When you’re a kid you’re not just watching it for the story and the gags alone. In many ways, you see yourself in that animated universe. You tend to form bonds with your favorite characters and live a life that only you can didcate.
Through cartoons children are able to go in a world of their own, free from the societal constraints of adulthood. A lot of times artists tend to revisit their childhood in order to more freely express themselves.
This Pakistani aims to change the cartoons only show some kind of people so children from all backgrounds can become more involved
Anoosha is a children’s literature illustrator and a character designer. She says she never saw herself in cartoons as a kid and this what she has done to change that.
For Pakistani kids especially, finding cartoon characters that share the same ethnicity is close to impossible. Anoosha’s art work is a testament to the fact that cartoon characters can be from this part of the world without seeming out of place.
“I gained an appreciation for animation when I was in my teens, rewatching all the old Disney classics and the like and I realized I wanted to work in animation.”
“I ended up going to school for illustration, and while I mostly do children’s books I get the chance to work for cartoons once in a while” Anoosha told MangoBaaz.
I’m Anoosha, a Pakistani character designer. I never saw myself in cartoons as a kid, I want to change that! #SouthAsianArtists ??✨ pic.twitter.com/DSKapOBoMC
— anoosha @fandays #20 (@foxville_art) October 13, 2017
Many on social media expressed great admiration for Anoosha’s work
@Zeek6 OMG SHE'S PAKISTANI!!! OMG SO PROUD ?????
— Haniya ??? (@haniyabookling) October 14, 2017
love your art! keep on! ???
— cindy pon (@cindypon) October 13, 2017
Well, you're pretty damn brilliant at it, so carry on! ?
— Gert Sønderby (@gsonderby) October 13, 2017
Guuurrll fist pump to another fellow Paki-Muslim artist. I didn’t know til now! Love your work.
— Rehana Khan (@omgKhanArt) October 13, 2017
People supported her initiative for actively calling for more representation
Good luck Anoosha. Keep sharing your work. I'm sure in time you will succeed in reaching out and changing perceptions.
— Subhash Pais (@Subhash_ati9) October 14, 2017
Your work is soooo beautiful. I would kill for games, comics, and cartoons with this South Asian aesthetic.
— Jordan Spookydad (@jackal27) October 13, 2017
Your work is inspiring. Representation matters. Keep it up. #WOCAffirmation
— Cass (@cassVA1219) October 14, 2017
I never saw Pakistani artists in credits either, I wish we were more promoting of artists back home rather than excluding to Hollywood artists only. We have this problem more visibly with anime/JP artists, but Pakistan is so woefully underrepresented smh ?
— Autistic Paki Man (@Huzaahmed) October 14, 2017
Anoosha has plenty of other works of art in her arsenal as well
Hello! I'm a kidlit illustrator and character designer for animation.
✨SHOP: https://t.co/AUxoRRAZbM
✨https://t.co/bbhnPbp3r0 pic.twitter.com/kuAGMy1yyL— anoosha @fandays #20 (@foxville_art) September 22, 2017
Anoosha was mainly inspired by cartoons from the late 90’s and early 2000’s including the likes of Power Puff Girls, Kim Possible and My Life As A Teenage Robot.
“I do a lot of work for children’s and teen literature, so I draw a lot of cute subjects like kids and animals. I also love fashion so I also play around with that when I’m drawing pretty girls”, she said.
She’s done some pretty fun renditions of famous characters. Here’s cute sketch of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy from Batman
How about Spiderman getting smitten by a kitten?
There’s some pretty neat artwork from Steven Universe too
Annosha is also an avid fan of the Harry Potter franchise
Emma Watson, who played the role of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, loves Anoosha’s work
This is AWESOME Anoosha! @foxville_art pic.twitter.com/DcD9D2s03t
— Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) September 26, 2017
This is fantastic, Anoosha.