on drawing false eyelashes...

[ratcreature]

Okay, so maybe flipping through Wizard's "How to Draw: Heroic Anatomy" while reading LJ discussions on feminism isn't the best idea. You just notice stuff more than usual. That said, I'd like to share this fun quote from Brian Bolland in his section on eyes:

"Slightly different principles apply to the female face. We assume automatically in the world of comics (unless otherwise instructed) that she's young and beautiful and wearing false eyelashes. Emphasizing the eyes in this way makes it easier to show them from a distance when you're having to draw a small figure."

Reading this, I realized that it's true of course, and that I have done this (especially the false eyelashes thing) when drawing female comic faces, whether human or anthropomorphic animals, without even thinking about it.

Comments

[badficwriter.livejournal.com]

Reminds me of a scene in a recent Gotham Central. The Titans are called in for questioning. In a room full of normal men and women who are DRAWN normal--saggy, wrinkly, no special emphatic features--in walks Starfire, who is drawn regular superhero style--skin is taut, curves are unreal, clothes are spraypainted on, hair and eyes a masterpiece of color and contrast. Seemed *right* to me. :)

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

This is because Gotham Central does everything *right*.

[ratcreature]

I have t admit though, that when I first read GC, the less "iconic" look of the main characters, combined with the large cast caused me trouble to recognize, distinguish and keep track of the characters.

[ratcreature]

Yeah, superheroes (an heroines) always have slightly different rules. But the eyelashes thing works for "normal" female faces too. Like when you look at Katchoo or Francine in Strangers in Paradise, who are quite normal looking, they have the emphasized eyelashes too, though not to an extent you might see on a superheroine who is supposed to look "sultry" or something like that