As a teenager and into my twenties, my face was covered in acne - every day was like a tower defense game trying to keep the zits at bay. I bought over-the-counter products to cover them up, which made them worse - and because of this, my face now bears the scars from my tower defense days.
Back in an age without the Internet, we only had peers and local TV stations telling us that we should cover up "unsightly" acne.
Fast forward to the present day, we now have the whole world telling us through social media that we are somehow inadequate if we don't have perfect skin. Even social media apps have filters to remove skin blemishes before posting them - further promoting that blemish-free skin is the norm.
And then, some brands beautify product photos creating an alternate reality that humans should strive for - by buying their products.
Peers and organizations recommending that you cover facial blemishes don't deserve to be part of your life if they don't accept you for who you are.
Have you heard of the "Regrets of the Dying" by Bronnie Ware? Bronnie cared for many folks who shared regrets in life just before they died. Among the most common five regrets was, "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."
If you live a life of others' expectations, you are essentially living life as an NPC. An NPC is a "Non Player Character" that lives in a game serving little importance other than to make a street look busy - or be looted for some credits. The end game for an NPC is always the same - a life of regrets.
Pride was created as a reminder that spending effort changing the way we are for the sake of others only takes precious time away from what's important - the importance of living a life without the risk of a regrettable flashback when it's end game time.
Regardless of what we look like, who we like, and how we like, it's important to stay proud and stand up against the oppressing forces that want to change the way we are.
Stay Proud ;-)
Production Notes
Pride has been the most challenging character to develop due to her facial condition's aesthetic. Her paint masks not only have the most openings compared to other characters, but each hole also has a crater-like shape on the inside of the mask to prevent the acne from looking like freckles.
Creating the flushing with a paint mask was also challenging because masks are designed to facilitate hard and sharp edges, which we wanted to avoid.
While the paint masks enable us to create a controlled aesthetic, no two versions of Pride will ever be the same due to the hand-painted nature. Please do not purchase Pride if you expect her to be perfectly printed.
If you are not sure, perhaps ask other owners their opinions first before making a purchase decision.
