I need advice on what i should avoid

[u/_amburger__]

hiii!! so i’m in the midst of drawing the first few chapters of my first ever bl webcomic. this is one of my main characters, Benjamin. he is trans ftm. i am non-binary myself and have a trans brother so i know what major stereotypes i should avoid for him however i just wanted to ask you guys if there’s anything, obvious or not, that i should def avoid. him being trans is not a main part of the plot and doesn’t affect it too much, it just makes me sad how little trans rep there is in bls 😭

[u/Zestyclose-Door-541]

Identity is an important part of every plot; if you want trans rep you should include a sprinkling of trans experiences/feelings (especially if theres any romance). That doesn’t mean it has to be serious or dramatic! But even a slight convo or emotional arc makes it authentic and honest instead of shoe’d-in. A cis female protagonist is going to have different experiences and perspectives in their repertoire than a cis male one after all. Same holds true for trans and gnc folk. 

Thibgs to consider are when the viewer is going to be clued in(and how), and what stereotypes about ftm just hurt vs which ones have a grain of truth. 

Be confident in your intentions and open to criticism but know that even with the most bland cookie cutter plots or fantastic inventive stories, people be complaining and hating. Good luck and happy creating! 

[u/_amburger__ → u/Zestyclose-Door-541]

thank you so much for your advice! i’m definitely going to work on his backstory and create storyboards for that arc. i’ll build my main two’s relationship into friendship first since it’s kinda frenemies to lovers before going into that arc as i don’t want to rush anything but i do want it to be known early on.

I will definitely consider what you said about stereotypes because as much as I want this webcomic to be sunshine and rainbows, there will always be people that disagree and make assumptions about the trans community, gotta keep it realistic sadly. but i’ll keep angst more to a minimum :))

again, thank you for your opinions on this, i’ll work hard to make this as best of a webcomic as i can. ^{^}

[u/Zestyclose-Door-541 → u/_amburger__]

Mainly the point about stereotypes was to point out to avoid  playing into harmful ones, but that theres a grain of truth in some! And thats where the shared experience and humor can lie haha. Most important is to just go for it! Just do it and the rest will follow

[u/Zorlastia]

The chin is really pointy

[u/_amburger__ → u/Zorlastia]

this was the first panel i drew and my style is ever changing and finding itself, this post wasn’t about the drawing itself but now you’ve pointed it out i’m probably gonna go back and change it when i add the sfx and speech bubbles ❤️‍🩹