💌 kissboy⋆˙⟡

just realized i Post at a snails Pace im Cryingggg. being a full time student and working part time (8 hour shifts) is NOT for the weak

And here are some random panels from a silly comic i made like rn

i dislike the bangs. it shrinks the space for the eyebrows to be more prominent… which i feel is significant for a character as expressive as kiyotaka. the thinning of the eyebrows seems trivial, but… it erases character…

a common issue that i’ve observed from designs that feminize/masculinize a character (not a fan of terms like ‘genderbending’ or ‘sex swap’) is the tendency to change the attributes that are significant to the character…

if a character leaned into hypermasculinity, then all you’d have to do would make them hyperfeminine… right?

…depends. it’s something of a slippery slope.

gender expression is varied. it is important to try to match expression to the character to avoid reinforcing stereotypes and losing the character in translation. thinking feminizing a character = large breasts (to signal they are feminine) or masculinizing a character = making them super muscular (to signal they are masculine) is not only uncreative, it is also a generally harmful mindset to have about gender…

for instance: throughout thh, kiyotaka is shown on multiple occasions to have made assumptions about a person’s character from their appearance(s). from his design, we also see the level of care he puts into himself (ironed uniforms, trimmed hair, muscular build, etc). it can be inferred appearance is significant to him. like his personality, he is meticulous and intentional with his appearance… but the desire to appear presentable is more rooted in practicality than it is to attractiveness.

…that would not change if he were a girl. so when i say girl kiyotaka would be hyperfeminine, i’m not saying she would be suddenly fixated on trying to obtain unrealistic standards via socialization. she is feminine through the ways she subscribes to ideas of acting ‘ladylike’ and probably scowls at girl mondo for spreading her legs when she sits. for her appearance, girltaka would still more concerned with practicality than attractiveness. she would still be muscular and have big eyebrows, retaining these characteristics, because such attributes are not tied to gender. still, she is plenty beautiful…