Second picture for the @creatingblackcharacters Melanin Beam Challenge! I was mentally searching through different cartoons I enjoyed, trying to land on one that would both be nice to see featuring Black characters, but also would have an enhanced message... when I came to My Life as a Teenage Robot, I thought about how Jenny is very much accepted as a trans icon (rightly so); she was expected to have a specific role, but she wants to assert her own identity. She's a robot, who is figuring out how to be a teenager, and be seen as a girl. As a Black teenage robot girl, she navigates finding her own identity, there is the pressure to fit in with other people and sometimes try to "hide" the fact that she is a robot, but she is also expected to always be exceptional and save the day. She can't just NOT be any of these things, because it is all part of herself, and ultimately she finds friends who accept her, and gains a good relationship with her mom, so she has the space to grow and be comfortable with herself~
(after redesigning Jenny, I knew I had to also up-date her mother, Nora. She didn't mean to make a robot that would not only reflect parts of herself AND be so unique, but that's what happens when you have a kid- not just a robot, but a daughter; you pass things on, and she becomes a new person. I added in little bits of Nora's pilot design, before also giving her new hair, and just totally changing the outfit. then I realized I should update Brad and Tuck; now they are also two Black kids who are helping a Black robot girl experience life! Finally, a redesign in more ways than one; I always wondered if maybe one of the reasons Sheldon was so infatuated with Jenny was because... here is somebody who was maybe not "meant" to be a girl, but she IS. so, SHELBY eventually figures that out for herself. everything in this show had an aesthetic of "retro-futuristic", so I tried to give everybody a theme inspired by different decades; Nora is a little more retro than the others, kinda what the 40s/50s idea of space-age would be. Jenny leans a little more 60s/70s, the metal that is the "base" of her body is a darker teal color, with a defined shape to her mouth, and the rest of her outfit is mostly the same, with her legs left white to be like the idea of leggings. changing her hair gave me a lot of trouble for some reason... I wanted to keep the simple, geometric shapes, but somehow make them look "thicker". I finally made them curved almost-diamond shapes, and I think it works. to have them match/contrast, Jenny is blue/turquoise/teal, and Nora is magenta/rose/pink. Tuck is inspired by the 90s, with his hair done in thick lock twists. He has bright, fun, primary colors. Brad is more early-mid 2000s, kind of a casual-prep-refined look, with his hair done in a short afro. he has cool tones/black-and-white has his theme colors. Shelby is a Black/Asian kid, finally able to relax a bit more as who she is. she's even starting to gain some healthy weight. her hair has grown out, showing thick waves in a side-part. Her outfit is more 80s, a soft-grunge style, with deep earthy tones. so, this went from a single Black redesign, to a duo, to just a whole main cast!)
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