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DokiDokiTsuna
Apr '21

I guess this is an art question, because for me it's a matter of character design/concept: so what do you do when you want to create a character who smokes cigarettes?

For me it's a complex issue, because smoking isn't as normalized as it was in the 60s, for instance. Young people these days certainly don't smoke as much as they used to; millenials have spent basically their whole lives inundated with anti-smoking PSAs, so ^^; It's weird now, and I'd assume that people (both in and outside of that fictional universe) would naturally ask questions.

But because I've spent so much time with shows from the 60's, for instance, the act of smoking has become part of my 'character behavior' repertoire. Like, the visual of someone casually pulling a cigarette out of a pack and lighting it in one smooth motion, then exhaling that first puff of smoke with a jaded sigh...it's really it's own thing; you can't replace that with a vaporizer, or even with a cigar (they take much more effort to light up, and just in general they don't look as casual).

Do you think I should hold myself back (I suppose it's a bit of a moral issue as well...) or just not care, and make all the smoking characters I want? Or is there a compromise I haven't thought of...? (besides lollipops...I play that card way too often as it is)

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    Apr '21

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nathanKmcwilliamsIn the making of Bunneh The Rabbit
Apr '21

I have zero problem with it. Or people who smoke, in fact I dislike the stigma placed on them here in the US. (But that's neither here nor there)

I've got characters who smoke. I say feel free to show it, as it's a part of life, people smoke IRL and art should imitate life.

Crusoe
Apr '21

It's fine if you include smoking, it's just a thing people do. As long as you don't really romanticise it then it's fine in my opinion. But if you want to you can add in some realism by having other characters point out that it's bad for them, them trying to quit, hands shaking/not being able to concentrate because they haven't had one in a while, etc.

PapaDomAdvanced Gorilla
Apr '21

If you want to draw your character smoking, then just do it.
Nobody is or should stop you from doing it.
Besides I remember those anti-smoke PDAs from back then and how South Park portrayed them as super cringe, which was true. xD

jkb4753
Apr '21

My two cents, that you didn't ask for, is its overused. It doesnt resonate with modern audiences in the same way it did in the sixties. Like on twilight zone, characters talk about smoking and smoke on camera in every episode. Now if you have a guy that smokes the gesture is no longer neutral. People in large cities don't smoke as much because smoking is banned in public places. A neutral gesture is now a statement. Smokes has connotations. Just something to consider.

joannekwan(ง ˙o˙)ว here to help~
Apr '21

While the number of people who smoke on the regular has diminished, it's still something that people do, so, why not include it if you want?
If you're worried about any backlash, just portray it in a way where it does show the consequences of the habit: bad teeth/gums/breath, loss of taste, aged skin, jitters for the addiction side of it, or if you want more series medical implications: cancer, heart disease, etc.

BreakingChalk
Apr '21

Just made me realize that cigar and cigarette are two different things, thought that one was the shorter word for the other (my mother tongue is spanish)

I think it's okay if you want to have a character smoke, as long as it isn't shown glorified.

KelheorRegular
Apr '21

Maybe that's cause I am not from the US or Europe, I don't see much stigmatizing of smoking. Maybe it's not as widespread as 30 years ago and most young people are vaping now, but still I'd say many people will consider it to be a norm. So I will agree, just don't make it a focus (unless it's exactly what you want to do, but it doesn't seem like it).

rachurch95
Apr '21

for me, it'll involve a character who uses them to hurt other people (aka burning people with them) plus, the smell of the smoke kinda becomes a thing that the characters notice, and realize that he's there.

Chopythes
Apr '21

I'd say as the others has: If you want your character to smoke, then inlcude it?
If you want to say smoking is bad, you can have your oc's telling the smoker something negative about.

And I'll agree, I'm a non-smoker myself, but gosh darnit, does it look good on film and photographs??
There's something about it that's kind of... Not exotic, but thrilling, something sensual about it?
Just the way you described the scene is just... chef's kiss It's suspense in a different way. It's so much more than what words can describe!

telari
Apr '21

Definitely not really stigmatised in my country - no matter how I wish it was, I despise inhaling this sh*t when someone's walking along the same space smoking in public, and I also have other personal reasons.

That being said, just you do you. It's your character, your story, your decisions. Depending on context, or the way you frame it, or if you decide to address it in story (or in outside commentary), you can get the readers to understand your viewpoint in case you'd like to avoid misinterpretation.

As much as I hate smoking IRL, one of my main characters is an old lady smoking a pipe - there are, however, in-story reasons for it, though spoiler alert, they are mainly superstitions and snake oil sort of remedy.

elyss
Apr '21

I don't smoke, and am not fond of people who smoke. The smell makes my head hurt. BUT, I'm all for fictional characters who smoke or have random objects in their mouth. Makes them minimum 100% cooler/more attractive.

Aleksei
Apr '21

If your story is time placed on the '60s, go ahead. If is not, you may have to explain your character trait, maybe. As an example, John Constantine smoke a lot, and his magic tend to use the ciggies as proxies, but most of the time all other characters around make comments about that nowdays. Batman threw him out of the batmobile even.
Also, if the enviroment where the character unfolds isn't an issue, there won't be a problem. Everything depends on how you play the trait card to make it beleivable on the scene.

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NickRowler
Apr '21
1

I am a millennial and I do not smoke. But I have met people around my age who do and I don't mind being around them (but I also can't really breath through my nose, so...). I honestly do not care if a character smokes as long as they are an adult, kids smoking can be a bit weird for me. I know that 80s/90s PSA sort of pushed that smokers are evil people, which as an adult come to realize is a really shitty way of framing the issue.

When it comes to media, the US has strict rules about showing smoking in children's media. For Zoomers, most of them tend to be disinterested in cigarettes but are more willing to try vaping or weed. I know some millennials like the novelty of hookahs. And sometimes these things are just generational, I don't see many people my age with corn cob pipes.

sc101
Apr '21
1

I wish I didn't like the aesthetic and the act of smoking as much as I do but ...I really enjoy it.
Also I have observed it's kinda common in lgbt circles at least here which is why I got into the habit. A sort of signifier and also something that kinda marks you out as the kind of girl men don't wanna hit on ( at least that's what I infer). I dress gender neutral and smoke as a way to not attract attention I guess, then again I live in India so.
It has translated into my art as well, all three of my main characters smoke, then again they are based on me somehow. I just pretend it's marijuana and not as harmful.

DasIstWunderblyat
Apr '21

I live in a place where smoking is very normal, and cigarette advertising is everywhere. Women, men, young people below the legal age (it's shameful, but have you heard a smoking toddler?), old people —they smoke. I had a relative who had one of his lungs deteriorated when 15 from smoking, but continued to smoke to his 70s. I personally cannot stand it in real life and it felt sick like I am getting a flu when I inhale the smoke, some people are asshole too when smoking in public.

I have character who smokes, but they aren't human and/or having toxin neutralisation and regeneration ability or cannot get addicted. One portrayed in my series so far is a highschool boy vaping, he has regeneration power and just wants to try new things. In a culture, it is a way to show you are a potent healer because you can afford having your body damaged like nothing. Plus as the story is set in another world, you cannot be certain what is inside and what is the effect.

PaulDevers
Apr '21

I have no real issue with smoking characters and have in fact drawn several! I agree with you that there is a visual panache that comes with the stuff that can't be gleaned from anything else.
Personally I have no problem with it as a character design choice, but I guess I'd prefer if it wasn't like, glamorized or anything. It's kind of hard to define what I mean by that, sorry.
Really miss when Pete smoked in Mickey Mouse. He doesn't feel the same without his cigar.

rajillustration
Apr '21

I draw smokers sometimes, and I don't have a moral dilemma about it because those characters aren't real. They aren't me. They're not going to encourage other people to smoke as well. I think sometimes we hold ourselves as artists to this moral standard where we don't draw or write real people out of fear that someone may read our content and then immediately follow suit when like...yo they're not. They know when fiction is fiction and lofty smoke from a cigarette (which always looks waay more glamorous in comics than irl where it's like...not) that is just fiction.

Kaydreamer
Apr '21

I tried to make my protagonist a non-smoker. I really tried. But ultimately, he just... is. I couldn't avoid it. He has canonically justifiable reasons for being a smoker. He's lonely. Whisky and cigarettes take the edge off.

It's also going to be a fun marker of character development. While he'd never outright give up, the idea of him trying to cut back around a certain other character, or buying a box of lollipops or something in order to replace his smokes, is just way too precious.

I don't smoke tobacco myself, and I find cigarettes smelly, distasteful things. Not to mention, poisonous. But I'm dealing in a sci-fi universe where the health effects of smoking could be easily nullified. And there's so much opportunity to use cigarettes as a running joke, such as the smoke jamming the air filters on ships, or being eaten by doggos... there's a lot of gold in those mountains.