Do You See Me

DO YOU SEE ME?

Representation

Curt Thomas Jr

Cover Illustrations : Curt Thomas Jr

INTRODUCTION

I was one of the kids lucky enough to have grown up during arguably the greatest era of animation, with studios pushing the boundaries of how far animated television shows and movies could go and solidifying them as a respectable medium. I would eagerly awake on Saturday mornings and rush downstairs to catch my favorites on Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, CW4Kids, and Cartoon Network every weekend with my brothers, and to say that it shaped my imagination as a creative today is anunderstatement.

The following pages display my own heartfelt experiences with a few of my favorites throughout my childhood, accompanied with quotes from others who shared a similar love. In late 2022, I created a survey focusing on people’s personal connections to cartoons and what they wanted to see in the future of animatio, totaling over 50 respondents of various answers.

CARTOONS

Illustration was my first skill that I developed as an artist, initially drawing cartoons as a child. It came naturally from sketching different characters from the Saturday-morning cartoons that aired every weekend.

Sometimes I would sit in front of the TV and pause it (once we had a DVR) and draw the characters in dynamic poses. My favorite cartoons were always ones that felt like I was viewing “another world”, but my personal favorite characters were ones that I later realized I related to immensely.

HUEY FREEMAN

FIRST APPEARANCE - THE BOONDOCKS “THE GARDEN PARTY” (2005)

Huey Freeman is the stoic and passionate elder brother of the Freemans, and the personal voice of the show’s creator Aaron McGruder. He’s strong, wise beyond his years, and constantly tries to keep his Black community aware of the injustices it faces, even if they almost always ignore his guidance because of his age. He will always be down for his family regardless of what crazy encounter they bring themselves into.

Image Credits: Sony Pictures Television

Original Sketch from LeSean Thomas

The Revolutionary

Huey has always been one of my favorite characters in animation and I’ve always felt like I could identify with him. Constantly ignored and rejected by his Black community but still remaining outspoken in his, sometimes radical, beliefs is something that I felt throughout high school as I faced people who wanted to judge me for not fitting their stereotypes. He sees solutions to the struggles casted onto his family and communtiy, but repeatedly fails to create sustained change as others are never open to changing their opinions.

I had a similar experience growing up in a stable home feeling not “Black” enough to really be accepted by the Black students but too “Black” to be accepted by the White students. His struggle with self-identity while facing backlash and ridicule from people he is supposed to respect is something I felt on a personal level growing up. Being the “different” kid, I grew into my own person after high school. Huey serves as a testament to not be negatively shaped by those around you and to stay true to who you are regardless of what others may say.

PHINEAS & FERB

FIRST APPEARANCE - PHINEAS AND FERB “ROLLERCOASTER” (2007)

Overimaginative but remarkably crafty brothers

Phineas and Ferb are two of Disney Channel’s animated pioneers, inspiring children everywhere to put their own creativity to the limits. Phineas typically leads the adventure with an idea for how to occupy their time during the seeminly longest summer in history, and Ferb silently follows through concluding with the brothers creating a massive invention that somehow always goes unnoticed before any adults can spot them. While safety may often be an afterthought in their minds, the two brothers are inseperable through their love for creating machines and helping others.

Image Credits : Disney Original Sketch from Dan Povenmire

The Inventors

Phineas and Ferb was one of the shows that I never truly noticed how often I watched as a kid until I became an adult. The show aired daily on my local Disney channel station, and despite only having a total of 47 episodes, never felt stale or repetitive. While the episodic formula was never the most creative, the sheer passion for sketching, building, and destroying that the two brothers had truly connected with me and my two younger brothers. We were all creatives in one way or another, and this show really stuck with us until it stop airing around 2015.

Phineas and Ferb was also my introduction into technical drawing and the world of blueprinting. I would often think of my own ideas for cars and vehicles to solve different transportation and draw the wireframes of the different vehicles. In reality most would not be greenlit for production by a larger company, but just the idea was more than enough for my young mind. Phineas and Ferb fed my imagination directly, challenging me to push my ideas further and leave my mark on the world.

DARWIN WATTERSON

FIRST APPEARANCE - THE AMAZING WORLD OF GUMBALL “THE DVD” (2011)

The innocent, yet lovable sidekick of Gumball, Darwin Watterson is the second main character in Cartoon Network’s “The Amazing World of Gumball.” He serves to be a heartfelt second-conscious for Gumball, often being a voice of reason whenever trouble arises for the duo. He’s sweet, passionate, and also incredibly naive, always believing in the goodness of others even when shown otherwise. This has led to Darwin’s “innocence” being shattered when faced with some of the villains within Elmore, but he continues to return to his optimistic attitude and almost childlike nature.

Image Credits : Warner Bros. Television Distribution Original Sketch from Ben Bocquelet

The Goldfish

Darwin was easily my favorite character out of the extremely diverse cast of the show. I remember thinking to myself during my early teenage years when the show aired, “Darwin’s definitely supposed to be Black”. I couldn’t really put my finger as to why he was in my head, but his voice actor proved to confirm my early questioning. His character spoke to me as someone who found themselves being emotionally hurt in a few relationships growing up, always falling “head over heels” without any real awareness of the negative potentials. He now reminds me of my own faith in the “goodness” of people, regularly trying to help others regardless of how “out of the way” it may seem.

Darwin’s relatability in my mind as being “Black” was something that I came to understand after years of watching the show, but I definitely felt represented as being the “voice of reason” within friend groups. Despite him being Gumball’s younger brother, Darwin proves to be more emotionally mature on multiple occassions. There’s even a gag in the episode titled “The Flower,” in which each of the main cast’s deepest jealousies are revealed to the audience, and when posed with the question, Darwin is simply content with his life. This felt like a mirror as I encountered many emotionally draining people who always seemed to complain during my high school years, yet I remained thankful and content with where I was at that point in life.

NUMBUH 5

FIRST APPEARANCE - CODENAME: KIDS NEXT DOOR “OPERATION: I.-S.C.R.E.A.M.” (2002)

Abigail Lincoln or “Numbuh 5” is the fifth member of the “Kids Next Door,” a secret spy group composed of children that seek to protect other kids from adults and teenagers. She’s very intelligent, rational, and collected, often times acting as second in command after the group’s leader. Very focused in nature and always seeing through to the mission’s end, Numbuh 5 is a force to be reckoned with despite being only 10 years old and close to unstoppable when paired with the rest of her team.

Image Credits Warner Bros. Television Distribution Original Sketch from Thomas Warburton

The Spy

Numbuh Five was one of my first introductions into a Black animated character that did not have a personality stereotypical of Black people. It was incredibly refreshing to see a character that looked like me that also was reserved, calm, and an honor roll student, since that was incredibly rare in my social life. Her calculated and methodical nature to handling the missions tasked throughout the show was inspiring to me, and she quickly became my favorite out of the cast. Her tomboyish attire accompanied with the hoop earrings and snapback that remained highly popular in the 2000s immediately made her design visually stick out from the others in the group. Unapologetic of who she is, she stood as a pillar of self-confidence and transparency in my childhood.

The dynamic she shares with her older sisters is also something that I felt reflected in my life. Although I never had sisters, I did share a similar rivalry with my two younger brothers and we were often at each other’s throats over insignificant things. But we always made up and were inseparable. This is a relatability shared with one of my survey responders, who stated that “there was something extra accurate about she and her sister interacted to how me and my sister were.” This extra layer of personality to Abigail’s character was one of my favorite aspects of her, creating an undeniably cool character who I could feel represented by, who also happened to look like me.

ANIME

My introduction to anime came from my uncles when I was around 10 or 11. I’d stay up late with them and watch their favorite Dragon Ball Z, Yugioh and Pokemon episodes to catch the otherworldly adventures that dominated the 90s and 2000s. On my PlayStation 2, I would play against them for hours on the many fighting games that covered the shows. I began watching DBZ on my own when it began airing on Nicktoons, and from that point on anime became a staple for influential animation in my life.

Since it was clearly aimed at an older audience, I fell in love with the more visceral ways animators could direct fight scenes and other moments of high action throughout each episode. Dragon Ball and Naruto were everything to me, and despite the cast not being very racially diverse, the virtues of the characters were more than enough to pull me emotionally closer.

NARUTO UZUMAKI

FIRST APPEARANCE - NARUTO “ENTER: NARUTO UZUMAKI” (2002)

The stubborn, blonde of Team 7, Naruto is the heart of the Hidden Leaf Village. Orphaned shortly after birth and outcasted for his brash nature, he quickly relies solely on his dreams of becoming repected as the leader of the village that once rejected him. His indomitable spirit drives his head-on approach to any hardship, inspiring others around him to fight hard for what they believe in regardless of how slim the odds may appear.

Image Credits : Shueisha/Kishimoto

Original Sketch from Masashi Kishimoto

The Ninja

I was immediately drawn to the hilarity of Naruto’s brash nature but what ultimately kept me interested as a child was his indomitable spirit. Although the series had a cast of characters that never really looked like me, I always felt like I could relate to Naruto’s story of growing up being made fun of for being different and as a result not having a ton of friends. Growing up Black in a White dominated middle school and high school brought its set of challenges for me, as I often times felt like I had to work harder than other students to be viewed as having adequate work by the teachers. It was as if expectations were placed on me based on my background and skin color, and this was something that truly resonated with me when watching the original Naruto anime. He was forced into isolation by being an orphan, and then constantly being regarded as a “screw-up” or “stupid” by others because of his rebellious nature and ultimate goal of being respected worldwide. I’ve always wanted my art to take me to some sort of success, even if it’s only well-known within my hometown, and I’ve had people tell me that the career path is ridiculous to pursue. So Naruto has been my personal testament for a character who never gives up regardless of the odds, and he became a sort of fictional motivator in my younger years to not minimize my dreams.

SON GOKU

FIRST APPEARANCE - DRAGON BALL “BULMA AND SON GOKU” (1986)

Goku was the first sayian to crash land on Earth in the anime Dragon Ball Z. His grandfather instilled a powerful sentiment of “fighting for what is right” and “protecting the innocent.” Although naive and a little stupid, Goku never fails to put his life on the line before others and use his strength to fight as Earth’s protector against threats from other worlds. He sacrificed his life on several occasions for the greater good and fought battles far beyond the reach of his friends and family. Goku protects his closely-knit circle time and time again against unimaginable odds out of the sheer love for fighting opponents and protecting the innocent.

Image Credits : Bird Studio/Shueisha Original Sketch from Akira Toriyama

The Saiyan

As the trope goes with many anime, Goku’s passion for good and never failing to overcome any obstacle that he faces is something that the defines him as a character. On top of it all, Goku was extremely friendly in the anime, and this solidified him as a character that I not only found incredibly cool to watch in action but also to relate to and idealize. His drive to protect his family and friends is truly at the heart of his character, and in my young mind I felt that this was the most honorable thing that could define a person. Being selfless simply because you want to, inspired me to constantly strive to be an open and kind person. It was as if I was seeing the qualities that my parents hoped to instill into me and my brothers being directly displayed in a character, and I truly loved to see it. From sacrificing his own life to protect his friends and family against a foe stronger than himself in the very first arc of DragonBallZ, using the Dragon Balls, a tool that grants the user a nearly limitless wish, to revive every person that was killed during the invasion of the Frieza Arc, Goku has always stood tall as a beacon of hope for those who were horribly outmatched by evils. And this defining character trait of being altruistic was something I wanted to hold onto growing up.

GALLERY

I’ve always been drawn to animation, yet I never truly felt like I saw “me” fully in any of the characters on screen. So, I took it upon myself to draw and create characters that better represented my story and who I was as a person. This grew into the large collection of pieces I have today, all inspired from different aspects of my growth into adulthood while remaining true to my childhood self. I create the characters I wished I saw growing up, so that kids growing up today can feel like they have characters to identify with. This is my story.

Sunflwr

Sunflwr is a personal illustration in which I was challenged to create an extensive background based around the flower. It took around twenty hours but resulted in a strong piece that quickly grew into a fan-favorite on my Instagram page. One person even commissioned me later to use the same background and illustrate a piece remembering their dog that had passed away months prior. I was honored to be tasked with such a challenge, as I’ve never been commissioned with a memorial drawing, but I was pleased to find out that my client loved it.

Shimmer

A main staple of my illustration work has often been noted as my “clouds” and I wanted to lean into that characterization with this illustration. One of my personal characters is pictured walking across a pathway splitting a sea of clouds, with pinks and purples illuminating the path. The contrast of hard shading with my character and soft shading with the background resulted in this piece being exceptionally popular on my Instagram page and my first ever print order.

PNK

One thing that I’ve realized in my illustrator journey is that I’ve always had a difficult time both drawing and creating female characters. Maybe it’s due to the fact that as a child I would avoid all female cartoons under the impression that they’re “for girls,” or my own short attention span as an adolescent. Regardless, I wanted to challenge myself to create an original female character with this piece, taking into account afro-centric hair and keeping the overall style familiar with my other pieces. I also struggle with pinks, so this color palette was a challenge.

Dontai

Dontai is another personal illustration, this one created as a stylized piece of a YouTuber that I followed very closely in content and style. I wanted to improve on my rendering skills of clothes and this jacket proved to be my testament to this challenge. To my surprise, the YouTuber actually reposted the drawing on Instagram once it was posted, leading it to be my most liked post on my page and cementing it as a standard that I attempt to reach with every following piece.

Jupittxr

When one of my illustrator friends I’ve met through Instagram notified me of a “Draw This In Your Style” challenge he was holding with one of his personal characters, I instantly got to work. I’ve always been drawn to the “cooler” characters in cartoon and anime, and this one turned out to represent that very well. The purple hues matching the Air Jordan 1s were my favorite detail while creating, and I really wanted to capitalize off this streetwear influence in my overall design. This one ended up being one of my favorite character illustrations.

Cupid

I initially had the idea to draw Cupid when brainstorming a character to draw around Valentine’s Day. Most of my audience on my Instagram page is built on the cool, anime-inspired POC characters, so fitting the theme of love into one of my characters was a difficult task. I ended up very losely sticking with the idea of Cupid, keeping the wings but attaching them to a completely original character with the same afro hairstyle that had a year prior.

Witches

Around Halloween 2022, I saw an art challenge on my Instagram to draw a Black witch character accompanied by her cat. I wanted to use this opportunity to challenge style into a softer, almost cartoon, interpretation fit for a kids’ television show. The result uses a mix of hard and soft lighting for an overall warm feel with my signature purple hues. I focused specifically on expressions to achieve a “kid-friendly” feel and this was a step outside of my comfort zone since my audience tends to be teens to adults.

COLOPHON

Curt is a graphic designer and illustrator graduating this May with a BFA in Graphic Design from SUNY New Paltz and received his associate degree from Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY. He has had a passion for visual arts for as long as he can remember, often being captivated by the various animated shows and movies that dominated his childhood. Curt makes commissioned artwork via his popular instagram, @dreamr.art, and creates personal work that reflects his underrepresented youth and Black identity. He hopes that kids and teens in the future can grow up without feeling like they never had any character that truly “felt” like themselves.

Curt Thomas Jr