ratcreature | how to draw female comic characters (according to Wizard)...

brown_betty asked for examples "to illustrate the exactly how and why female comic characters are illustrated differently than the male." And I thought, really, what's better to illustrate these things than the books teaching the style in the first place?

A while ago I posted some scans from Wizard How To Draw series on drawing female superheroes (here and here), and I thought I'd post a bunch more from the first book of the series on "How To Draw: Heroic Anatomy".

As everything, it starts with the basics, i.e. proportions. First the male superhero

The female example is similar, but slightly different, notice how he stands firm and straight, wheras she stands with her hips cocked a little and the leg thrust forward?

Also notice in the direct torso comparison below, how the male one is ramrod straight, but she curves and leans just a little bit in the same pose?

Now onwards to the chapter "Sultry Women". It even cautions you against overposing! Yes, it's not as if Wizard wasn't aware of the problems! (Their definition and mine of which poses are already overposed might differ slightly though, heh.)

Next, Michael Turner explains "Sex Appeal". (Or what he thinks sex appeal is.) Incidentally it also illustrates the meaning of "overposed" that was brought up in the previous chapter very effectively...

Finally for compare and contrast purpuses the chapters on "Superheroic Men" and "Superheroic Women". For the male superhero it is all about more or less ridiculously enlarged muscles as we learn:

Female superheroes don't have it that easy, they need to worry about tilting their shoulder, nipple and pubic lines attractively at all times, not to mention legs, breast size, eye make-up and hair:

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nattington, I have to say your post is probably one of the most self-centered pieces of garbage on this entire thread. The scans above were intended to help those who enjoy drawing superheroes or comics related as such. Your entire post simply states that you don't have an imagination, and don't have a single bit of interest in enjoying misconstrued reality, which is pretty much all that superheroes are about.
"Dehumanising to women"????? So all of the make-believe women in the world should retaliate against these fantasy (fantasy means 'not real' by the way) stereotypes shown above?
The drawings shown above are all related to the traditional sense that has been superheroes or superhero comics for a long time now. It's an art form that has been passed down and enjoyed for quite some time as well. If you don't like it, well then I truly do hope you make your own comic that satisfies your distaste in the current comic trend.
"Men that just draw their masturbation fantasy woman and call it realistic..."? No, it's simply 'realistic' in the traditional idea of drawing people that have the same muscle groups...etc that real people have, only lifted out of proportion to make them 'super heroes'.
That's all this is: fake. Make-believe. Fantasy. If this situation was a little different, you might be perfectly reasonable in whining about how unreal and 'dehumanising' the scans are. But because these were intended to be superheroes who ARE NOT supposed to be realistic in our proportions, I don't see why the hell you bothered posting that in the first place...

It's not objectification if it's make-believe? Typical. Just because it's "tradition" doesn't mean it's a good thing. Women have claimed equality since the time superhero comics began, but the comics have not caught up, and it's all because the artists won't change their despicable ways.
Now, have a look at the pages with the bikini clad women. Those girls are superheroines? No. They're not. The artist drew them almost like Barbie dolls but with nipples. Very prominent nipples. With bikini tops that look like they would flap up off the breasts at any sign of movement. You are ignorant if you don't find that to be objectifying.
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Rightio. Superheroes are meant to look strong, right? Not like twigs that could be snapped by a breeze! Suspension of disbelief can only go so far. Women CAN'T relate to these heroines. They just can't, especially not the ones that would actually consider reading the comic. It alienates an entire potential demographic- for the sake of "tradition"?!?!
By the way: what's self-centred about my post, out of curiosity? Did you know that I'm not even a female?

how to draw female comic characters (according to Wizard)...

...what???

Re: ...what???