Recently I made a "Belly Dancer" character design for my story set in an imaginary desert village.
The belly dancer design itself is inspired by many classic JRPGs and anime characters I love, with clothings and accessories taken and remixed from pinterest search results.
People love the design, but I also see comments complaining that the art is "Orientalist".
As a Chinese artist, this is my first time hearing this term. I do some research and seems like orientalism means stereotyping the eastern culture and perpetrating a false exotic image of the east. And I have to agree, this is not something I want to be part of.
But my question is, are all belly dancer outfits... Orientalist? Is there any way I could make a belly dancer design that is not "Orientalist?"
And also, how much cultural research should I do for my character design in general? And is taking inspiration from different cultures, and remixing them considered "orientalist" as well?
