Number 53 of 150

April 7, 2023March 20, 2023Leave a comment

The last one for age 7-9 for this batch. A gender ambiguous child wearing a letterman jacket and a beaded necklace.

A cartoon illustration of an Indigenous American child aged 7-9. They're standing with an arm out as if gesturing to something off frame. They are wearing jeans, sneakers, a letterman jacket, t-shirt, and a beaded necklace. They have long, black hair that's slightly wavy and worn loose.

Number 50 of 150

April 1, 2023March 20, 2023Leave a comment

No fooling, we’re only a third of the way through this project. Lots more to come.

Here’s one of our gender non-conforming or ambiguous characters. Since they’re indigenous, the braid isn’t a gender indicator, and the clothing is intentionally gender neutral.

I think I may have drawn them to read a bit older than the 7-9 I was going for. Maybe I should have rounded that chin a little more. Maybe smaller hands. I have mentioned before that this project was scheduled a bit tight, right?

A cartoon illustration of a standing indigenous child, aged 7-9. They have long black hair pulled back in a low braid. They are smiling with their mouth open as if talking. One hand is held up as if gesturing. They are wearing glasses, a short-sleeved western shirt, jeans, and sneakers.

Number 41 of 150

February 12, 2023February 2, 2023Leave a comment

One last child for this batch. Traditionally female clothes (skirt and leggings) in gender-neutral colors (black and turquois) worn by a character drawn to read a little more masculine than feminine. If I got it right, it should be unclear what their gender identity is exactly. Again, inclusivity and diversity was an important part of this project.

I really like how the skirt turned out, in particular.

A Middle Eastern child stands with arms up in a shrugging gesture. Their dark brown hair is pulled back into a ponytail and cut in an undercut style. They're wearing a black and turquois outfit consisting of a horizontally striped miniskirt, leggings, high-top sneakers, socks, a t-shirt, and a hoodie.

Number 38 of 150

February 6, 2023February 2, 2023Leave a comment

This one’s happy. This facial expression and pose was fun to do.

A Middle Eastern child stands with their hands over their chest and belly, laughing. Their eyes are closed and mouth open. They're wearing a pale purple track suit with a white stripe and gray slide-on sneakers. Their hair is black and shaggy.

Number 35 of 150

January 30, 2023December 30, 2022Leave a comment

Representation of queer, or at least non-traditional, gender expressions was an important part of this project.

So far, we’ve had some characters that were deliberately ambiguous on gender, presenting as more-or-less androgenous. Today’s character is a little different. They’re wearing traditionally female clothing, but their hair and facial features are drawn using visual cues that typically read as masculine. However, I tried to make it ambiguous enough that it still wasn’t entirely clearcut. Personally, I’d hesitate to guess how this child identifies. I’d have to ask for their pronouns.

I’m not certain I got the age to read quite right. They may look a little older than they should.

A child, aged 7-9, stands with one hand up as if gesturing. They are wearing a yellow button-up dress, with a long-sleeved t-shirt and leggings underneath. They're wearing red high-top sneakers and glasses. The child is Middle Eastern and has a larger body type. Their gender is ambiguous, but it possibly reads a little more male than female.

Number 26 of 150

January 12, 2023December 30, 2022Leave a comment

Cool purple hair on this one. I started this one with ALOHA in a varsity font on the hoodie, but the client wanted the sea turtle design instead. I think the heathered texture makes it look soft and comfy.

A child, aged 10-12, stands with one hand up in a wave. They have the ends of their chin-length, straight black hair dyed purple. They are either Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. They're wearing glasses. They have on a grey heathered hoodie with a white sea turtle printed on the front. They also have on jeans and slide-on sneakers with a checkered print.

Number 23 of 150

January 6, 2023December 24, 2022Leave a comment

Our first one in this batch with a larger body type. Also, with an intentionally undefined gender identity. My daughter has this style of haircut. This is the last one in this batch in the 7-9 age range.

A child, aged 7-9, stands with a hand on their hip. They are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. They're wearing a white undershirt with a striped overshirt in white, orange, and turquoise. They have black shorts and flip-flop sandals. Their undercut hair is pulled back into a short ponytail. They have a larger body type.

Number 20 of 150

December 31, 2022December 24, 2022Leave a comment

This child is wearing a traditional Hawaiian shirt with a tropical leaves print. I originally made the print in green, but the client had me change it to purple.

A child, aged 7-9, standing. They are laughing with one hand covering their mouth and the other clutching their belly. They are wearing a Hawaiian shirt with a tropical leaves print in purple. They are also wearing white shorts and sneakers. The are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Their hair is short style.

Number 11 of 150

December 13, 2022December 2, 2022Leave a comment

One last aged 10-12 for this batch. Not really sure if I like putting them in boots and tall socks with shorts.

A black child aged 10-12 standing with both hands held up, as if cupping something unseen in their palms. They're wearing a t-shirt, zip-up hoodie with stripes, jean shorts, boots, and tall socks. Their hair is in skinny dreadlocks.

Number 8 of 150

December 7, 2022December 6, 2022Leave a comment

Here’s the last 7-9 year old for this batch. They’re in a gender-neutral outfit and posed in a side view. The original version of this one had them turned away from the viewer, 3/4 view from the back, but the client wanted to see more of their face.