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Female anatomy help

Hey, here's one of my latest sketches....what do you think?
Believe me, there is little that you can say to offend me,so fire away!

...and any critiques are welcome,too. ...

It helps, when you've drawn a lot of men, to really overemphasize that female hourglass shape when you first start out. In the sketch, especially, really play it up, then from there you can always just soften the curves a little.

Looking good so far! I only think that the elbows must be at the same height as the belly button, so I suggest that you make the upper arms a bit longer, and the legs maybe a little bit shorter ^^ Also, the breasts are a bit low, try to draw them higher so the torso looks longer and more female.

I am not very good at giving critic, so I hope it will help a bit ^^

Thanks for the critique....I'll be posting more sketches later.

~The Lone Wolf

I don't think the breasts are necessarily too low, but if they are that low, then they need to be more full. She kind-of has a sports bra look going right now, and in that case, yes, they should be a bit higher.

The other thing that jumped out at me is that the curve of the hips starts too low. It gives her a profile much closer to a rather androgynous (pretty) guy, rather than a genuine female. There should be a bit more fullness at the point where the belt goes across her left hip, but the waistline itself doesn't need to be any larger.

My redline isn't perfect (crappily done with a mouse), and I'm sure it's not quite right anatomically, particularly in the shoulder, but hopefully it will give you an idea of what I mean.

Oooh that's a helpful red line, I never ever can get the female hips right and I think it's because I start them too low as well.

Also to add my 2 cents, I think the arms are a little bit too long maybe. Someone below mentioned the elbow should be level with the navel, though I'd always read, and seems to hold true on my own body, that it should be level with the bottom of the rib cage rather, at least in a relaxed position. Unless I'm mistaken which is entirely possible. :)

I don't think the arms are too long, but they are very meaty for a woman, which means the legs and hips need to be very full as well. I do think the head is a bit small, though.

Another difference between male and female anatomy is the curve of the thigh. Most women will have more curve along the entire length of the thigh, and most men will have a relatively straight line from below the pelvis to just a bit above the knee. There is actually an amusing 80's fashion experiment that demonstrates this. Your average guy can tie a bandanna around the middle of his thigh, and it will stay there. Unless a girl is severely underweight, the bandanna will fall off every time. (I was so disappointed)

Cool,....um,as for the build,I guess I kinda failed in my attempt.
I was trying for a little more of an athletic look,not to mention I'm still transitioning from male to female anatomy in my current art projects....so, I'm having problems drawing convincing female characters(that actually look female),cause' I've been drawing nothing but male characters(excluding dragons) for the past three years.
So,I really appreciate any advice, critiques, and redlines that you guys(and gals!) send my way. :)

~The Lone Wolf

I actually think you succeeded in creating an athletic look, and finishing off the female profile requires very little modification. One trick about female athleticism vs. male athleticism is that a guy will tend to add at least a little bulk/mass if he is particularly athletic, but a woman will tend to mostly gain some definition. There are, of course, exceptions. If I have time, I'll put together some comparative sketches to demonstrate what I mean.

Thanks, that would be great! :)

KoOkY! said: Oooh that's a helpful red line, I never ever can get the female hips right and I think it's because I start them too low as well.

I bought an artist's female anatomy book a couple of years ago. As long as you don't mind lots and lots of drawings or photos of women with no clothes on, I definitely recommend it. Helps with getting the finer details of the female body down.

Only thing I wish I'd shopped around for more thoroughly, is a book with women of different height/weight/body type. Mine consists of only 2 models, both of similar body type. I really need to learn how to draw different body types more successfully.

kynliod said:

KoOkY! said: Oooh that's a helpful red line, I never ever can get the female hips right and I think it's because I start them too low as well.

I bought an artist's female anatomy book a couple of years ago. As long as you don't mind lots and lots of drawings or photos of women with no clothes on, I definitely recommend it. Helps with getting the finer details of the female body down.

Only thing I wish I'd shopped around for more thoroughly, is a book with women of different height/weight/body type. Mine consists of only 2 models, both of similar body type. I really need to learn how to draw different body types more successfully.

Hmmmms, what's the name of it? I've done life drawing of the nude male and female figure before, I'm sure I can take it. Hehe. Sounds better than just google search though. Try searching for a non-pornographic image of a nude woman. Yipes. :)

A nudes book I have (specifically an artist reference book) is called "The Nude Figure", by Mark Edward Smith, ISBN 0-8230-3232-9. It has a few different models (mostly women, but also a couple men) of drastically different body types. It was produced in Europe. I've noticed that it's much easier to find varying body types in European-produced books rather than American-produced books. From what I've seen, the latter often only includes the photographer/editor's idea of the "ideal" figure, and maybe a token couple images of other figures (usually some chubby girl, as thought chubby was the only other option), but I digress....

I haven't had a chance to draw the comparative sketches, but it's still on my to-do list. It looks like I might end up moving in just a couple weeks, though, so it might be a bit.

Oh, and for reference, my redline was assuming an athletic girl with a full figure, to match the breadth and tone on the arms. By "meaty", I meant muscle, athletic. Bad wording, sorry....

I had time to sketch a couple comparisons today. They're far from perfect, but here they are anyway.

Sid's sketches are a great start. Just think of it this way. Males are broad of shoulder and narrow of hip. Women are narrow of shoulder and broad of hip. Even very thin women will generally have more "hippyness" to their form than they will broad shoulders. I actually come from a long line of athletic-looking women, and we all have pretty broad shoulders. But along with that comes more accentuated hips and larger busts (I'm an exception, having the broad shoulders, but I'm kinda scrawny and little, go fig).

And Sid, thanks for the book reference--and *excellent* point about European publications! It's something I've noticed as well, but on a subconscious level. Never really considered the fact that because they are more natural about models and such, their art books must be more thorough in these areas as well. I'm just guessing that mine is an American publication, though I have had no time lately to actually check, hehe.

Kyn, I am one of those unusually broad-shouldered women as well, such that I sometimes have trouble finding jackets that fit.

I should have given the skinny guy on the right broader shoulders. He looks kinda like he has super-tense shoulders the way I drew that. ;)

Another interesting thing to note about female hip shape is that the widest part is actually at about the same level as the crotch, and the curve usually continues from there down along the thighs to the knees. Guys thighs are usually a much straighter line, unless he's exceptionally buff (I'm thinking steroided-out, here) or significantly overweight.

Hey, thanks for the reference sketches, Sidney.
They help alot! :)
Though,no offense intended, I do not realy believe that I need an entire
reference book on the nude human figure....
There is plenty relalistic examples in everyday life,movies
graphic novels, whatever....
anyway(now that I'm done ranting),
here are a few of the many gesture sketches I've been doing to figure out
the female-anthro anatomy.

Thanks again!

~The Lone Wolf

Looking great! Also, no offense taken. I'd actually recommend finding multiple nude reference books. I have a couple myself, and they really help.

so, the proportions are adequate?

ok, here's the slightly altered version of the first sketch that
you redlined.(I know,I know...the lighting persective is a little off, but I'm still working on it.)
Anyway, here it is, the partially-finished version that I
went over with pen/brush and ink....did I mention I like drawing with ink?
hmmmm....guess I did'nt ...ah, well here it is anyway. :)

~The Lone Wolf