Line #40 Creator/RebeccaSugar


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rebecca_sugar_3.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: Not to be confused with Samantha Pepper.]]
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4	->''"These things have so much to do with who you are, and there’s this idea that these are themes that should not be shared with kids, but everyone shares stories about love and attraction with kids. So many stories for kids are about love, and it really makes a difference to hear stories about how someone like you can be loved, and if you don’t hear those stories, it will change who you are. It’s very important to me that we speak to kids about consent and we speak to kids about identity and that we speak to kids about so much. I want to feel like I exist and I want everyone else who wants to feel that way to feel that way, too."''
5	-->-- '''Rebecca Sugar''' summing up the mission statement of her entire career at San Diego Comic-Con 2016
6
7	Rebecca Sugar (born July 9, 1987) is an animator, writer, composer, musician, comic book artist, and director, best known for creating the Creator/CartoonNetwork series ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', for which she has earned a [[MediaNotes/EmmyAward Primetime Emmy Award]]. She previously worked as a storyboard artist, writer, and composer for ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', for which she earned two Primetime Emmys. She also created, wrote and illustrated the ScienceFiction {{dramedy}} comic ''ComicBook/PugDavis''.
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9	Sugar is a proud alumnus of The School of Visual Arts, her thesis film for which, ''Singles'', can be viewed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgue81LVZ4E here]]. It was here that she met her longtime professional collaborator Creator/IanJonesQuartey; they have also been in a romantic relationship since 2008, and got married on December 4, 2019.
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11	She also worked with Creator/GenndyTartakovsky as a storyboard artist on ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania''. Tartakovsky directed the animation for the ''Steven Universe'' pilot, which was used to pitch the show to Cartoon Network.
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13	Sugar came out as bisexual in 2016, and in 2018 clarified further that she identifies as non-binary, saying that she accepts the use of both "she/her" and "they/them" pronouns.
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15	She has accounts on [[https://twitter.com/rebeccasugar Twitter]], [[https://www.instagram.com/rebeccasugar Instagram]], and [[https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2e4gmx/i_am_rebecca_sugar_creator_of_steven_universe_and Reddit]], the lattermost containing thorough breakdowns of her thoughts and anecdotes regarding her various works in responses to fans.
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17	In 2023, Sugar announced the release of her first collection of songs ''Spiral Bound'', due for November that year. Her next project will be [[https://deadline.com/2023/12/matt-braly-sony-animated-feature-1235666774/ co-writing an animated fantasy film]] at Creator/SonyPicturesAnimation with Creator/MattBraly, who will direct the film.
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19	!!Rebecca Sugar has worked on:
20
21	!Comics
22	* ''Chubby Mary Floated in Space''
23	* ''ComicBook/PugDavis''
24	* ''Don't Cry for Me, I'm Already Dead''
25
26	!Animation
27	* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': Story writer, storyboard artist, storyboard revisionist, songwriter, voice of Marceline's mother (succeeded by Creator/EricaLuttrell in ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTimeDistantLands'')
28	** ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTimeFionnaAndCake'': Wrote and performed the song 'Part of the Madness' for the episode "[[Recap/AdventureTimeFionnaAndCakeS1E02SimonPetrikov Simon Petrikov]]".
29	* ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania'': Storyboard artist
30	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Creator, executive producer, storyline writer, storyboard artist, songwriter, sings ending theme "Love Like You"
31	* ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'': Wrote and sings the end theme
32	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': Wrote and performed the song 'It's Our Special Time of Year' for the episode "[[Recap/AmphibiaS3E16FroggyLittleChristmas Froggy Little Christmas]]"
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34	!!Rebecca Sugar has referenced or paid homage to:
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36	* ''Anime/DragonBallZ''
37	* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''
38	* ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena''
39	* ''Manga/OnePiece''
40	* ''Manga/SailorMoon''
41	* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda''
42	* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''
43	----
44	!!Rebecca Sugar and her work contain examples of the following tropes:
45	* ApprovalOfGod: ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' creator Danny Antonucci has seen her Rule34 art of Eddy and Double D, and apparently liked it as much as any other fanart he gets for the show.
46	* ComingOfAge: Much of her personal work is about the trials of growing up.
47	* CreatorCouple: With Ian Jones-Quartey, creator of ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'' and former supervising director/co-executive producer on ''Steven Universe''. Both met as animation students in New York and have been living together since 2008, often collaborating on each other's projects. They would eventually [[https://mobile.twitter.com/ianjq/status/1202694027604180992?ref_url=https%3a%2f%2fs9e.github.io%2fiframe%2f2%2ftwitter.min.html%231202694027604180992 marry]] at the end of 2019.
48	* NiceGirl: She's kind, she's friendly and it takes a lot to piss her off.
49	* ThePowerOfFriendship: A reoccurring theme in her work. It's the main subject of her one-shot comic [[https://dawolfey.wordpress.com/2011/05/13/dont-cry-for-me-im-already-dead-by-rebecca-sugar/ "Don't Cry For Me, I'm Already Dead"]], about two brothers who love quoting ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' nonstop and are able to continue communicating through quotes when one of them experiences brain damage.
50	* RousseauWasRight: Her characters feel very much like real people dealing with real trauma and their emotions. Morality in her stories is GreyAndGrayMorality at worst.
51	* SerendipityWritesThePlot: Her thesis film, ''Singles'', features a lot of shots that either play with or animate perspective. Apparently, this was because it was her worst subject in college and she wanted to force herself to get better.
52	* SheAlsoDid:
53	** Designed the album cover for Estelle's ''True Romance.'' Estelle, of course, plays [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse Garnet]].
54	** Years before working on family friendly animation, she drew Rule34 art of ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'' when she was a teenager.
55	** Most of her indie comics are fairly tame (if dark), but ''ComicBook/PugDavis'' has some very sexual and violent content: One story is titled "Mindfuck", and as uses the phrase as literally as possible. Another has the title character cut an alien open to stomp on its innards. The colored reprint has an introduction specifically warning that it is not-at-all child-friendly.
56	--->''I'd like to start by putting this book in context.\
57	This is an underground comic by a teenager.\
58	If you are a fan of my current work, please know '''THIS IS NOT FOR KIDS!'''''
59	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Her work, especially ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', is more on the idealistic end of the scale.
60	* ThinLineAnimation: One of its most notable proprietors. Not surprising, as she worked on the [[WesternAnimation/AdventureTime two]] [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse shows]] that solidified its popularity in the West.
61	* WriteWhatYouKnow:
62	** As a child, Rebecca forgot her stuffed bunny in her garden and found it half a year later with its stomach faded as it was bleached by the sun. This anecdote inspired the song ''[[Recap/AdventureTimeS7E7EverythingStays Everything Stays]]'' for ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', and Spinel's backstory and song "Drift Away" for ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie''.
63	** When she was 22, she was assaulted but she managed to get away. At first she thought that nothing happened since she escaped, until she started to have serious panic attacks. She admits that in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'', Steven's Pink State and [[BodyHorror his random swelling]] are based on her feelings of anxiety and panic attacks as result of her trauma.
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Context Creator / RebeccaSugar