen had different facial proportions that made them really stand out as unique human beings. Hopefully we continue to get more individualization and "ugly representation" as time goes on. (IMO, the vast differences b/w character designs made it feel like none of the characters were "ugly", which I think is a really solid message in its own right)

[@hilariustar1625]

As a person who wears glasses and who was bullied due to this reason I have always hated this “ugly girl”trend. Like I’m already insecure, please, don’t make me feel worse.

[@Cyber.Thunder]

Pet peeve: Female characters who are supposed to have no access to hygiene stuff or beauty tools (for example washed up on an island or something) and yet still have perfect clean shaven pits, legs, arms, perfect makeup and hair always.

[@ink-ami280]

That's so right. I don't remember seeing a girl with unshaved legs in any sort a fiction. I can understand in animation it's hard to animate without making it stand out too much, but for the movies... Geez. Even the ugly girl is perfectly clear all the time when she's supposed to not give a crap.

[@ameliasv222]

Or characters that have just undergone a surgery or are at the hospital and look amazing. Like it's not just a little bit for the camera. They have a full make up face and they're supposed to be dying.

[@kittenmimi5326]

Especially when it's MENTIONED that they haven't showered for a week or so... well damn, they clearly doesn't seem like someone who haven't showered and stuff... also in those kinds of stories, when they are teenage girls or older I always think how they didn't get their periods yet, does periods not exist there even though pregnancy exists and what happen if they do have their periods. That would be hilarious, possibly ruining the whole premise

[@kittenmimi5326]

@Marmelade dang they could've used makeup to make her look like she hasn't bathed in werks or sth

[@yellowlemonPenguin]

I like that Sadie from Steven universe subverts that. When they got stranded on that island, she actually started growing stubble on her legs lol

[@imaginehavingtoeathairtoge8595]

" Im not like other girls, Im a smurf, my mom is a school bus, and my dad is the lorax he speaks for the trees "

[@starxmouse]

OwO Y e s

[@jaredsabatelli2459]

Papa Why do the da trees speak Vietnamese

[@thedarklrd6714]

Wait, if your mom was a school bus and your dad was the lorax how the fuck would that work out

[@bluelfsuma]

@@thedarklrd6714 _Maaaaagic_

[@bunnyx2819]

Ha ha

[@Chilling_Bread]

I always thought I was the only one who doesn’t like the first trope, but now I’m lucky someone else pointed this out! After watching Seton Academy, that’s what I noticed about the characters, the females look more human-like while the males don’t

[@Candy_Bittersweet]

Thank you for making me notice this! I have a character with the issue of being a character that's supposed to be ugly but is actually cute. I actually noticed this problem because when i was drawing her i couldn't stop trying to make her look good but at the same time not to, and ended up messing up the whole drawing. Now that i have in mind that i should focus more on the point of the character i can plan it better and not make her look cute but oddly repellent.

[@Fishy77777]

Zootopia and Beastars are the only movie and show that I’ve seen where they actually tried to make the female characters Anthropomorphic animals, And not just straight up cat girls Edit: oh yeah and Kung fu panda uwu Edit 2: and of course, BNA Edit 3: AND AGGRETSUKO! Anything else? Lol

[@ms.dr3amer]

My favorite in this category is Kung Fu Panda, thank god they didn't sexualize the female characters. They made feminine characters by purely using the way they talk, move and their face designs.

[@robertcline2231]

@@ms.dr3amer A bit off topic, but I recently rewatched those movies. Personal issue of mine is that, in the first and last one at least, we'd usually get a scene with the cool side characters before they all get their stuffing kicked in. The few scenes where Po had a moment to bond with some of the five were really sweet, and I wished we saw more interaction like that. But yeah, the fact that the male/female design isn't explicitly distinct isn't something that one may notice, but that's also the strength of it. Love that they don't follow the same tropes as other animations, and followed consistent rules and gave us cool, unique characters.

[@sorazer1822]

YES thats why i love it so much

[@magentathelion-husky8816]

As a furry, yes. I like those two films. Beastars is very good and Zootopia.

[@kasahimawari7881]

Yes! Imo when doing Anthropamorphic characters, you need to either do it one way or the other. You cant Do Both. Lol

[@user-jm2dq6pl8y]

Girl: I WANNA BE A NERD! Girl: *Puts On Glasses* Girl: IM NOW A DIFFERENT PERSON!

[@lizziedoesthings1450]

Lol ditch the glasses and give the character an undying wish to please their parents with good grades and a "sucessful" career only to realize they've ignored people in their life, including their own past self who dreamed of building something amazing. Make the climax when they have self doubt and are real lost, a friend (who is *not* her future boyfriend tyvm) tells her not to doubt herself. Reminds her she has all the time in the world. she takes time to realize other's expectations are not who she is. The movie's big ending shows the protagonist in her own house she built, in which she proved the unthinkable, a stable life without a husband doing what she loved and learning all she could about it because she wanted to, not because she's expected to.

[@lizziedoesthings1450]

Oh btw I'm a nerd if you couldn't tell. I lack social skills and I don't dress well. I can't do a presentation flawlessly. I can't help you with your math homework cuz I'm horrible articulating. Deep inside I reside in a love of best poetry, anything that keeps a beat that can inspire me. Sorry this is way too long but I am not a sterotype. Yes I am a teacher's pet but I don't choose that, alright? I have never seen myself in a movie character. Time to change that.

[@thealientree3821]

Superman: I NEED TO BE NORMAL! Superman: *Puts on glasses* Klerk Kent: IM NOW A DIFFERENT PERSON!

[@emorybriddell9909]

This is funny especially because they usually don't even act like a nerd they are super basic but since they glasses they are nerdy even though glasses are ea bit of a disability

[@afieldofroses]

woah superman has arrived

[@potatotomato7694]

My pet peeve with movies or shows is not usually about the designs but when the first 30 minutes or episode is good but then they just give up .

[@mus3.j4yd3n]

Someone should make a movie with the glow-up scene cliché except make it better, like it's more about the character not caring about themselves before, maybe they have curly hair except they don't take care of it or use the right products, so then they get them better stuff for it, or they have dry skin and don't moisturize, yk, something better than just taking off their glasses and going "wooow, you look like sooooo beautiful now."

[@-cherie7918]

Whenever you want to know if a baby's head is too big, just think: Could a woman give birth to this child?

[@yourlocaldemon2195]

Torisu Hiunes LOL

[@Val17282]

I was a c section so yes

[@rositaprasojo980]

Lol

[@mollietenpenny4093]

I was thinking the exact same thing!😲 😳😬😱

[@darkestccino5405]

I'd rather not think about that.

[@janet4022]

Beautiful girl * wears glasses * The whole high school in a movie: "yo she ugly let's bully her" Beautiful girl * takes glasses of * The whole high school in a movie: "Man who dat? She fine bruh! Let's all simp over her"

[@saladcaesar7716]

Žanda the Moon Girl Clark before superman.

[@missgothica503]

Kiss him not me right there xD

[@god2037]

N๏ise Hearts Not quite, in the anime she lost weight as well and her eyes got bigger.

[@smilesxo06]

@@missgothica503 I was about to comment this. But I was gonna say that KHNM is definitely more or less parodying those makeover/oh I lost some weight and now everyone loves me UwU stereotypes. Honestly the whole series is a parody, that made me super angry at the end but I still love anyways.

[@missgothica503]

Neko.Pcock draws same thing-

[@equally.marketable]

I just want to say, I love the way your videos are made and the things you talk about. As a little kid I remember you being the only “do this, not that”/art opinions channel that genuinely inspired me to be more creative instead of stifling it. Love your content!

[@nicecream5617]

What you ordered online VS What you get 4:32

[@starryeyes4513]

Why do all “””ugly characters”””” HAVE TO WEAR GLASSES AND BRACES? THAT’S LITERALLY THE ONLY THING I DON’T UNDERSTAND!

[@lmbusiness5300]

I think braces are kinda cute and endearing >w

[@serobeats8014]

I'm supposed to be getting braces, and I wear glasses. Its like- okay?

[@cheeseclover]

it’s one of the reasons as to why i was so insecure about getting braces + after i got them when i was 12, they were always seen as ‘ugly’ features that it literally stuck in my head as a child and only when i was 14 i didnt care and just accepted them, also because no one in real life would care that much if you wore braces and actually gets the opposite reaction.

[@thefallenangel2572]

@@cheeseclover Same thing. I needed braces when I was younger, but was incredibly insecure so I didn't do it. Now my teeth are crooked and I'll have to pay thousands for those braces while as a child I would have gotten them for free. Thank you media.

[@maggiekim2889]

I always thought braces were cool and wanted them really bad when I was younger so yeah I also didn't understand the whole "braces means you're a loser and you stink" trope. Like??? Braces be hot tho?

[@TechnoScorpion2137]

- Hey, let's make a movie about 15-16 yrs old teens. - Yeah, we should totally hire a 30 years old actors with some wrinkles around eyes and forehead to play those teens! - Great idea, write that down!

[@soda_fairy]

It's because there's laws for how many hours or when minors can work. Don't have to deal with that with 30 year olds

[@deadstream3370]

@@soda_fairy early 20s actors?

[@synflwr]

Outer Banks? Seriously, the protagonist looks like a Disney antagonist named Bradley.

[@thaurerwethrinaer1769]

Rest in piece the Percy Jackson movies.

[@snowlunawolfq8492]

Siv Mukasa not necessarily. It has to do with labor laws and how teens can look.

[@hellothere6117]

The giant baby head one is my biggest pet peeve. I feel like in most cartoons with babies like that, they make the head super big to try and make it look cute or whatever but it just looks weird and creepy and the head size is way bigger than the mother in some regard. Ugh I dunno why but something about it just annoys me so much. How did she even carry the baby around and give birth? Must’ve been an ugly process 🫣

[@liviemillie6455]

The "ugly" design one. TRULY. In the webtoon True Beauty, which I love OTHER than this issue, I keep noticing how Jugyeong isn't ugly without makeup!! She just needs to take better care of her skin.

[@glamoire7882]

It kinda annoys me when the like “super smart girl” has worked hard, her entire life, day and night, to achieve her “power” status or whatever. *and then this skinny, lazy, whiny voiced girl waddles in and just automatically shoots lasers out of her eyes or something just because she’s the protagonist.*

[@WinterSPF15]

Agreed. Honestly though I’ve *personally* seen more media where this happens but it’s a male character that comes swaggering in and acts this way and is super good for no reason. Then everyone loves him (other characters as well as the audience) and the girl who has worked super hard is upset but treated like she’s just uptight and overreacting like wtf. Then they usually fall in love. 🤢

[@glamoire7882]

CometGirl exactly!

[@nicolevalencia3095]

*High school musical in a nutshell*

[@SoybeanInTheMilk]

Like it’s only natural to be pissed of at the person who didn’t work *nearly* as *hard* as you but get *way* more popular than you! It’s like witnessing someone cheating and then getting a *higher* score than you! Like you can cheat but don’t get higher than *me!*

[@hedera1332]

@@WinterSPF15 *Cough* HARRY POTTER *Cough*

[@dragonmoss5062]

i want teenagers to actually play teens not 30 year olds with perfect skin and teeth telling me that thats what teens are supposed to look like I WANNA SEE ACNE AND CROOKED TEETH IN MAIN CHARACTERS

[@TheWizardofSpeedandTime]

The reason teens don't normally play teens is because when you tell a teen to act like themselves they tend to idealize the way they act rather than actually be honest. Trust me, they've tried. I've seen it.

[@nightmarefanatic1819]

US child labor laws make adult actors far more practical than teenagers.

[@mikikaito1225]

Ahahahaha....... the stereotype of introverted nerd

[@sydneyg4059]

In longer series it's also often better to hire adult actors because they change less between filming different movies. If you have two movies that are supposed to take place one after another, teens will age and change more dramatically between each one.

[@renoirrr]

Give. Us. People. With. Braces. Who. Aren’t. So. Called. Nerds. And. Freaks.

[@aclassicgarden7065]

3:11 notice how all her examples are black ppl im literally so tired of Disney cheating us out like fuck

[@Soggy-water]

Something that bothers me a lot, is when a character's mom looks 14, and the main character looks 20, even though the mom is supposed to be 36 and the main character is supposed to be 15 or something. It's so damn weird 😭

[@BlueTressym]

But- but, you can't have women AGEING; that's not allowed! Everyone knows women must remain under 25 forever! /s

[@freddyfazbearsbigfatbearti179]

I hate the whole “ugly girl” stereotype Bc I’m still mad ugly when I take off my glasses

[@herminiasworldenidfowler5134]

You are not ugly

[@hesterfranks9716]

HA peasants, you all wallow in pity because your flesh suit is sub optimal, when your true beauty lies inside; and you have no idea it's there!! oh, personality? no i meant ur skeleton

[@gloxxic]

funny bone

[@katrinabeach9736]

I get that. I got contacts like half a year ago and the first few weeks i spent incredibly self conscious because my face looked so weird without my glasses

[@yes4759]

I have never related to anything more

[@KNY__-qm5sx]

It really annoys me that if your character has blonde hair that means that she is a bully or really toxic person.

[@Splatoob]

I’m alright with a blond being a bully, but if in EVERY ONE OF YOUR STORIES the blonde is a bully, that’s when the problem begins.

[@deepblue153]

And brunettes are always smart/nerdy/victim

[@killereria9945]

I fell for this stereo type with one of my male characters…. He’s bisexual and for some stupid reason i only made him toxic with his male partners. Specifically with his main man piece. For some reason he seems to think it’s okay to cheat on his male partners but not his female partners and this causes alot of tension as he hates being cheated on himself… He is a very huge jackass… i mean in general if not in a relationship with someone he’s perfectly fine kindhearted and everything. It’s just sexual relationships he’s a toxic ass… idk why i did this but i did…. And to get to my point he’s a blonde nerdy surgeon with pale green eyes.

[@Splatoob]

@@killereria9945 honestly I feel that’s better because for some, blonde people don’t have any backstory or reason for their wrong doings.

[@killereria9945]

@@Splatoob haha thanks. It just happened over time as i wrote him more i guess the blondness was just happenstance.

[@vurrunna]

I particularly despise the trend of "Ugly character is just attractive but messy," because stories that go all-in on saying "You're beautiful no matter what your face is" are so much more impactful. Even the very idea of a "glow-up" scene is counter-productive in my mind, because at the end of the day the characters isn't escaping societal beauty norms, just conforming to it. By contrast, a story about a character learning to love themself without having to change themself stands to confront our busted beauty norms, and results in a much more uplifting and applicable message. My favorite example is the manga "Busu ni Hanataba wo" (or "A Bouquet for an Ugly Girl" in English)-it's about a conventionally unattractive girl that was once bullied for her appearance and thinks no one could ever love her for it, and a super positive guy that only sees people for who they are on the inside rather than the outside. It's a super cute story that doesn't shy away from her genuine insecurities about her appearance, and actually has some heart-wrenching moments as the main character deals with her own insecurities. Crucially, it never puts any focus on the main character becoming "more attractive," instead putting the focus on building her own confidence in herself and learning to be happy with who she is. It's an excellent story if you want to see an "ugly" character done right.

[@Randomowl1]

Hollywood: We need her to be ugly, let's put her in a ponytail Me who loves women in ponytails: Allow me to introduce myself.

[@sweethysteria8737]

I feel like the reason people don’t make “ugly” characters ugly is cause they don’t know how to make someone “ugly” without calling other potential audience members ugly for having similar traits.

[@aaliyahkauser341]

Then they make the ugly person pretty and call normal people ugly so what I would do is actually make them look like a MONSTER yeah then it'll make sense 😹

[@majlordag1889]

No it's cause conventionally unattractive people aren't marketable

[@aspergerart4635]

@@majlordag1889 You can draw ugly people but the trick is to make them symmetrical, that's what the human brain recognizes as "beauty" besides fashion, trend, social standards. So you can make let's say girl with big long nose (so she can have a realistic insecurity), but thin lips so the nose goes ok with the face, oval face, oval eyes, medium thick eyebrows, medium-long hair (that is not professionally done until you want the transformation) and a hairstyle that doesn't go with her oval looks, lot's of normal not-that-attractive people have that problem: not knowing what to do with their hair. So she is "ugly" but then we're gonna see she is beautiful in her own way, like you don't need to have specific facial features to be beautiful (but symmetry, don't forget the symmetry)

[@panicatthedogpark]

What about Quasimodo (in Disney’s Hunchback)? He’s asymmetrical, but a lot of people are still able to identify with and feel empathy for him. I feel like they toed the line between ugly and sympathetic pretty well there, in terms of character design

[@ovahlord1451]

@@majlordag1889 ummm Shrek???

[@margueriteginn4479]

One of my least favourite tropes is when adults write movies about teenagers without consulting actual teens and base all of the characters off of what other movies have done, or what they see in the media (the media failed all teenagers in how they represent us). There’s no specific way certain people act. In my opinion, the only productions that get excuses from this, are plays and musical (High School Musical, Heathers, Mean Girls) because musicals often use it as a way to incorporate humour or a GENUINE plot device. Some of my biggest complains: -The typical mean girls don’t always have perfect body’s and dress pink -Most ‘nerds’ don’t wear glasses -‘nerds’ aren’t bullied for being smart, when ‘nerds’ are bullied, it’s uncommon for it to be because they have an A+ in science -Not all jocks and sports guys are: white, strong body type, constantly hitting on girls or rude people (the jocks at my school are some the chillest people in the world) -School spirit really isn’t that serious -8th graders aren’t really small and young while 9th graders are basically adults -Any kind of bullying (Cyber, Verbal, Physical) is never “she’s such a freak” and the whole school laughs -Teenagers have lives you know! We’re not always on our phones, and social media obsessed -*almost* nobody over the age of 10 is going to get bullied for having glasses -just because they’re a new kid, doesn’t make them a target for bullies. You should portray new kids as trying to find where they fit in instead of, they don’t fit in, period. There’s more, but you get the idea To clarify, I’m not saying that issues like these NEVER happen or people that face the problems are invalid. Yes, a lot of popular kids are the typical white kids, some people do get bullied for wearing glasses, ect. I’m just pointing out the fact that this is either not commonly, or not always the case. A lot of the popular kids at my school are of colour and are in the smart demographic instead of athletic. But yes, many typical white kids are popular. I just have an issue when that’s only how you portray these types of people. Many kids on the track team are black, most smart kids are appreciated by their peers. It’s just that as a white, cis, straight, blonde (in the right lighting), hockey player female, I have issues when that’s all they see as the ‘jerk’ person that nobody likes because I am not in a popular group, nor do I consider myself an outcast. It all boils down to everybody is an outcasts in some areas but everybody fits in somewhere... yes, even new kids.

[@miiiiles]

How do you do fellow kids?

[@lovelymalus9122]

I agree with some of your points. I think when adults write about teens, they should talk to teens unless they are writing about when they were a teen. Or in the time when they were teens. If someone who is 40 writes about teens now, yes they should talk to teens. But in the case of heathers(musical and movie), was back in the 80s when the people who wrote it were teens. Also people get bullied for wearing glasses all the time. Not trying to argue, just stating my opinion :)

[@aishasky33]

Agreed

[@emirikyuu7308]

i agree 100% with all of this. My high school is nothing like what they portray in the movies, especially the part about the popular ones being rich, white and blond. The most popular girl in my school that I know of is Asian and not rich.

[@Kale-as-in-kaleidoscope]

oK YOU JUST MADE ME REMEMBER SOMETHING- *Those scenes where they make the parents talk openly about sex to their kids.* Like, they play it like "haha his mom said penis! it's sooooo funny!" but it's not. it makes me want to die so much ;-;

[@probablyahuman8572]

OK, but a thing I hate is when someone is ugly because they have freckles. Most people I know (including me) have them and I think they look prettY

[@probablyahuman8572]

Pretty*

[@ayyymacaroni]

IKR. LIKE YOUR FACE IS LITERALLY FULL OF STARS, HOW IS THAT NOT PRETTY

[@Manny_Pardo_Pillow]

I swear I hate the "Oh glasses I'm so ugly" trope because people with glasses are actually really pretty and cute with them on. Like if I see this trope one more time, I'm going to go insane.

[@leahloo8591]

The “one chubby character” annoys me. It’s like the creators are trying to be inclusive but there’d only be one character in a show that’s way bigger and everyone else would have like a size 0 waist. And they often make it the “silly” or “dumb” character too. Sometimes even they’re personality has to do with them being fat. I love how Steven Universe has a variety of body types and doesn’t have to point them out. I just wish movies and shows wouldn’t have strictly skinny characters, and treat different body types the same.

[@BIONauTMate]

EXACTLY. THIS IS WHY IM SCARED TO DRAW FAT CHARACTERS. I can’t for the damn life of me find good references for those chubby cool dads. I want to draw a badass fat sumo Viking and I CANT because theres no references for fat people!!! Fat characters generally are just these round blobs and that’s not what I want. I wanna draw a chubby hunk ya nah mean? The only “references” I can find where of cool MMORPG Chubby characters, and even then they’re full with armor so I don’t know what the body would look like.

[@Luxine108]

BioNotZ MateZ just look at people outside...?

[@cyisdown1516]

BioNotZ MateZ search up actual people lmao that could help

[@belledunn2640]

Steven Universe is honestly such a good study in creating diverse cartoon body shapes. The characters are female for the most part, but they weren't afraid to give more masculine silhouettes to some and it's just so refreshing

[@Nemo120]

Google strongman. They are fat, but can lift a car.

[@sailorenthusiast]

"Giving up on the girl" is more of a general design problem when it comes to sexual dimorphism in race design. I can't tell you how many games with anthropomorphic characters have very beastly and interesting male designs, while the females are slender, attractive, and generally a lot more human than the men. It's basically beauty and the beast, but they’re both supposed to be beasts. Okay, so apparently this is a minefield of a discussion topic. To start, this specific brand of poor design could technically be considered sexist because it not only creates a clear divide between male and female characters that comes off as distracting and unrealistic, but often times this extreme divide is in service of making the female characters remain conventionally attractive to an assumed straight male audience. Either that, or the designer was being lazy and didn’t consider how their design would come across. The solution is to make the male and female characters look like they are actually related, and that doesn’t have to mean making the ladies more monstrous and ugly. An equally valid solution is to make the male characters just as human and pretty as the girls. Monster high is a good example, because while the female characters may be more conventionally attractive than monsterous, it still works because the male characters are equally attractive with minimal monstrousness. Basically, my approach to character race design can easily be summed up with the equally silly realm of armor designs. If a man’s armor is generally practical and modest while a woman’s armor is mostly skimpy and impractical, then it’s bad. If all armor is modest and practical regardless of gender, then it’s fine. If an armor set is equally skimpy and silly regardless of a character’s gender, then it’s also okay because double standards. Also, who wouldn’t want to mess around with more skimpy male armor?

[@silencearts33]

It seems this kind of design choice is made a lot in order to push a bit more attraction and appeal for male audiences

[@cheetopuff8888]

Beastars managed well with both female and male designs tho!!

[@popstarprincess123]

Sailor Enthusiast are you saying you didn’t find manny from monster high attractive Were you more into deuce I don’t blame it’s just no wake up cuddles

[@moocowbees6220]

@@popstarprincess123 I think it's more like the majority of women are still drawn to monstrous and inhuman characters (because they enjoy the idea of a monstrous and scary person being good-hearted) while men prefer monsters that still look very "human" and feminine. There's a few videos on it. Lol it's the whole monster-lover thing. (Btw, Manny and Deuce are both great in my eyes.)

[@samantaraafat8526]

It’s actually a really interesting topic. When it comes to beasts, men prefer the female beasts who look more human, aka normal human proportions and face, etc. But for women it’s the opposite, the more beastly the male monster looks, the more attractive he is. I’m a girl, and I honestly find monsters who look like, well, monsters, is MUCH more attractive than having a male monster who looks human.

[@Siwwy_BiwwybSilly]

0:41 A good example of other anthropomorphic characters is sonic the hedgehog

[@Three_Eyed_Smiley]

Lavender’s videos are making me want to redesign/redraw some of my characters in color.

[@haveaniceday7142]

Everyone: why don’t you actually have a tomboy/tomgirl that stays a tomboy/tomgirl from the beginning to end of the movie without a ‘glow up’ scene where they look traditionally feminine/traditionally masculine? Hollywood: *impossible*

[@E-Washer]

Alternatively: Why are characters always one or the other? Why can’t there be a tomboy who likes dresses without it making her any less of a tomboy? Or a “popular girl” who loves reading as much as makeup?

[@speyederdreams1747]

Cry Bunny ^

[@franziska9260]

@@E-Washer much yes! I want girls who wear pink and yet aren't afraid to throw hands. I want guys who wear flowers and yet aren't any less strong

[@greccco]

@@E-Washer THIS!

[@mgam4963]

@@E-Washer thats what im thinking tomboys should wear dresses too but Hollywoods like NOOO TOMBOYS SHOULD DRESS IN TORN HOMELESS PEOPLE CLOTHES!! ITS THE LAW!

[@bendable_clown855]

Similarly to the last one, I HATE when movies make the main character’s love interest look EXACTLY like them but they’re the opposite gender. Like. It’s practically selfcest.

[@itriedfollowingatutorial828]

this happens in real life, ive seen ppl who looks same AND have the same name, but with few letter changes. and some look like siblings. and some look like father and daughter, thats the weirdest one

[@puppies24ful]

*coughmickeyandminniecough*

[@puppies24ful]

I’d also say the chipmunks and chipettes, but the chipettes look distinct enough to be their own characters, however you can still tell that they were meant to be female versions of the chipmunks lol

[@Star-qg9sf]

and they're almost always blonde with blue eyes too, lol.

[@milcahreyes5287]

this reminds me of an arcade game i used to play when i was a kid. there was this option to dress the characters for a royal ball and once they made it to the ball they would dance along with matching partners. i had no problem with it, really.

[@Kitten_who_official]

Omg finally something that isn't a sketch 😭 I really love! Can't wait to see the final version ❤

[@OzOHehehehehe]

Something that I always found sad was that the mean girls are always a blonde with curly hair (that’s what I have seen in tv shows) and in fifth grade somebody made me a illustrater for her comic called Clarice, Clarice is a sassy mean obnoxious girl and I always felt that she would be a dark brown hair girl but the girl who was making the story said she was a blonde with curly hair. I took this really bad in fifth grade since my hair was the exact same as her, I didn’t like it so much that I refused to do the comic with her and told all the other artists that I knew she would go to not to as well.

[@totallymarceline]

BEASTARS is one of the only anime’s I’ve seen that made good with anthro characters

[@ducksrecords_]

FACTS

[@uf3732]

the hands and feet kinda freak me out but other than that yes i agree

[@ducksrecords_]

@@uf3732 i mean imagine if Louis had hooves for hands lmfao

[@uf3732]

@@ducksrecords_ mmm segsy deer hoofs 😳 /j

[@shadowmemory3678]

The manga was written by a woman, so maybe that says something

[@nathanielgaryantes9742]

My Pet Peeve: When there’s a gay guy, and another gay guy as a side character, and they fall for each other. Like, not every gay falls for every other gay guy, it depends on what you’re attracted to, and it’s soooo annoying!

[@ManiacalBlueberry]

Convenience sake lol. Why make a good fleshed out story.

[@darklordsatan4383]

There was one book I read as a teen where one character was gay and had a boyfriend, then his boyfriend died, and he jumped onto the very next gay guy he met, I was like "holy shit wow, nope, nope!"

[@yourlocaldemon2195]

Dark Lord Satan HELL NAH

[@hinawawa6866]

I hate when people think just because a character is gay, their entire point is to be in a relationship.

[@GamingLikeAGirl]

Exactly! Like when a straight boy sees a straight female, they don’t (normally) fall in love. LGBTQIA+ people don’t ALWAYS have to be attracted to one another!

[@queeniemarigold]

The first part made me think of Beastars, but like it being on the good side of that spectrum. Of course they do give their female characters humanish type bodies, but they do that for the males as well! And as a person who barely knows anything about animals, the way they proportion them actually feels realistic in a character design way, like they fit how I feel that I'm supposed to see the characters. Of course Beastars absolutely has it's *questionable* choices like any other anime, but I really enjoy the way they portray how an animal society might actually work, and their character design choices. The designs are just so fitting and pleasing to look at, in the way they don't feel overly cartoonish, but also not overly detailed to an unsettling degree. And as for the animals society thing, the mentioned specifics in the anime of a dog character being created in a lab, like specifically engineered. Because that's what humans actually have done, specifically engineered certain animals to our own personal preferences, especially dogs, and that society does something similar. God I love their world building. I definitely understand why some people write it off as like "furry propaganda", but like, I wish more people appreciated for it's other qualities. It's writing is so compelling, the voice acting, the character design, the world building, all of it! Because I am extremely sure that I myself am not a furry. I saw the anime randomly one day pursuing Netflix some years ago, and because it wasn't something I'd seen before (I had watched everything I cared to at that point), I watched it, and I don't regret it at all! And it bothers me because that's like the #1 thing people bring up when I mention it, and it is so much more than some anthropomorphic animals. I don't know how my comment turned into a rant about Beastars hate, but uh, thank you for reading I guess? And if you don't like my comment, good, its not for you. Otherwise, have a great day if you read this far💛

[@jonathansuggitt6612]

Character design trend I hate: When the opening has awesome animation that you wish was used for the entire movie. The character designs in the opening are typically just as kickass as the animation itself, then they just become simple shapes with some added minimal expressions.

[@firdoodles]

One of my least favorite things that happens in movies (I feel like not very often but also enough that it’s noticeable) is whenever one of the main characters is overweight/chubby, they’re always male and usually the stupid one, and used for comic relief. Maybe it’s just from my point of view but I feel like it’s very demeaning towards overweight people and it just makes me uncomfortable whenever it happens in movies

[@shepard2226]

Firdouz Hussain oh my god I totally agree! The only time I was (pleasantly) surprised by this was in Voltron, where Hunk’s personality wasn’t *just* him being chubby and liking food! He had a genuinely likeable personality that didn’t revolve around him being the butt of jokes or the ‘big stomach, small brain’ kinda protagonist!

[@Lee-9]

Yeah honestly I’ve always been a fat girl, and I’ve always like, in make believe, pretended myself to be someone else, and I think now that I’m older I realise it’s because there’s never been a fat chosen one, fat smart or likeable character, or fat mc that went on a magical journey so I never thought something cool could ever happen to me, so I always pretended I was someone else. Leading to/adding to some other problems. (BUT I’m getting better and all that so dw lol)

[@ZekaroGames]

I genuinely agree, I hate how the fat guys are almost always the simple minded buffoon that is at the but end of all the jokes, it makes it seem like that’s all fat people are good for, and it’s almost always backed up with a cliche nasally voice, not every fat guy is stupid!! At least Kim Possible knew that when they designed Wade, he was chubby but he was a very likable intellectual guy who was capable of making jokes without being too much

[@synflwr]

Or when they’re antagonists. Just look at the Harry Potter series, Crabbe, Goyle and the Dursley’s were overweight. They were all “bad guys” and Draco’s allies were obsessed with eating. There’s many other reasons I don’t like those books, don’t get me started.

[@zalamazu]

One show I felt dealt with chubby characters well was Steven Universe though!! The majority of chubby characters are protagonists and aren't stereotypical. I can't really think of any other show/movie that has good rep of chubby characters unless I'm forgetting... kinda sad

[@moxie9037]

i also really hate when there’s a pretty main character and when her hair is slightly frizzy or she isn’t wearing makeup, all her friends are like “ew, what happened to you?” and stuff like that. like just because someone looks slightly different than they usually do doesn’t make them repulsive.

[@AkumaDayo]

YES THANK YOU

[@vonluftschloss]

Like in Your Name

[@canoncorgi]

@@vonluftschloss Haha I think it was less that she (/he) looked ugly, and more that she usually put a lot more work into her appearance. But yeah I get what you mean

[@wtora777]

Last Friday night yeah we danced on tabletops and we took to many shots think we kissed but I forgot last Friday night

[@makaylaaaaaaaa]

@@canoncorgi wait- are you the girl from the gacha discord server

[@NeroNyte]

I still love Spies in Disguise because I love birds, if you haven't yet, I'd recommend giving it a try, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised

[@TwistedAli]

One design trait I always found annoying since I was a kid is one that I call "Dull-Eye Syndrome", where every one of the characters are drawn with no highlights in their eyes at all. Thankfully, it's not very common these days, but you can see it in a lot of 90's (and some early 2000's) cartoons that use a more "realistic" style, like some of the Marvel shows. Frankly, I think it looks creepy and makes the characters look really deranged, even if they're not.

[@sianaaa4593]

I hate it when two characters are married and they literally looked like twins and dress the same (this is rlly only in animated movies but stillll) like it freaks me out

[@TheMedicatedArtist]

*cough* The Simpsons *cough*

[@philswiftismygod1451]

Alabama 100

[@watcher8022]

@gotobed Jonny test liked a girl who LOOKED LIKE HIS SISTER. Do not design a love interest the same as your other character. God, no, no, no, stop.

[@villaimouse]

@@watcher8022 Not only did she look like his sister, she was actually a clone of Johnny himself.

[@watcher8022]

@@villaimouse What?! NOOOO!

[@seawatcher7519]

The “ugly girls gets pretty” trope is my LEAST FAVORITE THING EVER. I love the Princess Diaries but that’s movie game a complex as a kid because I looked like Mia BEFORE she got “hot.” I was a girl with bushy, curly hair and glasses who was “quirky” and “awkward” and it hurt so bad to have this idea pushed onto me that I was ugly because of that.

[@miaevankovich3759]

my name is actually Mia and she looks just like me before the makeover. I personally believe i am pretty, but when i first saw the movie i was very annoyed and mad.

[@PuppyLove2468]

yeah that annoyed me when i watched the movie a few years back, because she was a neat character but they had to "make" her "pretty" and teach her etiquette and stuff

[@gucciiipeppa5438]

It’s because being a princess, she had to follow beauty standards

[@sofiechristiansen2151]

I remember that when I saw the movie as a kid, I honestly thought she looked better before the transformation...

[@time502]

Ladies you are all beautiful and special in your own way, take this from a man's perspective, you don't have to adhere to society's thoughts or expectations, life is too damn short, on topic though really enjoyable video I'ma send to my little sis

[@snowfella7426]

I really agree with you,I saw this video now just to learn more about Desings,so i feel like it helps allot,see everything what feels weird in the draw to learn about what DON'T do

[@Bluebirdscribbles]

I've been playing this game where you do makeovers of characters and their homes, it's generally pretty cool and most of the makeovers are rad and have a nice story. But one thing that annoys me is the hate on freckles the game designers seem to have, every time a character has freckles you end up forced to cover them up! It really sucks because freckles are so cute and I love mine, they're a part of my face I don't ever want to get rid of! I was also annoyed when there was a character who was really into the eighties and dressed accordingly but it was a bit messy, like ok but they could've done a makeover where they kept her love of the eighties, instead they made her so basic and it sucked.