Fun fact: The trope of shiny, dark eyelids equals hot woman has an unspoken history in cartooning. As do most things in the US, it has to do with racism. https://twitter.com/AnaMardoll/status/1386088526807060481

TW: racist imagery
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Shiny eyelids are common in rubberhose animation. All early US cartoons are minstrels. Artists went to performances and used them as the basis for their designs. Shiny eyelids are a natural Black feature that incorporated into the style of rubberhose.

So where did hot girls come from? Dark, shiny eyelids are apart of the Jezebel stereotype (hypersexualization of Black women). Black women were heavily fetishized in early cartoons. These features continued in cartoons as shortcuts to immediately sexualize characters.

TW: racist imagery and caricatures
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Shiny, dark eyelids are one of many natural features of Black women that are used to sexualize characters. Racist pornography of Jezebels was prominent in early cartoons and the signature sexy, eyelid sheen and more is seen repeatedly.

A great example is Betty Boop. Her design is wrongly contributed to Helen Kane (last) who did sue but ultimately lost her lawsuit bc it was proven she stole her singing style and aesthetic from a BW performer, Esther Jones. Boop's short curls, curvy hips & plump lips mimics BW.

And on purple eyeshadow: Other than the slur "purple black" which often follows the phrase "Their skin so Black it's purple." Commonly found any shade of purple compliments dark skin which is why it's so commonly associated with Black femininity from "The Color Purple" to Prince.

There's nothing wrong w drawing characters w purple eyeshadow or dark shiny eyelids (I love to do it) but the history is important. Since beauty industry market products to lighten hyperpigmented eyelids and plastic surgery to get rid of folds keep the energy for IRL women too.

Disclaimer: These are features that are much more common in Black women but that doesn't mean only or all Black women have these features. I hope people's takeaway isn't to stop drawing shiny, dark eyelids but to incorporate them more, esp w Black women, in nonsexual ways.

Clarification: I apologize if this thread came out less clear than I intended. This is an important part of the his of dark eyelids in animation but isn't the only reason this feature has lasted so long in art. https://twitter.com/InspectorNerd/status/1386421071805489159?s=19

Again my main reason for sharing this information isn't to discourage it's use in character design but to incorporate it more broad and nonsexual ways too.