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

Oh good grief. Would all of you angst ridden, anger filled, disgusted and offended people get over yourselves. I agree that this article shows that most comic book artists have no idea about what real people look like. Especially how real women look. I was even a bit taken aback by some of the things that were written but come on it's COMIC art. I believe that most of the commentary in these articles was written with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

The comic companies are not looking for realism, they want the surreal, they want something that will take the readers out of the dull boring everyday life that they suffer through. Stories that are impossible, characters that are impossible. They are fantastical in proportion because they are not real.

So what if all the male heroes make Schwarzenegger look like a 5 year old boy? Yes all the women in comics are the misogynists idea of the perfect female body. So what? It is fiction. If the poor boys reading the comics don't figure out that real women do not look like this at least that will keep them from adding to the gene pool.

Now, before you get all upset about how I have no respect for women. Just put that thought out of your mind. I'm married to a wonderful woman who is shaped like a real woman and I find her sexy just the way she is. I have two daughters whom I will protect to the death. I was raised to treat women with dignity and respect. I know that women are not just objects to drool over or to use and abuse. So don't bother calling me a neanderthal or anything like that.

My rant is about people who forget that fiction is just that, Fiction. If you want comics that have real looking people find companies other than Marvel, DC or Image. But never forget that You are getting all worked up over fiction.

I'm not posting anonymously because I don't want to be know. I just don't have a Live journal account.

Yeah well, considering how I actually like a lot about superhero comics (and not just as "default comic genre, I collected comics for two decades already without reading more than a handful of superhero comics when I first got into superhero stuff, seeing how I'm not in the US) I'd rather that genre wasn't misogynist.

And of course I'm "getting worked up" over fiction. First, that's what fans do. I care about comics, I'm invested in them, so of course I'm angry when they suck. It's my hobby, I spend most of my free time on fandom stuff, just as I assume people who build scaled models of historical battlefields or whatever will get worked up over that, when I couldn't care less. And second, just because racism or sexism and the like happen in fiction doesn't mean the attitude isn't real or worthy of objection.

Especially in an medium where fans and creators are in such close contact as in comics it just makes sense to be vocal about your preference. I mean, I *am* their audience. I am the kind of customer they like to have. I collect, I have subscriptions rather than buying just now and then, I spend a ridiculous amount of money every week on their products, so I refuse to go along with their silly preconception that all of their audience is male. It's just not.

i am also using an anonymous account cos i'm not a livejournal user. in fact i thought you'd have to have a paid membership to post here, until i read this particular post. i'm a red-blooded 21 year old straight guy. i came to this page after googling pages on how to draw comic book characters. i have a doodle or two during boring classes that weren't half bad for someone with no training (or that's what i was told) and i was forced to look up 'tips' on how to get better. i'll admit that i found turner's drawing rather nice (other than the 'getting wet' one which seemed 'overposed' - irony). initially i read the posts and i was thinking 'jeez it's the bra burners' convention out here' but the more i read the more i thought that you guys are right. yeah they are kinda overdone stereotypes, aren't they? yeah sure that's how comic characters are expected to look, but as their buyers we have the right to get offended if they are offensive, just as, i suppose, they have the right to draw women however they want. they'll just lose a customer or two, and gain a few million others every year. oh well...

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

Comic Books are FICTION!

Re: Comic Books are FICTION!

Re: Comic Books are FICTION!