It's variety, stupid - on big boobs and depictions of female characters
I didn't mean to do two posts dealing with something Kelly Thompson wrote in a row. But as I've read her latest She Has No Head column, I realized that my comments would have to go beyond anything I can fit in the comment section - and it would involve me talking about Urbis Arcana. So in my LJ it goes.
In her column, Kelly talked about an age-old issue in comics - the way female characters are depicted. Or, to be more specific, the way comic book artists often default to one particular depiction - big breasts, large rear, narrow waist, etc. As Kelly notes, the problem isn't in characters that are designed like that. Real life women who look like that do exist. The problem is that a lot of artists draw every single character looking like that. As she rightfully notes, that gets boring. And, I would argue, it undercuts what makes each character unique. A 16 year old girl shouldn't have the same body as a woman in her late 20s. And even two women in their 20s shouldn't have exactly the same bodies. It strains suspension of disbelief and makes that much harder to tell the characters apart.
And, when it comes down to it, it makes characters who do have big boobs less special. If a writer wants one character be more attractive than the other, how are the readers supposed to buy it if both characters look largely the same?
Even in the very early versions of what would become Urbis Arcana, I was thinking about what my characters would look like. Maybe it's the comic book/manga fan in me, but a character never seemed quite complete until I've drawn him or her. When writing " He Moves in Mysterious Ways," I already knew that Jas wasn't going to be stereotypically sexy. Partially because I wanted to get away from her, well... chestier inspiration. And partially because I didn't want her to look like what people pictured when they thought "woman who sleeps with many people." Grace didn't, and that was an aspect of Jas' inspiration that I wanted to preserve.
With Hilly, on the other hand, I was aiming for something more stereotypically "hot." Bigger breasts, hips, butt and generally more curves. I don't think I quite captured the distinction between the two characters. But empressfunk, whom I commissioned to draw a picture of the two, was able to execute what I was thinking perfectly.
Then, there's the matter of April. While originally, her body type was closer to Jas'. But during the creative process, I decided to make her more than a bit curvier. Partially because one of the inspirations for her was. And partially because, as I've written before, I believe that our modern beauty standards are entirely too narrow. So why can't the girlfriend of one of the POV characters from my long-languishing Urbis Arcana novel reflect that?
But when I actually tried drawing her... Well, I think I understand why comic book artists tend to default to a certain type. Going outside conventional ideas of beauty is hard. I drew and discarded countless sketches because none of them reflected what was in my head. It wasn't until I decided to take a cue from a photo of inkandthunder that I was finally able to draw something that (a few screwed-up proportions notwithstanding) actually reflected the April I've been picturing.
Urbis Arcana character - April by Strannik on deviantART
Urbis Arcana Profiles - April by Strannik on deviantART
I think that, a lot of the times, comic book artists who give all women the same body type do it because it's easy. Going outside one's comfort zone isn't easy. But, as I've written before, it can be good for one's work. Make the story richer. More interesting. And if the readers appreciate that extra effort, so much the better.
In her column, Kelly talked about an age-old issue in comics - the way female characters are depicted. Or, to be more specific, the way comic book artists often default to one particular depiction - big breasts, large rear, narrow waist, etc. As Kelly notes, the problem isn't in characters that are designed like that. Real life women who look like that do exist. The problem is that a lot of artists draw every single character looking like that. As she rightfully notes, that gets boring. And, I would argue, it undercuts what makes each character unique. A 16 year old girl shouldn't have the same body as a woman in her late 20s. And even two women in their 20s shouldn't have exactly the same bodies. It strains suspension of disbelief and makes that much harder to tell the characters apart.
And, when it comes down to it, it makes characters who do have big boobs less special. If a writer wants one character be more attractive than the other, how are the readers supposed to buy it if both characters look largely the same?
Even in the very early versions of what would become Urbis Arcana, I was thinking about what my characters would look like. Maybe it's the comic book/manga fan in me, but a character never seemed quite complete until I've drawn him or her. When writing " He Moves in Mysterious Ways," I already knew that Jas wasn't going to be stereotypically sexy. Partially because I wanted to get away from her, well... chestier inspiration. And partially because I didn't want her to look like what people pictured when they thought "woman who sleeps with many people." Grace didn't, and that was an aspect of Jas' inspiration that I wanted to preserve.
With Hilly, on the other hand, I was aiming for something more stereotypically "hot." Bigger breasts, hips, butt and generally more curves. I don't think I quite captured the distinction between the two characters. But empressfunk, whom I commissioned to draw a picture of the two, was able to execute what I was thinking perfectly.
Then, there's the matter of April. While originally, her body type was closer to Jas'. But during the creative process, I decided to make her more than a bit curvier. Partially because one of the inspirations for her was. And partially because, as I've written before, I believe that our modern beauty standards are entirely too narrow. So why can't the girlfriend of one of the POV characters from my long-languishing Urbis Arcana novel reflect that?
But when I actually tried drawing her... Well, I think I understand why comic book artists tend to default to a certain type. Going outside conventional ideas of beauty is hard. I drew and discarded countless sketches because none of them reflected what was in my head. It wasn't until I decided to take a cue from a photo of inkandthunder that I was finally able to draw something that (a few screwed-up proportions notwithstanding) actually reflected the April I've been picturing.
Urbis Arcana character - April by Strannik on deviantART
Urbis Arcana Profiles - April by Strannik on deviantART
I think that, a lot of the times, comic book artists who give all women the same body type do it because it's easy. Going outside one's comfort zone isn't easy. But, as I've written before, it can be good for one's work. Make the story richer. More interesting. And if the readers appreciate that extra effort, so much the better.