So, I’ve not done any sketching tutes of late, and they’re sitting on my desktop waiting to be posted, but I’ve been tired. Mainly because in the months prior, I was preparing to paint this thing, and then I did all the painting for it compressed into a month (for life reasons). It nearly killed me, it was an effort. But basically, if you’re wondering where the hell I’ve been - this is where I’ve been.
Detailed shots on my art blog, nancylorenz. Please do have a look. Basically, my payment for this thing is people simply looking at it. It means a lot to me that people enjoy it. The money - eh, I never have it anyway, I’m used to being very poor. But people’s happiness at looking at it? That’s magical.
Comic Book Readers
orkin 1947
what’s this?
Little girls read comics from the very beginning of their incarnation??
“Girl reading comic book in newsstand” by Teenie Harris (c. 1940-1945) © 2006 Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh
That sound you hear is thousands of wangsting sexist fanboys shrieking in horror.
Suck it.
Comics are for everybody. <3
(Source: denisebefore)
heidiblack asked: Oh hey! I see you found my work on DA, with the genderswapped avengers. They actually have their own tumblr I run (asktheladyvengers), but I honestly don't update it that often. Still, high-five to you guys! I look forward to the day when ladies in comics have more awesome representation.
Sweet! Well, it’ll take the hard work of all of us for that to happen, but I think we’re off to a phenomenal start! *fist-bump*
What did I do today? Why I was on a panel at the local fan con “Swancon” with none other than the brilliant and incredibly lovely Gail Simone! The concept of the panel was the audience suggesting comic characters for us two artists to re-imagine and sketch on the fly, with Gail providing editorial comments and guidelines. I was given the task of Nolanising Wonder Woman and making a sci-fi take on an Inidigenous Australian Thor. Was awesome fun! I loved also working along side Emily Smith and Sarah Akers. TOP LADIES ALL!
(Ironically, I know the anatomy was hideous but I had very little time to sketch and ink it and I was doing it in a funny position (upright on a wobbling whiteboard) and f*ck you, you’re not my ART TEACHER! LOL!)
der—sprout submitted:
I thought this fit the spirit of this blog pretty well: http://arythusa.tumblr.com/post/42938921232/christopher-hart
I’ve noticed that in most of his books, when it comes to drawing women, a lot of it is what NOT to do, or you’ll turn her into a man, or make her fat, or ugly, or etc… and of course, when you combine them all together, all of your women end up looking more or less the same.
So this text for this book is hideous and sickening. Sharing cause hey - let’s break ALL THOSE RULES, people. Let’s make our women heroes look however the fuck we want them to look.
AND THEY’LL ALL BE WORTHWHILE CHARACTERS.
yondamoegi submitted:
I saw this picture http://eschergirls.tumblr.com/post/43148298733 and thought ‘Poor guy! Look at his hand! Poor Rogue, the artist drew her hips wrong again…’ then I looked closely and… SWEET BABY JESUS!
So… another redraw?
Reblogging this because Rogue. Must always look out for Rogue. And this is a solid redraw.
The image this one is based on will be in a mini-essay/lesson thing I’m doing about legs soon, so pay attention to this, it’ll come up again in this blog.
Beautiful redraw!
melancholywise asked: On the subject of drawing men and women, there are certain common differences between male and female faces but they're really really subtle, and by no means universal. The trick to being able to draw faces and make them look the gender you want them to is OBSERVATION. Do not listen to artist guides on how to draw gendered faces, you'll end up with a stereotype. Go out and draw real people and keep it up until making your faces look like you want them to is second nature.
This is actually the best advice I’ve seen on drawing genders. I was going to basically put this in the tutorial I was working on, but this is so concise that I’m just going to point to this and go “THIS!” This is honestly how I get people looking how I want them to look.
Sure, there are subtle little things, trends if you will, in body shapes and so forth that a comic artist might use when drawing, but honestly? When I’m drawing elaborate, professional work, I always make sure that I have full character studies for each main character memorised, and I use photo references or I look in the mirror (if appropriate) whenever possible.
Practice, reference, stylise. Those are my steps.
ymedron asked: Regarding the latest post (about the woman recipe blah blah), do you have any basic tips on how to make a female character look... Female? Without having to resort to breasts or any other visual shorthand? Like with your drawing, it is plain and obvious that the person in question is female even though they have some traits associated with masculinity, namely chin and shoulders. :o
The thing about someone looking male or female is that it comes down to context. Humans have a very dimorphic view of gender, when in reality, the line is far more blurred than people realise. People look female or male to us because we KNOW they are male or female, hence the context is established and maintained. I can do a post on that, going into detail.
It’s like that image that was floating around the net some years ago of an identical face that looks male or female depending on what parts of the face are darkened. Eyelashes and lips make a face look feminine, where-as eyebrows and pale lips make them look male. There are stereotypical markers one can use, just one or two, to tip off the viewer.
But ultimately, you have to have faith in your storytelling and art. I will put “The Right Way to Draw Women in Comics” on the list of things To Do. :D The ultimate point of that post? That there is no one right way, and that women, like men, are infinitely variable. ;)
I made this before I joined tumblr. I wrote the filk lyrics and I sang it. Sadly I’m shit at miming.
If this was seen by a couple of hundred people, it would be a Christmas miracle for me. My music career was sadly waylaid by illness, so releasing stuff on the internet is the main way I can share my voice with people.
My festive message to the followers of this blog. Sorry I’ve been so slack lately, I’ll try better in the new year.
Yes, that’s me singing. ;) Merry Holidays!
Via Don't Type Angry
On tumblr, polerin elaborates:
There’s some really nasty shit lurking not too far under the surface of some of the drawings. In some cases, like the ones where…
This is why I’m going to focus on The Romanoff Mission - having women in strong, heroic poses that we wouldn’t usually see them in.
I have a backlog of images and I’ll be doing some sketches this week.
AWESOME WOMAN DIAGRAM. (I refuse to call it a recipe - women are not food products, FFS!)
I am so fucking through with Comic World Bullshit this week. Sorry that the sketch is not as beautifully rendered as I would have liked - I fluffed it out on an iPad3 because I’m having computer issues right now.
I could have drawn the Awesome Woman a thousand ways. This is just what felt right to me in my heart.
Original image toonsketchbook. Not linking, just saying so people know who to hate on.
So I just had to join in on the Hawkeye Initiative bandwagon, it’s just so… full of empowerment.
And then I went totally overboard.
Even gave them suggestive captions.
I feel like a predator drawing this.
(but Tony’s face! <3!)Avengers Assemble!… for SEXINESS.
Tony’s pose and expression rule my world forever!!
Via Escher Girls
spac3crick3t submitted:
I was researching some cat-based superheroes for a friend when I found this gal. Not as bad as some of the stuff on here, but check out that swivel waist! Also I don’t know if she’s supposed to be swinging on that rope or what. Help!
The original image fails to accomplish what the artist(s) set out to do in several ways:
Problem #1: The only cat she looks like is this one:
She has none of the charm that cats have. Her mask is practically a recolour of the costume that Halle Berry wore when she played Catwoman, and I hated that costume for the same reasons. Halle Berry is a pretty good actress and very attractive, and not even SHE could save that terrible outfit.
Aside from the mask, there’s nothing evocative of cats in the entire design. It’s all just boobs n butts. impractical shoes, and a silly cape in case you forgot that you were looking at a superhero. Also, pumpkin orange all the way, with no distinctive markings anywhere like what you’d find on a cat.
2: It’s tasteless.
I’m a connoisseur of boobs and butts in the same way that I am a connoisseur of filet mignon. I mean, it’s beef wrapped in bacon! How can you screw that up!?
Easy.
Just pull out the raw meat out of the wrapper and throw it at my face.
Like any dish, the enjoyment factor is inseparable from how it is prepared and served. Throwing boobs and butts in the faces of your audience with no thought for presentation is repugnant and an insult. Even a strip club is more than a parade of nakedness, no matter how tawdry. There’s a performance, a level of tease where the performer will make the audience think she’s going to take off a crucial article of clothing but move on to remove something less revealing, leaving the “best” for last.
3: In the mad dash to boob-and-butt their way to victory, they forgot what the characters were actually trying to do.
Her pose completely disregards physics. If you swing from a rope, gravity and centrifugal inertia will pull you towards the end of the rope. If you’re holding on with one hand to counteract this tremendous force, your arm will naturally stretch out until your elbow is straight.
But because they didn’t straighten her arm, it communicates that she’s completely without mass.
The cape doesn’t even follow the direction of travel along an arc. The fact that it’s fluttering upwards shows that she’s falling downwards even though the rope is taut and she’s on the up-swing.
It’s like they reused the pose of a cowboy riding a horse trying to lasso a steer.
So here’s a redraw:
1: Foreshortening.
This is simple upward foreshortening. I could have chosen downward foreshortening, but I wanted her to feel like she was swinging from a height. So I made it so that we are looking slightly upward at her. Too much foreshortening would make her head puny and her legs massive.
I also made it seem as if the attachment point of the rope is at an area high over the viewer’s head. This is as if she’s swinging around the building that the rope is attached to and we’re viewing her from inside the building.
2: Less bonk bonk bonk in the pose. Smooth it out.
The old pose had no unity. Arms and legs bending this way and that. She’s not cactaur.
I aligned her left arm, body and left leg into a continuous flow that stemmed from the rope. Her right leg merely extends that flow while the bent knee of the left leg puts it more in line with her left arm.
3: As Edna Mode says: NO CAPES!
In addition to being dangerous liabilities, cats don’t wear capes unless their soon-to-be-scratched-to-ribbons owners attempt to put them on the cat. In character design, and ESPECIALLY with superhero design, you gotta stick with the theme of the character. It’s a creative limitation that will make your design stronger if you work with it.
So I gave her a cheshire cat grin, more cat-like ears, a haircut that changes the silhouette of her head to be more similar to a cat’s, upper eyelids with an inward slant, a collar with a bell on it, changed the cowboy rope to a big ball of yarn, and even gave her a sort of jacket with big chunky paws and a tail.
If I wanted to give her other accessories they would be things like milk bottles and maybe some knitting needles and a fluffy sheep sidekick and cat toys or at the very least, have some sort of cat-theme to it. It’s really easy to come up with this stuff once you have a theme to lock on to.
I always love your redraws so much. :) They’re great learning tools and are both funny and informative.
I like the redraw, but I could do without the comparison of women’s bodies to filet mignon. Advocating a “Correct” amount of objectification is not in my interests as a woman comic artist. Sorry.
Other than that, the redraw is sound. The issue of the costume comes down to taste, of course, and I don’t comment on that.
About me
Correcting the mistake of artists who should really know better.