Zuko's Scar - Tumblr Posts
This is mu Zuko make up! The scar was so much fun to make! The wig that I am wearing is my Gilbert wig, so it isn't what I will be wearing as Zuko! This is the first time I have done any sort of scar using latex so it isn't perfect.
I used this tutorial- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tsfcc6ENoZU
~Nana
literally pleased with almost all of the new atla trailer except as per usual, Zuko's scar, idk why studios are so scared to commit to the intensity of the thing, its supposed to be shocking and obvious and textured and the first thing you see... that's the point, Zuko is supposed to struggle with feeling like it defines and brands him before finally coming to the point in his journey where he defines it.
Hollywood/big studios are known to hesitate or straight up avoid properly and honestly and unapologetically showing people with disfigurements/disabilities/facial differences etc. with the realism they deserve. Which is a shame in general for representation and humanization but ESPECIALLY in this case as its minimization actively harms it's narrative purpose as well
I promise making the scar more intense (shrivel up the ear a bit, make it intrude in his hairline, make his eye in a permanent squint due to nerve damage, for god sake REMOVE THE EYEBROW IT WAS BURNED OFF) will not make Zuko "ugly", (the actor is incapable of looking ugly and also the implication that scars make people too unappealing? yikes) but will actually do the character and his journey justice, not to mention really show Ozai's brutality, another essential narrative tool. Especially when he's bald like hello??? It should be even more stark and intense when he doesn't have hair to distract from it and cover his ear!!!
When transitioning from 2D to live action, of course some visuals are up for interpretation but that usually involved ADDING detail because the constraints of having to stay on modeling frame to frame is gone, not minimizing, removing or airbrushing. Doing Zuko's scar right to me is absolutely essential and I'm disappointed they seem just as as scared to go there as I thought they might. It doesn't have to be gory, if you've ever seen burn victims in real life or in pictures or even cosplayers/artists who are skilled in realistic burn makeup you'd know its possible to balance realism with humanity. It's possible especially with their resources to avoid the "scary Halloween makeup" route while not holding back on the brutality of the original injury.
Budget is definitely not an issue, or "scaring the kids" considering this remake is likely aiming to go a lil darker in tone than the cartoon (which was already super dark with its target audience of nickelodeon 7 year olds so no excuses) Audiences SHOULD be unsettled and upset when they see him but not because he's hard/disturbing to look at but because we are human and do not want to imagine someone doing that to a child.
It's a deliberate choice out of the all too common fear/hesitation to allow someone who is destined to eventually become a protagonist and is meant to be sympathized with to be "too ugly" while this hesitation is very rarely applied to straight up villains (again we come back to media's historic villainization of facial deformity). It's a trend that's always ticked me off in fanart too. The boy's face was melted, for gods sake. Zuko was always portrayed as an attractive boy in the cartoon (fire nation girls fawn over him) even with the intensity of his scar which is something I've always admired! People exist with scars similar to Zuko's in real life, and should not only be permitted to be represented as good guys and/or as attractive when their scars are toned down to be "palatable"
Like I said there's more that I loved than didn't love about the trailer, that can be a whole essay on it's own but I needed to get this very specific vent off my chest because it missed the mark so hard and stands out like a sore thumb in comparison to all the other visuals that hit the nail on the head to me
"He cupped my face so gently, so caring. His touch one of a loving father.
He other hand came to atop my head, like he was patting me for a assurance.
Then it came.
The searing hot pain.
It burned and burned, a white hot burn. It was so intense, like the sun came down to Earth and visited me, touched me with it's flaming hand and painful touch.
Then...
Nothing.
Everything was black, and for a millisecond, I was scared, frightened. Begging for my mother's comfort.
Next thing I know, I woke up, numb with anesthesia.
I was confused, moment of pain that occured before momentarily forgotten. My hand came up to my head and brushed against cloth. The bandage, hiding and obscuring the burn that was surely there from view. Memories flashed before my eyes and tears welled up in my eyes.
Hours later, I was told the news regarding my banishment and the fool's errand that my father sent me on.
That was three years ago, I'm sixteen now.
I still don't know who was in the wrong."
I took my stance
And paid a glance;
I brought my hand down,
And fire danced around.
I brough him flames,
And they marred his face;
I am aware of the cruelty,
And the tragic beauty.
A tragic tale,
Told by people that wail;
Though, I will not regret,
Lest I fall to my death.
Zuko's Hell
In the darkest of nights,
The quietest of moments,
Amidst the harshest of cold winds,
Laying in the loud of the silence
The moonlight glints
The abyss grins
The shadows grow
The eyes stare
He stands petrified
Breath shallow and ragged
Eyes wide in terror
Mouth open in horror
In the past, he visits
In the present, he is
In the dark, he lies
In the pain, he lives
He hears laughing
He smells burning
He sees smiling
He feels he is hurting
A ghostly touch
Yet so painful
He cries
He begs
No one listens
Everyone laughs
They point and stare
Now they whisper and glare
The past of his
A lesson they teach
Experience he has
Pain he befriends
He remembers, words from him
He recalls, cries of his
They talk, the begging he did
They mutter, the sinful deed
Burning hot white pain
Tears streaming down his other eye
He sees, atop of him, his father
Grinning with a wild look in his eyes
Of many things, he wonders
Of his sisters crazed giggles
Of his uncle's cowardly response
Of his mother's absence
Of his father's abuse
Of his ignorance
Ignorance that caused the death of many
The losses of his
He cries
He sins
He watches
He tries
He helps
He rages
He whimpers
He wakes up
He's in another hell
And he thinks,
Only the demon of their hell
Finds it to their liking
He smiles
He's tired
He ages
He's alone
Once more
One last time
One more moment
He dreams
ATLA and Zuko
When I first watched ATLA as a teenager, my dumbass thought that Zuko's scar wasn't a scar. I thought that he got punched really hard one time (I'm not the most perceptive, so I didn't notice his deformed ear), and the animators were taking the time to establish continuity with injuries. I kept wondering why it never healed, and then the people in the show called it a scar, and Iroh told everyone Zuko's tragic backstory, and only then did I get it.
I was really stupid.
Zuko has lightning scars
But not just on his chest. Everytime he redirects lightning the current going through his fingers, down his arms, across his body and out through his other hand is so great that it leaves nerve damage on the tips of his fingers, where the the lightning enters his body.
And with this nerve damage comes small thin and long scars that run down his fingers and along his forearms before they begin to fade. I just think it's a really cool character design, especially with the colour of his lightning scars ( the one on his chest would look like a starburst of white instead of the reddish hue after it heals properly) and that scar on his chest also spans out to a larger area.
Everytime he redirects lightning bc azula is cray cray the tips of his fingers become a harsh red temporarily and steam rolls off of his body as he cools down. His hair becomes frazzled from the amount of electricity he's holding.
There's so much more character design potential with zuko. I love it when I see artists draw zuko with more scars other than the ones his face and chest.