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11/18/11 Sequential Tart: Bizarre Breasts - The Bizarre Breasts Tutorial: How to Draw Breasts (vol V/iss 7/J…

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The Bizarre Breasts TutorialHow to Draw Breasts

by L.K. Malnassy

L.K. Malnassy is the creator of Sea of Insanity. This is her first columnfor Sequential Tart.

Bizarre proportions are nothing new to comics; be it the desire to caterto the cheesecake crowd or simply the preference of the artist, distortedanatomy has become commonplace. The fact that "professional" artistsmay utilize distortions in published works is a bit disappointing, butfrankly, if they've gotten the job the odds are they aren't going to feelthe need to change their style. That's fine, the world needs laughter.However, what does bother me is the possibility — hell, the reality —that amateur artists are copying this exaggerated anatomy and makingthese mistakes their own. So, in hopes of reaching those for whom thisadvice may actually have some impact, I have utilized my meagerknowledge of anatomy and admittedly unpolished art skills to bring theworld a brief tutorial on one of the comic artists' greatest challenges: thebreast.

Full Frontal Stupidity



Does this look familiar? If it does, don't be too surprised — I've foundrenderings similar to this in a number of amateur (as well asprofessional) works. For reasons I cannot fathom, many artists seeminclined to draw their heroines with breasts that appear to be connectedto their bodies by only the most tenuous shred of flesh. Fear not — ifyou've found yourself making this particular mistake, there are ways tocorrect it.

My pathetic lines aside, this is how the female torso should appear fromthe front. Aside from sporting considerably less disturbing proportions,note the distinct lack of cleavage. Give that gravity tends to pull breastsdown and slightly outwards, "natural" cleavage is pretty rare unless thesubject is leaning over. A good way to judge angle is to draw a linedown the middle of the figure; from there, you'll find that nipples tendto point outwards from the collarbone at about a 45 degree angle. Also,note the guidelines. If a woman's elbows are located about level withthe bottom of her ribcage, the lower curve of her breasts will placearound 1/2 to 1/4 of the way above the joint. In terms of elevation, thenipples, although generally located in the middle of the breast, are not



dead-center — remember the aforementioned 45 degree angle rule.Drawing horizontal lines to act as a guide also helps. I mean, seriously,if you were trying to fight the forces of evil, wouldn't you want levelnipples?

A Breast Too Far

Side-views, such as the one above, can be just as bad as frontal viewswhen it comes to exaggeration. Although not usually drawn quite asorb-like as the latter depiction, many profiles share some commonproblems.

PhysicsRemember gravity? You know, that thing that keeps your feet lockedto the earth? Well, the breast is not exempt. If you have what isessentially a pocket of fat protruding from your ribcage, there's going tobe a little in the way of pull. The exact degree of this varies with thebreast, but as a rule the larger the area the greater the degree of gravityexerted. As such, you cannot depict bare breasts as either a perfecttriangle, nor 3/4 of a sphere. Should the woman be wearing a bra theshape of the supported breast is open to debate, but for the sake ofcompletion one should be aware of the physics involved.

VarietyBreasts vary with the woman, and I'm not just talking about size. Toprove this, I cracked open a book of photographs and found thefollowing three examples:



All right, so I didn't include any incredibly buxom or incredibly oldsubjects in the study, but because most of the mistakes I've seen occurin artists who concentrate on superhero-type women I figured neitherof those types would be of particular interest. Why? Two reasons:

There are very, very few geriatric superheroines, and even fewer whowear spandex.

The more athletic a woman is, the smaller her breasts are.

Now, #2 is not necessarily a hard and fast rule, because bust-size varieswith genetics. Although fat does tend to collect in the breasts, beingactive isn't likely to turn a woman into a stick. However, given the lifemost super-types lead, they're likely to be on the smaller side. Just lookat any female athlete. Also, any woman with a shred of empathy islikely to look at your average superheroine and wince in sympathy,especially if said character is wearing very little in the way of support.That attractive bouncing that, yes, does occur naturally in the well-endowed, is quite uncomfortable. (And yes, this is one reason whymany of the women I know roll their eyes while watching certainanime titles.)

As an aside, I felt I should stress variety because all too often one willopen a comic and see characters whose physiques are virtuallyidentical. This is not limited to breasts, but for the purpose of this articlethey are, as usual, the stars of the show.

AnatomyYou should remember that breasts are an extension of the ribcage, notvice-versa. They aren't beachballs attached to a board. They are piecesof flesh firmly anchored to an existing skeletal structure. Before youdraw the breasts it is vital that you draw the torso. Once you do, draw aline down the center of the ribcage from collarbone to navel. This willhelp you in determining which way the breasts should be pointing.



In addition to finding the center of the torso, pay attention to its angle.The collarbone and shoulders are the best means of judging this; if oneshoulder is raised, its corresponding breast will be raised as well.

In ClosingOf course, there is no substitute to drawing from life. Granted this maybe a problem for male artists, but there are ways around it.

Find magazines, photographs, or screenshots. These models will bereal (although possibly not entirely in the case of magazines), generallyin shape and, almost as important, still. As many of you have no doubtdiscovered, it's a lot easier to draw a motionless target.

Attend life-drawing courses. I should note that it's important to beaware that you're probably not going to be drawing Victoria's Secretmodels, as very skinny people are not nearly as interesting as the obeseor the elderly, but the experience is important if you want to know howgravity and various angles affect flesh and bone in reality.

Ask your female friends to pose for you. You might want to be carefulhow you phrase this request, because it can definitely be taken thewrong way, but if you can't afford life-drawing classes it can be acheap and easy way to get a firm grasp of anatomy. So to speak.

Good luck, and if someone asks you why you're drawing nakedwomen, just give them the excuse all artists must utter at some point intheir lives: "It's okay, Mom, it's not porn, it's art."

All drawings � L.K. Malnassy.

sequential tart_ bizarre breasts - the bizarre breasts tutorial_ how to draw breasts (vol v_iss...

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