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Shebani Rao

  • Projects
  • Editorial
  • About
  • Press
  • Instagram

Kamaladevi Comic

This is a comic about Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, a South Asian feminist and freedom fighter.  I wanted to create a comic that brings Kamaladevi’s work to life and gives South Asian kids a badass, desi feminist hero to look up to. I hope that sharing her story will inspire a new generation of desi activists in the U.S.

The comic was featured at a university-wide symposium on social change and activism at the University of Michigan. It is currently available on SocialChange101, a free online educational resource. 

Flyers

Rom Com Heroines Reimagined as Desis

In the last few years, we've started to see a lot more South Asians in pop culture. For me and the rest of my generation of desi-Americans who grew up in a void of representation, it's an exciting moment to finally see people who look like us and share our stories on screen. However, by always presenting straight, white women as brown mens' love interests, shows like Master of None and films like The Big Sick tend to tweak, rather than challenge, prevailing narratives of whiteness. Furthermore, these works exclude brown women or present them as burdensome, caricatured, and unattractive options.

As a desi woman, I've been frustrated by this pattern. I started imagining what it would have been like if the rom coms I grew up with featured anyone who looked like me, and the idea for the illustrations was born.  It was featured on Buzzfeed India last summer. 

Depression Zine

This is a project I made for a graduate anthropology course on Ethnographic Writing.

Favorite Cartoons

Here are a few of my favorite single-panel comics and cartoons. I post them daily on my instagram (@shebanimal)!

Leslie Knope Compliments

I illustrated Leslie Knope's best compliments to bff Ann Perkins (and boyfriend Ben). They were featured on Buzzfeed (see "Press") and are available on my store as prints, mugs, totes and more. 

Animals With Clothes On

They seemed to need their own category.

Eight Things Only 90s Desi-American Kids Will Understand

This is a series of pop culture references for 90s desi-American kids. It was featured on the Aerogram, along with an artist interview. 

Coloring Book Coloring Book

I turned Chance the Rapper's album "Coloring Book" into an actual coloring book. It's available on my Etsy store. 

Places and Scenes

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Cras sed scelerisque purus. Nullam ligula felis, tincidunt interdum bibendum at, rutrum non elit. Quisque cursus pellentesque augue id consectetur. Mauris auctor, turpis vitae porttitor sagittis, orci purus vulputate neque, ut pretium dolor enim eu velit. Quisque hendrerit est vel felis aliquet, sed porttitor turpis congue.

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Morbi quis nunc volutpat, lacinia mauris eu, pretium est. Praesent eget venenatis metus, tincidunt gravida mauris. Duis eget quam aliquet, hendrerit tellus sed, egestas turpis. Morbi egestas condimentum egestas. Morbi fermentum mi ut turpis rhoncus sollicitudin. Aliquam pellentesque condimentum ullamcorper posuere nisl.

New Gallery

New Gallery

Kamaladevi Comic

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Flyers

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Rom Com Heroines Reimagined as Desis

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Depression Zine

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Favorite Cartoons

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Leslie Knope Compliments

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Animals With Clothes On

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Eight Things Only 90s Desi-American Kids Will Understand

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Coloring Book Coloring Book

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Places and Scenes

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