I have no idea why I am doing this to myself...

[ratcreature]

...i.e. reading Frank Cho's chapter on how to draw effective covers from Wizard's "How To Draw: Advanced Techniques". To quote one of the many great pearls of wisdom (emphasis not mine, btw):

"VIVE LA DIFFERENCE!
You also can't use the same pose for guys and women--and women are much harder to draw covers for. With guys you just have to convey power to make the figure work, while with women, you have to emphasize their, y'know, curvaceous nature. It's almost like a swimsuit-issue pose--you have to emphasize their curves, yet at the same time reflect their power as well.
[...]
SKETCH APPEAL
Drawing a cover is mostly just trying to come up with a strong pose and trying to build upon it. It's kinda hard when you're drawing girls, because you're trying to come up with a strong, dominant pose, yet at the same time make it very sensual and sexy. I was just playing around with various poses, and for whatever reason none of 'em were sexy enough for me."

I don't have the pages scanned right now, but looking at the sketches illustrating that last bit I'm really wondering why anyone would consider sitting with spread legs and a "flirty" look towards the reader to be a "strong, dominant pose" for women. BTW, the solution for why the first ones weren't "sexy enough" becomes apparent when you look at the sketches, since the first ones are not showing the woman sitting with her legs spread. You'd think the cover example for "dominant + sexy" would show something like that Wonder Woman cover where her boot grinds down on Batman's head, but apparently not....

Comments

[liviapenn.livejournal.com]

It's almost like a swimsuit-issue pose--you have to emphasize their curves, yet at the same time reflect their power as well.

.... right, because that's what I think of when I see the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. "Look at those women! They're so powerful. I bet they could seriously beat up a bad guy."

*gags, dies*

[ratcreature]

Yeah. It's a total disconnect. Like, he wants to write just "sexy" and "curvaceous" and whatever, and then thinks, hmm, there might be some who want women in comics to be people too, let's tack on a "powerful" that's what I said for the guys after all, only of course it never makes it into the drawings. Or something.

[liviapenn.livejournal.com]

The scarier possibility is that he actually thinks "swimsuit issue pose" IS powerful. I mean, do a google image search: these are not "powerful" poses-- they're lying down (http://extratv.warnerbros.com/dailynews/extra/02_02/19/images/b5.jpg), leaning on things (http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/7/72/175px-1980_SI_Swimsuit_Issue.jpg) like jellyfish that can't support themselves (http://extratv.warnerbros.com/dailynews/extra/02_02/19/images/b1.jpg), they're off-balance (http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/d/da/200px-JFinch.jpg) (either leaning off-balance or the camera is actually tilted to *throw* them off-balance) -- I would provide more examples, but I think I should stop image googling for bikini-girls at work-- oh, but I can't even believe this, what the fuck is *this*?

[ratcreature]

That never occurred to, that anyone would be that deluded. I mean, what kind of "powerful"is that supposed to be? Power through "feminine viles" or something?

[liviapenn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, exactly. It's the same kind of "power" that makes a woman in a miniskirt and tight sweater complicit in her own rape. Because if you're a sexy woman, you totally overpower a man's self-control, and they just couldn't stop themselves! Look how much power that woman has: all she has to do is step outdoors looking sexy and men all of a sudden can not control themselves at all!

It's such a stunted, immature, selfish teenage-boy view of female sexuality, because it's all about Whether Or Not She'll Have Sex With You. Girls can decide whether or not to have sex with boys, so therefore they have *all* the power. And anything you do to tip that power balance back towards you (like getting her drunk or something) is fair game, because *you* have no power-- the girl has all the power. It's sick.

[brownbetty]

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[ratcreature]

Yeah. That was pretty much my thought.

Here via liviapenn on Girl Wonder

[spiralsheep.livejournal.com]

I'd like to leave you an insightful comment like those above but unfortunately my reaction to those Cho quotes could easily be encapsulated in a single unflattering word.

He can draw powerful women when he wants to do so but that sort of art doesn't seem to be what the industry wants to reward with cash and status.

[sleepy-placebo.livejournal.com]

most girls love posing like this because they get all the attention and that's what the worls has come too.