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LadyNilstria β Lady Nilstria's Guide to the Anatomically Possible
Published: 2012-03-02 06:27:42 +0000 UTC; Views: 23928; Favourites: 962; Downloads: 0
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So, after spending way too many hours reading the blog Escher Girls all the way back to post one, I have determined I learned quite a bit about how ridiculous the American comic scene is regarding women.I mean, REALLY people. If you want to draw breasts and boobs so much, there are better jobs for you.
I myself appreciate correct anatomy. It makes a picture more pleasing to me knowing the artist took the time and dedication to learn the human anatomy and implement it instead of creating some odd wildebeest thing. Yes, I am looking particularly at you, Rob Liefeld.
So, I made a little tutorial. I hope someone learns something from it.
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Comments: 98
THANNNK YOUUUU I don't have an anatomy class, and don't think i will for a while this teaches soooo muuch!!!! thank yo for making this!!
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You are most welcome.
My anatomy tip: Go draw people. I knew this one man with great musculature (so defined and handsome,) but I never could work up the nerve to ask him to model for me. >___> Go draw people.
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...By any chance, have you ever watched "Atop the Fourth Wall"?
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No, I haven't. Should I? Is this a subtle warning?
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It's just a webshow where this guy criticizes bad comics. You criticized Liefeld, and it made me think of the show, because he has done so a lot.
Eventually, the show gets a theme song where they actually say "Liefeld, you're not an artist".
Plus, Linkara (the host) is a feminist.
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Well...there is a lot to criticize. I wouldn't say Liefeld isn't an artist. He's just not an artist who draws people from Earth.
If you mean social and economic equality, than yes I suppose I am a feminist. That's a Christian concept after all. God loves women. Without us, the world would collapse. Though, women are not the same as men, and that is a stupid, dangerous way to go. We have our roles because it is a fact women can do some things better than men, and vice versa. Men should just not be secretaries or work at the postal service. XD I do not believe women should be on the front lines of combat. Sometimes women should let men be bloody men.
/rant
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For your Liefeld comment, I have two words that Linkara came up with himself. "Youngblood's Disease". It is an unfortunate comic character medical condition where their eyes are pretty much squinting all the time, and really, they shouldn't be able to see at all, and is named for the Youngblood comics.
Guess who created Youngblood?
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This makes me sad. You make me sad.
I'M SAD.
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I find this tutorial quite useful. I`ll remember this the next time I draw a woman.
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I loved the, "Muscles don't shift around the body at random." Excellent tutorial!
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Excellentβand I love Escher Girls. Too many people look at women as "parts," like those beef maps in the supermarket. A woman is a gestalt effect, and there is beauty in that natural "engineering." ElastiGirl from The Incredibles is the only one who should be able to twist and bend like the comic books.
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Thank you, and I completely agree. While women are made of parts, it must not be forgotten they are also a sum of their parts and as in trigonometric identities, each side must equal the other.
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This is great! I don't plan on going into the industry, I just draw for fun. But I would love to improve my art and this will help greatly!
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This is awesome. I'm so glad to have someone like you around. You make everything better! 
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Those muscles are nice because I own the lovely and highly recommended book Anatomy: A Complete Guide for Artists by Joseph Sheppard.
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Great work 
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The only problem here is that your "bad examples" aren't skinny enough.... They'd still cast a shadow! >
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>___> ... <___< ... O___O
O___o
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I have been following the Escher girls for a while now, and as you have posted several posts about anatomy, I really hope that you might be able, and would like to answer a question that I have.
You have written in an earlier post about how men's balance is in the ribcage, while women's lies in the hips.
What I have started wondering about is the anatomy of a child, especially if there are any differences between a boy and a girl?
Or if these differences become apparent when people reach puberty.
You would really make my day if you know the answer.
Sincerely, Dailenn.
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I am not a forensic anthropologists, but in my understanding there are differences between the skeleton of a male and female child. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't even think there are many differences between the bones of a girl or a woman except for the size and ratio of them. Taking the pelvis for example, it's still basically a female pelvis, except less mature, smaller in actual size, but bigger in ratio to the rest of the body. It's similar to how the skull of a child is bigger in proportion to the body than an adult, but the same is basically the same.
As to balance, I think the general rule still applies for children. A girl's pelvis is normally heavier than her ribcage, and vice versa for boys, (especially since they don't have breasts yet.)
Does that answer your question?
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Hey, I know this is a VERY LATE reply, but I think it can still be helpful for anyone who stumbles upon it in the future. Now before I go any further, I'd like to point out that your anatomy guide above is very well put together and contains a lot of helpful information for artists who need assistance in learning a few of the basics of human anatomy. However, there are a few mistakes in your reply to Dailenn. Usually I don't do replies to old news, but since I am a kinesiology student and have anal-retentive tendencies, I just feel like I would've gone nuts if I just ignored this.
1. "I am not a forensic anthropologists, but in my understanding there are differences between the skeleton of a male and female child."
Not really. The only major difference between a male child's skeleton and a female's is the shape of the pelvis. In males, the pelvis is more narrow and tall, whereas in females the pelvis is a bit wider, shorter, and the inside is more "cradle-like." Another very minor difference between the sexes is in the skull. Males tend to be born with what is called the occipital external protuberance, which is a small boney bump located in the lower half of the skull's posterior. Females usually don't have these, or if they do, it's veryΒ small and barely noticeable. Human sexual dimorphism doesn't become Β apparent until adolescence and becomes more obvious during adulthood.
2. "Taking the pelvis for example, it's still basically a female pelvis, except less mature, smaller in actual size, but bigger in ratio to the rest of the body."
You were right until you said "bigger in ratio to the rest of the body." The pelvis of a female human doesn't become noticeably big until she reaches adulthood. During adolescence, the body's release of various hormones - especially estrogen and progesterone - results in the feminization of the body: growth of breast tissue, widening of the hips, growth of pubic hair, growth of sexual organs, etc. Before any of that happens, a prepubescent female's skeletal structure is not much different from a prepubescent male's (besides the differences mentioned in "1.")
3. "As to balance, I think the general rule still applies for children. A girl's pelvis is normally heavier than her ribcage, and vice versa for boys, (especially since they don't have breasts yet.)"
Now, I've never heard or read anything that says that a female's pelvis is heavier than her ribcage, but even if it was, that is not exactly what determines the location of a person's center of gravity (COG) - which is what I think you meant to say. The COG of a person actually varies depending on where the person is shifting the majority of their overall weight. In the typical upright/standing position, a human's COG - regardless of sex - is located in the mid pelvic cavity (the middle region of the pelvis). If, however, the person decided to lean to the left and shift their weight a little, then the COG would move away from the pelvis and closer towards the left leg. When the COG moves too far away from the pelvis, the person loses their balance and may fall over if they don't correct it quickly enough.
Also, Dailenn says that you and him believe that the COG for men resides within their ribcage. It doesn't. BOTH men and women have their COG within the mid pelvic region. Think of it this way; if you punch someone in the chest, they may fall to the floor from the impact, but they'll still be able to get back up, even if they have a broken rib or a punctured lung (they may trouble standing due to the pain, but it is still possible). If you punch them in their anterior pelvic region, there's a good chance that you may break their pelvic symphysis. The pelvic symphysis is a strip of cartilage that connects the two left and right pelvic bones and it acts as a shock absorber when one is walking and it plays a role in childbirth. If it breaks, you will NOT get back up. It is biologically impossible for a person to even stand if their pelvic symphysis is broken, and women who have had theirs break or fracture during delivery have reported being unable to walk without pain for upwards of two months. To say that the COG lies anywhere BUT the pelvic region is just plain wrong.
Anyhow, I hope the info I've provided proves to be useful. Once again, the guide is very helpful and provides an insight into the basics of human anatomy that every artist needs.
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Yes, it answer it just fine. Thank you!
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There -is- something to be said for stylized, campy and exaggerated female figures (just as there is for men) but obviously getting a good handle on the skeletal structure and muscle positioning/shape is something every serious artist should make a priority out of.
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It's the same reason why most people can't draw good horses. It's all about the skeleton. If you know how to draw a horse's skull, you can overlay the muscles of the face pretty easily.
It's the same for people. It takes effort.
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I enjoy the Escher Girls a lot, as well as your redraws! Good guide overall, though it is better for those already knowing of these issues and wanting to laugh or get the facts about range of movement, rather than new artists looking for a general anatomy guide.
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When it comes to muscular anatomy, there are tons of great ones on DA. I reference those all the time when I forget I have an anatomy book. XD
That's why I don't really go into it.
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Oh I do know! Just saying that it's clearly not what yours is all about, so I'd say it's pastiche or a whack on a head rather than a normal tutorial
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My friends always have called me a little violent. >D
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Handy! I think I'll be referring back to this quite often.
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As a note: while there are people who walk on their toes naturally, they're going to have issues with little things like ankle stability and probably have other things going on to cause the toe-walking, plus a drastically different gait when compared to normal walking (also I am pretty sure that running like a bizarro-world ostrich does nothing good for my stamina during a run). Basically... most comic-book women shouldn't walk like I do*. :I
*Unless they are part-bird/therapod dinosaur.
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XD
Bottomline: Not the best thing for a warrior.
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Thanks, this is really helpful!
As someone who works with female characters quite a lot, I would like to offer an amendment to the above suggestions: no two women are built exactly the same, and it's a good idea to establish a very specific body type for each person. In a best-case scenario, the character should be instantly recognizable by her silhouette and body attitude alone.
Most animators get this. Many comic book artists do not. Weird.
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That's true. No one is shaped the same. When I'm making a character, I first decide their height so I can change the size of the base form I use as a blank. The base is useful, because then I can alter it to suite the character. A couple of my male characters are around the same height, but their shoulder-hip and torso-leg ratios are all different. Things get really fun once you get into head shape. <3
These things are important. Thank you for pointing that out.
Maybe I should make a tutorial about that.
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I'd say that's a good first lesson for many an artist trying to break into the comic industry.
Aside from the "showing mah butt and boobs at the same time", the other one is when the female characters jut their chest 12 inches to the left, and their hips 12 inches to the right, while supposedly standing upright (and supposedly they're standing at ease. whut.) T_T
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Indeed, good sir. Indeed.
Exactly. I fail to understand how any of those poses are comfortable enough to fight with. It's absurd.
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Sometimes it almost dips into 'Picasso Girls', where characters are not only facing two directions, but defying all basic perspective as well. Β¦P
Incidentally, I've worn & walked in high heels for a cosplay; quite painful indeed...!
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An "Escher" search landed me here. And although there's no tessellations or impossible figures, I still like it. An intelligent anatomy study.
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Aw, thank you.
In retrospect, I should have also included how the head cannot rotate more than about 90 degrees either, unless you have a wolf neck, which most of us don't.
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[link] Wolf neck, case in point.
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What, you haven't seen the Exorcist? (Turning my head... ) Hmm I'm good for 50 degrees maybe.
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Actually, no, I haven't seen the Exorcist. XD But I think I can imagine.
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In one of the scenes the possessed girl turns her head 360 degrees. Watching it made me want to see a chiropractor.
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Sooooooooo...she's like an owl tripping on acid, basically.
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Β Β Β Β Actually, owls can only turn theirs heads a little under 270 degrees in either direction. Very impressive, but not back around to straight. Still, it does mean they can look left and a little behind themselves by turning their heads right and vis versa.
Β Β Β Β On topic, one of these days, I keep meaning to model the human vertebra in autocad, and then see if I can reshape it enough to build a spine with Eschar Girlian flexibility, that still prevents the spinal cord from being crushed through normal movement... I have a feeling I can't, but you never know until you try, and it would be interesting to see what a comic girl's spine might actually look like!
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Oh, but you see, that's why I said an owl *tripping on acid*. Makes all the difference. /insidejoke
When do you model it, note me. I'd love to see that. XD
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