Todd Chavez (BoJack Horseman)

Emily: “Todd, can I ask you something? What’s… your deal? I feel like you like me, but you don’t like me, but you like me and I don’t know what that is. Are you gay?”

Todd: “I’m not gay. I mean, I don’t think I am. But… I don’t think I’m straight either. I don’t know what I am. I think I might be nothing…”

And that is how you write an excellent character. Happy Pride month everybody.

Now I barely know anything about the adult animated show BoJack Horseman, but in order to do an exclusive art trade with my good friend , I wanted to take a look at his favourite character on that show: Todd Chavez.

And while Todd might come off as a lazy slacker at first, I’ve been told he’s also one of the nicest characters on the show, usually putting himself second to the needs of others. What I wrote at the start of this description is part of a conversation between Todd and Emily, his ex-girlfriend, in the final episode of the third season. And to me it’s a really powerful moment, despite not actually having watched the show.

The character of Todd Chavez is portrayed really well throughout the rest of the series, where he comes out as asexual. It’s an important, defining part of his character, but it’s not played for laughs as is often done in comedic setting. It’s taken seriously. That’s why Todd Chavez is such an important character.

…

Buuut he’s also pretty generic looking. So when I was asked to make a sprite of him, I wasn’t sure on how to tackle it properly. I ended up with.. well.. this! Todd has a bit of a slouch to him and he’s rarely seen without his yellow beanie (which used to be Emily’s) and his red hoodie. To make it a bit more interesting I gave him the blanket from BoJack’s couch, slung over his shoulder.

So while he's a fairly generic-looking dude, I think I was able to properly capture his Todd-ness and give him a bit more uniqueness as well