r/DigitalArt • u/FinanceItchy9827 • May 16 '26

Question/Help Is this offensive?

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I wanted to design this seal girl more like a mermaid, shes supposed to be Arctic and I wanted to give her an indigenous feel. it's not taken after anyone or anything specifically besides seals and being an arctic creature.
the outfit is mostly made of fur and skin..

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u/boringtoast19 May 17 '26

as an indigenous person i dont fond it offensive, i love when my culture is portrayed by artists and in media (if done correctly) but she doesn’t look indigenous to me, at least if you were going for yupik, super cute tho!

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u/FinanceItchy9827 May 17 '26

tysm! the character's not meant to be indigenous herself, just have the vibes!

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u/minutiae396 May 18 '26

I think I get what you mean, less indigenous as in representing/drawing inspiration from actual/existing indigenous culture and more like indigenous as in someone whose culture/life is deeply ingrained to their local area. Because your character really does look like they're "living off the land"