May 2012
21 posts
Why some people can reblog asks... because of something called "missing-e" which isn't endorsed by tumblr, but is a type of extension for it. I don't use it, but I hear it's good.
Aaah ok, thanks for letting me know!
Hey, this ask is for the person asking for comics recommendations. Definitely agree about Y: the Last Man, Saga, Mouse Guard, Fables. Also, Walking Dead, Memorial, Courtney Crumrin, Bone, Adventure Time, Saucer Country and Mind the Gap are all great books featuring strong, positive (and anatomically sound) female characters. Generally, the indie books do a better job of that, but Batgirl and Batwoman are also good. Feel free to follow me for more on indie comics!
There you go!
About amateur artists: a repost
My blog is about professional work that is done to show the most sex appeal while fudging/ignoring basic rules of anatomy. I’m not going to complain about a bad drawing as much if the picture is not intended as “heylookomgsexy”. Heck, I look at the art I did in the Gargoyles comics: it was pre-life drawing classes… and I didn’t know what the heck I was doing with legs and pelvises, let me tell you.
Almost any artist’s first published comic is going to be inferior to their present work and most learn to draw better as they gain more experience and knowledge. My work today is far superior to what I’ve done in the past. I take amateur artists the same way. Everyone has a starting point, and everyone is learning and getting better at their skill regardless of publication status. That said, I will not critique amateur art in this blog. Like I said earlier, this is about pro work. And not about all pro work, it’s about pro work that goes out of anatomy’s way to objectify/sexualize women. And I’m hoping what I do with this blog will be an encouragement to amateurs as well as professionals to be aware of why they are making the choices they are in their drawings of women.
Now, if anyone is interested in receiving a constructive critique from me, be it a general commentary or a redlining of their work to make a drawing better, I am open to offering it, provided I’m not too busy with work and deadlines. These critiques are private for the person who requests them.
The blogs that carp on amateurs are petty and discouraging, and pretty much the best possible way for people who are just learning to give up and decide never to draw again. And that’s a damn shame, because today’s beginner might be next decade’s Alex Ross or Amanda Connor.
Hi, I was wondering if you could make the ask you answered on may 9 rebloggable as you went through a lot of important points, especially the last part about the blogs that carp on amateurs.
I’ll have to remake it as a new blog post.
Actually, some people seem to be able to reblog asks. I’m not sure I understand how that seems to be accessible only to some people and not others. tumblr, Y U SO CONFOOZIN?
I'd like to start reading comics, but the one time I went into a comic book store I was immediately out of my depth and felt like a n00b girl. Also the comic I bought ended up being really rubbish (I shan't say which one because it's by a v. popular artist). Can you recommend any comic books with good, non-spine-snappish art and a good storyline that doesn't treat women like blow-up dolls? Thanks SO MUCH for this blog, I check every dang day to make a happy catface at your excellent redraws. :3
Comic book recommendation. Right.
Okay, first and foremost, I don’t read that many comic books. I’m way too busy, and I tend to read graphic novels a lot more. One of the reasons I love Free Comic Book Day, aside from getting to draw sketches and meeting tons of people, is that I can discover a whole bunch of new stories and characters I previously didn’t know about or at least follow.
I’m keen on anything Mouse Guard by David Petersen, I love everything about it. It’s a single person’s effort so the books are slow to come, but they are so worth it. The stories are collected in graphic novels, and they are gorgeous. I loved the FCBD stories for that.
I get the Young Justice comics because they follow the TV series which I love, and hey, it’s done by people I know so I may have a teeny bit of a bias. ;)
Y the Last Man is also very good, and honestly, I like pretty much everything I’ve read from Brian K. Vaughan, and Pia Guerra is good, too. I want to get my hands on his new endeavour Saga, with artist Fiona Staples. I read the first Fables book and at some point I’ll have to read the rest. I catch glimpses of the work Gail Simone is doing and I should really get my butt into a comic store to buy it because it sounds FUN.
What else? I enjoy reading G-Man with my boys; I like YA graphic novels. I’m a big fan of Faith Erin Hicks’ bibliography, and not just because she’s a friend. I’m reading webcomics, too: Namesake I adore, and Gunnerkrigg Court, among many others. Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic by Rich Morris (and heck, every comic he does, he’s prolific) are great stories told in a sketchy style that works really well.
I’m mentioning those because there’s far more on offer than the regular cast of capes and tights, and several webcomics do get collected in print books which I love to have and look through.
You know, I’ve discovered some comics by listening to podcasts. Watchtower Radio is one, and I recently found 3 Chicks Review Comics which is how I know to look for Saga. Listen to back episodes, it might give you ideas of what’s good to read, and what you should stay away from.
Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for this! I'm glad that you're seeking to correct misportrayal of women in the media while still being polite and constructive about it. We expect professional artists to draw well, but would you apply that frame of thinking to amateur artists who may not be familiar with anatomy? I know quite a few whitewashing blogs - while it IS a sensitive issue - that carp on amateur artists a lot, and refuse to be very constructive about their criticism. Anyway, thanks for everything! :)
Thank you for reading and for the compliments! I’m glad you’re enjoying what I do.
About amateur artists: my blog is about professional work that is done to show the most sex appeal while fudging/ignoring basic rules of anatomy. I’m not going to complain about a bad drawing as much if the picture is not intended as “heylookomgsexy”. Heck, I look at the art I did in the Gargoyles comics: it was pre-life drawing classes… and I didn’t know what the heck I was doing with legs and pelvises, let me tell you.
Almost any artist’s first published comic is going to be inferior to their present work and most learn to draw better as they gain more experience and knowledge. My work today is far superior to what I’ve done in the past. I take amateur artists the same way. Everyone has a starting point, and everyone is learning and getting better at their skill regardless of publication status. That said, I will not critique amateur art in this blog. Like I said earlier, this is about pro work. And not about all pro work, it’s about pro work that goes out of anatomy’s way to objectify/sexualize women. And I’m hoping what I do with this blog will be an encouragement to amateurs as well as professionals to be aware of why they are making the choices they are in their drawings of women.
Now, if anyone is interested is receiving a constructive critique from me, be it a general commentary or a redlining of their work to make a drawing better, I am open to offering it, provided I’m not too busy with work and deadlines. These critiques are private for the person who requests them.
The blogs that carp on amateurs are petty and discouraging, and pretty much the best possible way for people who are just learning to give up and decide never to draw again. And that’s a damn shame, because today’s beginner might be next decade’s Alex Ross or Amanda Connor.
People trying to see a full bust and a full ass shot at the same exact time are way too greedy.
*LOL*
And also willing to sacrifice a few spines to satisfy their greediness. ;)
I love this blog. One of the main reasons I read manga and indie comics more than mainstream or superhero is it's easier to find examples of the former realizing comics are a visual storytelling medium than the latter. A lot of that has to do with the latter sacrificing visual storytelling for a gratuitous pin-up with pages of dialogue. They also don't realize women are sexiest when they're human and real, so I really hope your work here gets through to readers so they'll demand better. Thanks!
You’re welcome! And thanks for noting the importance of storytelling in comics. Keep buying the comics that do it right, and the market will eventually adapt to fill the demand!
Calling for Suggestions and Submissions!
I’ve been really busy in April with the April Drawing Challenge (which was great, by the way, lots of participation and awesome art!), with commissions, and with a few comic projects, so I haven’t spent much time looking for comics to fix. Do you guys have any suggestions? I’ll gladly take them! Just use the “submit your own edits” link on the right to send me a picture with commentary.
Or, if you have edits of your own, please submit those, too! I always like to feature other people’s interpretation of how things should have been drawn, because no one has the Ultimate True Answer. We just each have a “well, you could try this to make it better” opinion.
An example of that showed up a couple of weeks ago (or was it more? I forget) in Eschergirls where the Rogue and Gambit pinup was fixed and posted by 4 different artists, and we all had our own version of the way they should be fixed. All of them were better than the original, all of them kept a part of the illustration and got rid of others, and none of them were the same. I think this is awesome, because it shows that there are so many ways to make things better than they are in this industry.
So please, submit pictures to fix, and submit fixed pictures. Thanks so much!
It's frustrating that when I bring this up a lot of my male friends accuse me of being pedantic, but the minute I draw a half naked man (with, to the best of my ability, correct anatomy) they can get quite offended at their sex being objectified. Keep screaming this from the rooftops - you are awesome<333
Oh that’s priceless!
I think you should get different male friends, dear. If they can’t take it when it happens to their “type” of characters, why should we take it when it happens to ours? Anyways, keep pointing out when you think it’s wrong, because shutting up about it won’t fix the problem, and eventually you will also have friends who blame you for ruining comics for them and make them look for stories illustrated by artists who are great storytellers instead of pinup assemblers.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Your responses to the latest post
You guys!
I sincerely did not expect the five replies I got in my asks after I posted my reply. Instead of answering them all individually because some could get the same answer over and over, I decided to do it in one post.
Okay, first of all, thanks for the support on the excuse of “style”. astrail pretty much sums up what the Style post is about, and I know Liefeld’s name is flung around as the prime example of Bad Anatomy In Comics (even orobasart, in his “respect” for the art, disses it) but this is not what the blog’s about. It is about how we can make things better in comics, and showing by example.
So please, guys, no insults, no character attacks on posters who don’t agree, the “fined” thing may have simply been a typo, as the “e” is just above the “d” on the keyboard. His approach was rude but that’s no reason to insult his beliefs.
Like I said, the guy’s entitled to his opinion, he may not like my art and that’s his choice and his taste. I merely pointed out that he, like the others who’ve used the same argument before him, are using a flawed argument.
I didn’t take issue about his critique of my art. He can say whatever he wants about it, and I would be pretty damn hypocritical if I thought MY art was beyond critique! Heck, I know several of my corrections are not as good as if I’d done an original drawing from scratch. What I’m taking issue with is that his statement boiled down to “you shouldn’t do your blog and your corrections because it’s wrong”. I take issue with being told what I can’t comment on or blog about, which is why I said, if he doesn’t like it he can just change the channel.
And thank YOU for the vote of support! I’m glad you like what I’m doing. See, I’m very well aware that not everyone will like what I do or draw or work on. I’ve had a friend “rant” at me for ruining comics for them because all they see now is the bad anatomy and twisted up posing. I’ve had people commenting here after a correction I made that I got it wrong, and they were absolutely right, which led me to fixing the art and the commentary. I’ve even had someone a while back telling me they were using my anatomy and posing tips to draw their male characters better! How awesome is that?
The thing is, no one can please everyone. I’m aware of that. I’m tackling a subject that is minor compared to other issues of intolerance and bigotry, but it’s one I feel strongly about and I know I can make a difference by addressing it due to my skills and experience. And hey, if I make some people uncomfortable with what I’m saying or drawing or fixing, I guess it means I’m not just preaching to the choir, am I?
And that’s why I’ll keep at it.
Hey, love the stuff your doing on the More Kickin' Ass blog. Rather than anatomy issues, I have a question about story writing for a female lead character. I am trying to flesh out the lead heroine of my story, but I want her to overcome a personal issue through the narrative of the plot. (i.e: In order to fly, she must overcome her fear of heights. Not that exactly but thats the jist.) Any tips or good suggestions?
pffffffff this is hard for me to say, because I’m not a writer. I’m a woman and as such I can talk from the point of view of a woman, and writing a man’s perspective and thinking would be difficult for me.
Instead, I’ll point you in the direction of my good friend Rob St.Martin, who’s an accomplished novelist whose main characters are almost ALWAYS women, and he writes them wonderfully. As a woman, I can identify with several of them, I recognise some of my girlfriends in others, and his books are a lot of fun in any case. For a good male perspective on writing a woman, I’ll say he’s your guy.
From Rob:
Thanks, Karine!
I could give you the story about how in high school I was the nice guy friend that all the girls came to for advice, and how listening to their problems let me see the world through their eyes, and so the answer to your question is talk to women and see how they would react in similar situations, but that’s a quick fix solution and doesn’t really address the issue.
Without knowing more about your character or plot, it’s difficult to be specific with tips and suggestions, so I’ll generalize: stop writing about a lead heroine. If you’re thinking about her as the lead heroine, that’s all she’ll be. Write about a person, first. Everyone’s had personal issues they’ve had to struggle with. Everyone deals with their issues differently. By focussing on your character as a person first, you can round them out with all the whys and whens and hows that make a person. The character’s gender may have everything to do with the how and why they overcome their problem, but I believe it will resonate with more readers if you focus less on her gender and more on who she is as a person.
R!
I'm all 100% for less sexism in comics, but honestly I fined your editing comic art a bit pedantic. This stuff is meant to be stylized and most of your editing seems to suck the life out of the art you are critiquing. Sometimes physics, anatomy and physiology just don't matter, it's all about the feeling the work conveys. I'm not a fan of Rob Liefeld's drawing of tiny hands and spineless waists but that's his drawing style & respect it and a lot of what you do is disrespectful to other artists.
You’re entitled to your opinion; however, you stating your opinion won’t stop me from doing what I do, because for the most part, the message I’m sharing is being heard, and what you’re pretty much saying boils down to the excuse of “style matters, structure doesn’t”.
If you think it’s disrespectful, you’re free to not read my blog.
She may have killed her opponents but the deadly sewer fumes will get her next
basementtroll submitted:
Not only am I an expert shopper of demon king book covers, I can also draw.
The original:
What’s happening:
What I think should be happening:
What she should be wearing:
You get so many bonus points for the Hazmat suit joke. :D
So many bonus points indeed. Much laughs from my end. :D
