#also i'm unlikely to be historical hetalia drawing so

[hellonerf]

oooh, in the last ask you mentioned seasia... i think if done right, amepiri/usph could have some hot yaoiyuri action going on esp knowing their historical background... i KNOW YOU SAID IF AME DIDN'T EXIST ASHDSJGF but i needed to ramble abt my weird amepiri kink and the potential they have... feel free to ignore this ask ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡

ah i kind of think i wouldn't've? 😅🙏... when it comes to seasia colonizer ships im like. i don't even know i probably wouldn't touch the other ships. when it comes to like nethindo it's that i'm mostly seeing other indonesians draw it. 🙆‍♂️ even then i wouldn't even say nethindo is like the ship i like for neshi. if you're filipino that's your prerogative i just doubt i would've touched that

[unhonestlymirror]

What's interesting about hetalia is that it's actually not all harmful stereotypes overall. Most countries are portrayed more or less close to reality, and people from them admit it.

However, when it comes to Ukraine, the most desirable by russia land - something suddenly changes, and we have this stupid, poor and blonde russia's sister - not actual Ukraine. When it comes to Belarus - suddenly, we have this malicious bitch who wants to marry russia - not actual Belarus. When it comes to Latvia - we have this spineless crybaby, russia's lackey - not actual Latvia. When it comes to Lithuania - we have a sexualised poor maiden without his own culture who grovels before russia - not actual Lithuania.

Why are these countries' portrayals so misleading if others are being portrayed more or less okay? What was the reason? What for is the contrast so big yet so unobvious to foreigners? To make people all over the world not believe us in case russia invades us? What did we do to deserve this? This is not just historical inaccuracy, this is straight-up misinformation and russian propaganda.

Google clears any information about sold manga copies very well, because they probably realised they fucked up. Although, most likely they just "changed the shoes", since Ukraine refused to die.

Look, there are lots of harmless stereotypes, like Belaruthians who love potatoes or Ukrainians who love borshch, Latvians who love sport, Lithuanians who love nature - and there is A LOT of information you can find being a Japanese WHO STUDIED IN NEW YORK CITY if you put a little bit more effort, to make your characters more accurate, more interesting. I highly doubt that New York would not have any books about never-soviet countries, considering how many migrants from the USSR there were, and how many Americans hate communism.

However, there are actually very harmful stereotypes, for example, about never-soviet countries being russia's siblings. We should have started sounding the alarm. Even back then, in the 2010s' we felt our portrayal was wrong. So terribly wrong - but we had no reason to yell about that before because until 2014, russia didn't invade others. And we were russified, and we tried to befriend russia because we believed they were also happy with the USSR breakdown.

There is literally one logical explanation to Himaruya's behaviour. All those sudden changes in early concepts of russia and Belarus, sudden disappearance of Ukraine and Belarus from the manga completely, as if they do not exist, this hilarious fixation on Brexit when the biggest event (in Eastern Europe for 100%) was the russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014. All of it can be explained by one simple word: money. He was simply bought by russia. Russia spends billions on misinformation, bots, and missiles. Of course, they couldn't have missed such a profitable cow as some clueless dropout, popular in USA Hidekaz Himaruya.

Anon once asked how I could attack Himaruya if he just draws stuff. Well, Margarita Simonyan, the chief editor of the information agency "Russia Today", director of the TV channel "Russia Today", who just says stuff, who wasn't well-known in the USA at all, and even now is probably unknown, who most likely never shot Ukrainian children herself, is officially considered a war criminal. Do you know why? Maria Lvova-Belova, who wasn't well-known before 2022 in the USA, who just says stuff like "I'm helping Ukrainian children to adapt in new russian families" is OFFICIALLY CONSIDERED A WAR CRIMINAL. Can you guess why? These two women are considered war criminals, and they weren't widespread in the USA, unlike Hidekaz Himaruya, who officially sold more than 40 million copies of his manga worldwide.

I'm not saying that we should crucify Himaruya or file a complaint against him to the International Court of Justice. I'm saying that we should add him to Myrotvoretz since his actions "have signs of crimes against the national security of Ukraine, peace, human security and international law".

[faintvibes]

HISTORIC ART STUFF WOO

In true procrastination fashion, I have picked up drawing historical Hetalia in the midst of deadlines- but take some images anyway? I've got another 4 waiting to be finished, but I'm posting these now in the hopes that I'll switch focus to better things before I pick up the remaining images... (hopefully)

If you're interested in my process through creating these, I have more information on my thoughts, references, etc under the cut! :)

So first (and ironically the most recently completed one): America. I was going to draw this lad in more masculine clothing, but I was flipping through one of my reference books and found a look I thought was absolutely stunning, so ofc I had to use it. My justification is the hc that he crossdressed to hide from British forces/representatives (depsite the image used being dated to the 1710s). Speaking of...

This is taken from a book in the World of Art series by James Laver: "Costume and Fashion". This specific image can be found on page 129 and is captioned (visible at top of image) "Studies of three women, Jean-Antoine Watteau c. 1716-17". The lady on the left has the outfit that caught my eye, while the one in the middle is who I took inspiration from in regards to hairstyle. I found it fascinating to see the differences in fashion between classes- the same basic structures, but the left woman's stays are on full display, held in place by a simple ribbon. And her stays don't show a hint of decoration, unlike many from the time. Certainly not something the other two would be caught dead wearing, but I quite like it.

Since the image has little colour, I was free to play with my own ideas (though I likely would have anyway). Since my excuse was that this is during the revolution, I figured linking back to the American flag would be a neat touch- hence the blue skirt and white ribbon (not exactly the shades used, but I didn't think of that at the time). You might notice that red's missing from the equation, which I decided on due to the famous redcoats of the British army at the time. I thought about using a red-brown for the stays, but I liked the brown I settled on and figured that probably wouldn't have been the most common colour on the cheap anyway. However, the white of the ribbons is ever-so-slightly red, and I used a grey-red colour to shade it. That detail is meant to be rather subtle however, as I imagine America wouldn't have wanted to use anything red as a disguise at the time. The green top might seem a bit out of place following that logic, however I had a different idea when it came to that. Originally I thought of green because of how it worked well with blue and brown, but a recent (ongoing) project involved me researching meaning by the colour, so its association with growth and renewal seemed fitting for the whole revolution plot. Though, it could also like to the green fields and rolling hills you can find in the east coast- the ground on which the revolution was fought.

The background colour isn't so thought out- I just picked one that didn't take away from the main image.

Now next we have Prussia, who's dressed in a formal suit from the 1820s- specifically, 1829- as seen in the reference photo I used:

This is from "A History of Fashion: From Loincloths to Lycra", written by Jacqueline Moray, created and designed by David Salariya- with a small team backing them up. It's incredibly detailed, and each page features small images of people across each time period discussed (one of which I've used for my reference) which helps with variety of dress. I do have to note, however, its lack of poc representation- with figures of any skin colour other than white only displayed in the Ancient Egyptian section and from the 1920s onwards. Furthermore, a crayon-like texture is apparent on darker skin tones- for no apparent reason. I'm not normally one to call attention to limited representation in these sorts of books- it's incredibly frustrating, but I get the thought process of "European/western fashion, European [looking] people" but the fact that they begin to appear after a time and the weird texture is... highly suspect.

But none of that relates to Prussia! This figure (the middle one, in the turquoise coat) can be found on page 24 of the book, and I've taken the outfit practically verbatim- minus some changes in colouring. I kept the shoes, under suit (under under suit?) and socks, with my changes originally going to be a grey/red colour theme... before I remembered that Prussian Blue exists. My whole idea I had going into this drawing was the sort of obnoxious peacocking that feels very on-brand for Prussia, and using a colour literally named after him sounded perfect. I decided to make that the overcoat's main colour, with a smidge of red around the vest collar to contrast it. Apart from that, I kept the grey and detailed with various buttons, primarily gold in colouring (with an exception for the larger ones on the overcoat, which are a darker blue).

Additionally, you may notice that he is blushing in the drawing I've done. There is no special meaning to this, other than that I'd noticed- while browsing images of him in order to reference features- images that appeared to be official/from the manga (I was just scrolling, and so didn't double-check) often depicted him with a bit of blush along the edge of his cheeks. Frankly, that's adorable and I had to include it.

And the last we have is New Zealand- or, my interpretation (one of). As I've stated previously (buried in the tags of an earlier post, good luck finding it) I have always thought of feminine/female, in part due to the lack of such representation in the Hetalia canon. Admittedly, though, my decision is influenced by my own gender identity and a want to relate to the character that represents my country. I alter the appearance of my country from their canon counterpart mainly due to a lack of satisfaction with what there is in canon for Aotearoa (and this is not something that just applies to my country, but it is the strongest in this instance) and the feeling that the character I see for my country doesn't represent the one I know. Though it's important to mention that how I choose to represent my country isn't static- it often changes, and you'll likely not see the same two NZs ever in my art, (unless it's an instance like my oc Kima, who was originally an interpretation of my country but was roped into another project and became individual in her own right. I draw her a lot, and her appearance is static, though I doubt she'll appear often on this blog.)

With that out of the way... I had two main reference images for Aotearoa, both taken from "Dressed: Fashionable Dress in Aotearoa New Zealand 1840 to 1910" by Claire Regnault which, by the way, is the best resource I have ever come across for early NZ fashion, and- while approaching the topic largely from the perspective of colonists- details how both Pākehā and Māori clothing evolved.

Both are illustrations by George Angus, the former (page 27) is taken from his book "The New Zealanders Illustrated" which covers how Māori dress changed due to colonisation, which was published in 1847. The latter (page 49) is a painting by him of Toenga (a hine of Ngāti Maru), depicting her in a traditional (though, slightly modernised) harakeke kākahu (flax cloak) as well as a European-style hat he describes as very fashionable among the Māori women of Auckland at the time. While I haven't incorporated the hat into my illustration, I have taken the cloak and red balls of fabric used- a detail Māori weavers began to incorporate upon trade with Europeans- though not the further red lines, since I have limited experience with illustrating this sort of garment. I've taken inspiration from Toenga's pose as well, particularly with how she holds her kākahu to slightly disguise her face (though NZ barely does). As for the other reference, I focused mostly on the hair textures and skin tones depicted to gain an idea of what I wanted this NZ to look like. While Māori hair remains most commonly black or very dark in colour (in my personal experience), I went for a very clear brown tone to call into her Pākehā links. I also initially went for a darker skin tone, but ended up choosing a lighter one for this reason. I additionally considered making her eye colour more noticeably European (e.g. blue, green) instead of brown, but ultimately decided against it, limiting myself to a lighter brown colour. At this point in her history I headcanon her as being primarily linked with her indigenous population, but she isn't absent of European heritage. As colonists begin to take more from her, I can see her becoming more westernised- but that is not yet something she has largely faced (key word being largely).

For similar reasons, I wanted her to have a tā moko tattoo. I am no expert in this art- my knowledge is limited primarily to the placing of the tā moko on the body in different instances and some of the common patterns- so I also sought out a reference for this. I used the book "Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History" by Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney, and Aroha Harris. It is a goldmine of Māori history (as the title may suggest) and features many depictions of Māori people and events- this time from a primarily Māori perspective. The individual whose moko I referenced is pictured on the front cover, but is discussed in more detail on page 483:

Since I've taken taken my depiction from an actual person's moko, I cannot apply any special meaning relative to NZ apart from the cultural significance of the tattoo: the passage into adulthood, traditionally, though it can differ in the modern age. Internally, I warred with myself over distancing the design I have used from my reference more- after all, every moko is unique to the individual and the last thing I want to do is step on someone's cultural identity- but I am hesitant to do so. I am not greatly knowledgeable about tā moko and I can't help but feel as though I may be making a greater misstep in altering the design myself.

I did, initally, have another image to add here- I'd drawn an image of Canada in the following outfit (page 21 of the same book I referenced for Prussia):

But I wasn't fond (at all) of the pose I used upon finishing it, nor my attempts at the intricate detailing. But if you're interested, the idea behind the image was a bit different to the others. This is the sort of suit a French nobleman might wear in the 1790s- quite a while after Canada became British territory, though I'd been interested in the thought of him looking quite out of place dressed so fancily. So my idea ended up being France (kidnapping him?) deciding to loop Canada into a day of "nostalgia", bringing out old outfits and convincing his old colony to put one of them on. As such, I added a few more modern details to hint at this reality- painted fingernails, for one, and Canada's hair wasn't a wig, but his own styled in a small ponytail (with the ribbon). I may redo it eventually seeing as I was fond of the premise, but I had another idea for a Canada image that will be released whenever I finish the second set. This one was originally a vague notion of Nyo!Canada (her design is adorable) but I wanted this one to draw more from Inuit roots, and so her design will reflect that. Not really recognisable as canon Canada, but a Canada nonetheless.

Apart from that Canada, the other designs I have sketched but on hold are the following:

France, in the clothes of a Norman nobleman from the 1150s- looking slightly older than the young France depicted in Hetalia canon but with a noticeably innocent expression

Germany, looking very unimpressed in a wedding dress dated to 1878 (modern Germany, old wedding dress)

A joint depiction of Nyo!North Italy and Nyo!Germany with slight GerIta, which can be dated to sometime from 1910 to the 1920s, though more likely the 20s than the 10s (look, I had two dresses slightly different time periods, and an idea)

And if you've made it this far through my very long-winded explanation about these drawings that each hold a little bit of my soul, I applaud you and am very (very) thankful. Please feel open to discuss further with if you'd like- I value every second you spend entertaining my thoughts :))