Before you comment on Heather McNamara's body type please read this. I've gotten comments on my Candy Store animatic about making her chubby before - my designs are made with purpose, and McNamara's is too. I understand some questions can be raised about it though, so I'll respond to them here:
- "She's head cheerleader, she can't be overweight."
In my high school, the main cheerleaders, as well as many popular kids, were very chubby or overweight. This is where I drew influence from. Plus, being overweight doesn't mean that someone can't be in shape - even health issues like thyroidism can affect someone's body and not their ability exercise. I like to believe that McNamara is dedicated and takes her sport very seriously to prove that she is capable.
- "Heather Chandler would never let an overweight girl into her group."
Chandler accepted McNamara because she was head cheerleader and her dad is loaded. I'd like to think being overweight is of less importance than her potential social status from those elements.
- "Why would they make fun of Martha being fat if McNamara is too?"
Being "fat" and "chubby", especially in a social situation, are very different. Again drawing influence from real life, the popular chubby kids from my school would still wear designer clothing and take care of their appearances, which meant more than their weight. I've always heard from people that it's not about your body but about how you take care of it that affects how others see you.
A note on this by itself: body positivity is one of the most important tools I feel is available to me as a creator. I as well as many, many other people have been hurt by not seeing enough variety in types of beauty in the media. Above all else, I wanted to design her this way to contribute to this issue with the creative liscence as an artist.
Thank you for understanding! I'm very happy to answer any questions about her design choice. (I might add more to this later.)
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Now that that's out of the way- I had a lot of fun with this animatic and playing around with the visuals. There's a lot of symbolism involved with my own interpretation of the song and I hope you enjoy :)
Song: "Lifeboat" from Heathers the Musical
Frames: 174
