Eeeeeeyahhh... I was thinking while posting that gee, just how many indigo-eyed characters do we share in our mutual fandom(s) who could also be easily classified as melancholy, eh? *whistles nonchalantly*
Supposing the artists are taking that much trouble with their symbolism.
I think it's more likely that the originating artist (who, I must note, was also one of the conceptual developers, which is different from "draw us this, okay?") came up with a few things... and the rest of the artists followed along with general instructions or with just basic, "uh, okay, boss, whatever." Thing is, you don't have to be thinking about symbolism to tweak it, so much as just know enough of it to know how to flip a few things around, here and there.
Which means the obi part? I can totally see someone saying, "okay, and we'll put an obi on him--" (makes me think the western equivalent might be, "and we'll have his fingernails painted") -- "but situate it like a married woman's... wait, then people'd think he's, hrm, okay! yeah! RAISE THE CORD. *snicker* That'll confuse 'em. Alright! What else?" (which might be like saying "but not black fingernail polish... hrmm, orange! yeah, because it's almost girly but not exactly. YEAH. That'll throw 'em.")
The fact that the artists stuck to their cultural basis (as opposed to, say, using Russian styles or referencing Yoruban or something else alien to them) means even if they didn't plan out the symbolism, they were most likely aware what they were drawing. Cultural assumptions are like drawing a character with left and right shoes -- if you're asked to draw a fellow who wears his shoes opposite, you can't not notice it...
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Date: 4 Dec 2008 05:27 am (UTC)Supposing the artists are taking that much trouble with their symbolism.
I think it's more likely that the originating artist (who, I must note, was also one of the conceptual developers, which is different from "draw us this, okay?") came up with a few things... and the rest of the artists followed along with general instructions or with just basic, "uh, okay, boss, whatever." Thing is, you don't have to be thinking about symbolism to tweak it, so much as just know enough of it to know how to flip a few things around, here and there.
Which means the obi part? I can totally see someone saying, "okay, and we'll put an obi on him--" (makes me think the western equivalent might be, "and we'll have his fingernails painted") -- "but situate it like a married woman's... wait, then people'd think he's, hrm, okay! yeah! RAISE THE CORD. *snicker* That'll confuse 'em. Alright! What else?" (which might be like saying "but not black fingernail polish... hrmm, orange! yeah, because it's almost girly but not exactly. YEAH. That'll throw 'em.")
The fact that the artists stuck to their cultural basis (as opposed to, say, using Russian styles or referencing Yoruban or something else alien to them) means even if they didn't plan out the symbolism, they were most likely aware what they were drawing. Cultural assumptions are like drawing a character with left and right shoes -- if you're asked to draw a fellow who wears his shoes opposite, you can't not notice it...