Turning Red has real artists relating to Mei’s mermaid crush fan-art

Turning Red is a fantastic coming-of-age story, largely because it’s unafraid to dive into the messier parts of being a young teen. The film manages to handle all of these issues with grace, including peer pressure and confused, lustful emotions. It’s a phase of life that doesn’t often get celebrated in film, and it’s a story that’s resonated with a number of fans. Artists of every age have learned from the protagonist, and occasionally the red panda Mei, to enjoy their art and accept the discomfort. Many artists reflect back on their youth and how it influenced their artwork today.

“I knew something was up the moment my best friend from middle school texted me and said that Mei ‘reminded her of me,’ and that the movie had brought back a lot of really good memories about us as impossibly chaotic, confused teenagers,” said Devon Giehl, a producer and lead writer on Netflix’s The Dragon Prince, In a discussion with Polygon.

Image: Pixar

It’s time to turn red is unapologetically invested in the messier aspects of its characters’ lives, taking things often seen as cringe or best hidden away, and pulling them right into the spotlight. This includes 13-year-old Mei’s doodles of her secret crush, a 17-year-old boy named Devon who is a cute clerk at the local Daisy Mart. In one of the film’s early scenes, she draws the two of them embracing; she also depicts Devon as a merman, and herself as an anime protagonist along with her friends. It all feels very genuine to a young teen girl’s notebook. This is exactly what it was. inspired conversationsPeople who can relate to Mei’s teenage lust and sweaty fingers. These moments are often celebrated by people, not taken for granted. inappropriate or embarrassing.

“I grew up when the internet was still a wild fandom frontier, and we gathered in places almost by accident: my most meaningful hub for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer fandom was, for example, the Neopets roleplaying boards,” said Giehl. “Like a ton of other folks from any sort of marginalized background at all, I had a pretty rough start to my creative career, and I felt that some of my more heartfelt creative instincts were too easily stifled by leaders who saw the vulnerability in them – and seemed to see it as something that needed to be stamped out. ‘Kill that, it’s cringe!’”

This phase was crucial for many artists in developing their identity and voice. For some, sketching in a notebook wasn’t just a hobby; it was an opportunity to uncover key aspects of oneself.

“When I saw It’s time to turn red, I thought Mei’s drawings were cute … and really tame! I was definitely drawing more racy stuff by that age, and within a couple more years, I was making full-on erotica as I discovered my queerness,” said Ro Salarian, a comic artist who publishes comic projects like Spectacle or the very NSFW Hexual Fantasy. “I watched the movie and I never even imagined someone could have a problem with that. I truly don’t understand how it looks anything other than innocent to people. Are they? Met a thirteen year old before?”

Image: Pixar

Salarian’s long history in self-publishing comics online began after they started out as a hobbyist artist. “I figured out I was queer as a young teen when a very tame girl-meets-girl comic I was drawing took a turn for the erotic.” But the pivotal moment culminated in them burning the art and flushing the ashes. “My parents weren’t even shaming me. They didn’t need to, because I grew up surrounded by messages that sex was wrong and dirty. As an adult, I now know how many of my peers were also making similar art at the time.”

This is a sign that culture is shifting towards embracing young fandom and earnest interests in art. You can see it in these shows Bob’s Burgers give space to Tina Belcher’s fantastical erotic fanfic and Refer a friend fic. This holds true for shows that portray millennial women. Tuca & Bertie digging into Bertie’s love of English period pieces. Und It’s time to turn redIt is evident that this example is very prominent. Although It’s time to turn redAlthough there was some criticism, many people were excited to see the film and are now learning to embrace what they love without shame.

Image: Pixar

Giehl found that accepting this attitude was a crucial part of her development as an artist. She is now unabashedly infatuated with her fandoms and enjoys sharing them with all of her friends. “‘Here,’ people say, ‘This feels like your bullshit.’ They send me pictures of sad boys with no shirts, and blacksmith women with huge swords. I ascend immediately, lovingly roasted.”

Even though Giehl and Salarian both work as professional creatives, both stressed that some kinds of art should be made for the artist’s sake, not just as a pursuit of capitalism. Giehl loves to create stories in Warcraft’s universe and enjoys the company of her original characters.

“Are these perfect stories I’d pitch professionally? NO!” Giehl said. “Are they full of indulgent, messy, romantic bleeding-heart stuff that might turn off a ton of people? ABSOLUTELY! Absolutely! Professonal work? HELL YEAH.”

While hustle culture and social media may encourage people to focus on posting more polished art, in hopes of funding a Patreon or merch shop, there’s something pure and untarnished about sweatily doodling sexy crushes in a lined paper notebook. It’s time to turn redThis captures this innocent, chaotic joy and makes it a means of self-discovery and communication that is valuable for its own sake.

“Not everyone who draws is a capital-A Artist who wants to make it their passion and/or job someday. A lot of kids do it because they like to, because they’re visual communicators who are gaining insight into themselves through drawing,” said Salarian. “I’m worried a lot of kids are going to see the discourse and think it’s not worth it to try, that they’ll give up on something valuable before they ever start. I worry the shame will seep into their subconscious if we don’t make a deliberate effort to counter it. And I think that’s the point of the people who bring this stuff up. They don’t want their kids to Have a sexuality, let alone explore it. Children do. Kids younger than Mei.”

They added, “I hope kids can see people defending all their wacky fantasies. I never got to kiss Tuxedo Mask for real, but I’m glad I spent so much time drawing it.”