First off, if your too jaded or frustrated by this recurring topic, don't bother posting a response. There are enough threads at the moment that seem to relish in that.
I want to analyse one of the issues with Dragons Crowns design. That being there is actually nothing wrong with, but at the same time something very wrong with how its presented.
I want to preface this discussion (wishful thinking) by saying this is not a "Grrr sexism" lynch mob threads or "dem femnazis crampin our funz" rants. This is an honest deconstruction of the titular game, as a budding artist critiquing an established artist... now with pictures!
The images that follow are a comparison of the original artists work and my brief attempt to show those characters in a less... provocative... light. My pictures are my first draughts at roughly 5 minutes a piece and with no prior experience emulating the original artists aesthetics, so don't expect too much.
I intend to dismantle the notion that, by design, these characters are inherently sexist or promote a sexist culture. While simultaneously attacking the artists choices in how he presents his characters.
It's been talked about before, but I feel its been drowned out by the rabid baggage hauling that hot topics like these tend to become. There is an issue here, not with the design (artistically, I like it, but that's entirely subjective) but with portrayal.
Look at the first image. What does this tell you about her character? What relevance does it have to the game and the role she fills in it?
Bluntly, it tells sweet feck all. Her attire says things like "witch", "sultry" and "sexually confident" (another area for debate, but not here) but the posture and positioning tells us she's fan service, something to be gawked at and, apperently, is currently being gawked at as we speak. Why? What does that offer in context to the game she is in?
More to the point, how does grinding her ass against her staff speak of anything sorcery related? Or nursing a skeleton between her breasts? She's a necrophiliac?
Now, my major grievance isn't with any of that on their own... no, my issue is with her gaze. Why is she looking at us? In context of the world she is in, why is she so brazingly breaking the 4th wall? Is she looking into a mirror? Checking herself out? Or is she presenting herself for sexual gratification of an observer (ie, the viewer, specifically hetero male)?
The answer is overtly obvious. It's sexual titillation pure and simple. Is that wrong? Not inherently no, but it devalues the work the artist put into the design AND provides ZERO context for the player in a marketing perspective. Unlike say, bayonetta, who's entire character is built around her sexuality and confidence, it offers nothing beyond potential pin-up material.
The 2nd image, while not posing her in ludicrously suggestive posing, has the same gaze issue as above. Even without the OTT posturing and placement of phallic imagery and cushioning of Bonehead between her mammaries, the fact she seems to be seeking recognition or acknowledging the sweaty observer (I assume people sweat profusely when aroused... unless anime lied to me). Also, walking like she's on a catwalk... implying there is in fact a canonical viewership present in the game... that or posing for the hetero male (homo female) audience.
Pre-emptive strike: Just because you are not attracted to her design, does not mean the design is not intended to arouse the viewer. Again, nothing inherently wrong with a bit of titilation, but when it distracts the viewer from the content surrounding the subject, you are messing up your priorities.
This is not a quality comparison. My work has nary a patch on the quality of the artist in question.
What I wanted to show was, despite the OTT design aesthetic that emphasises and exaggerates physical characteristics (Women do, in fact, have boobs), the design in and of itself is not at the core of the issue. It certainly fans the flames but its neither the ignition nor the fuel to this inferno.
In my shoddy emulation of his aesthetic, I tried to pose them in a way that accentuates aspects of her that are NOT sexual. Boobs and curves have inherent sexual traits, that is unavoidable. Covering her up does nothing, as the silhouette of major boobage is enough to affect stimulation. Shrinking her boobs or trying to reduce obscure her curvature is not exactly relevant either, as in reality there are many body shapes present, big breasted curvacious women are a thing (though media tends to pick from a limited palette... another issue). Granted, such epic cleavage pushes the eroticism factor up several notches, but that CAN be a part of a persons character (again, what relevance does this have with the game? I dunno, but it CAN fit into a characters description and still work).
So my first image is a... fairly *grumble* static *grumble* action pose. Note, I know NOTHING about how she performs magic, so I did hand casting because I fucked up the position on the page and ended up obscuring the staff). This definitively tells us she, in fact, casts magic and is not some cosplayer who got in too deep with fantasy roleplay.
The 2nd image is more character related and less game orientated. During the conception stages of designing anything with characters, the person creating the characters will most likely flesh out their characters far more then the viewer at home may ever be aware of, as they tone them down as to not overshadow more important features. So in this image I attempted to portray her reclining in a non-"look at mah sexy boday" kind of way. She is coddling that frog (its a frog if you were wondering) on her knee showing a kindred relationship with nature. Note that her back arc, while still somewhat exaggerated and potentially broken looking, its not the focus of the image. Her interaction with the frog is more at focus then her ass or her boobs, though her boobs are definitely noticeable.
What do both this images have in common? The viewer is passive, not active. These could be things she does regardless if there is an observer present or not (ignoring that this is obviously fiction and what we see is all that will ever exist). The walls of narrative perspective are firmly left unbroken.
Are these images boring? Yeah, but that is due to my skill as an artist and time I invested in these images, not because of the idea I'm putting forward.
Finally, because the Amazon is not exactly doing the world any favours looking like this:
Here is my own variation of the female conan (not based on the amazonian):
Where the original images are channelling themes more like this:
I attempted to channel images more like this:
With the exception of the archer, it seems the artist can't seem to distinguish femininity with sexuality. What's more, he can't seem to justify a feminine character without making them pin-up models for sexual gratification.
Again... the DESIGNS are fine. The artist just presents them in a rather inflammatory fashion, given the current controversies the game industry is coming under flak for, and simply compounding the problem.
Should artists stop drawing sexy characters? No... but a bit of tact and variety would be MUCH appreciated by a huge chunk of the wider community. We are saturated with sexualised female characters. That is not debatable. The exceptions do not offer enough weight to counter that fact.
Note this entire discussion is distinct from the representation of men in games, hence why I didn't touch any of the male characters by this artist. There is a problem there too, but that discussion is only an ember next to the furnace that is female representation.
So... its out of my hands now. Civil discourse or baggage heaping rage fest? You decide.
Captcha: "heavens to betsy"
I want to analyse one of the issues with Dragons Crowns design. That being there is actually nothing wrong with, but at the same time something very wrong with how its presented.
I want to preface this discussion (wishful thinking) by saying this is not a "Grrr sexism" lynch mob threads or "dem femnazis crampin our funz" rants. This is an honest deconstruction of the titular game, as a budding artist critiquing an established artist... now with pictures!
The images that follow are a comparison of the original artists work and my brief attempt to show those characters in a less... provocative... light. My pictures are my first draughts at roughly 5 minutes a piece and with no prior experience emulating the original artists aesthetics, so don't expect too much.
I intend to dismantle the notion that, by design, these characters are inherently sexist or promote a sexist culture. While simultaneously attacking the artists choices in how he presents his characters.
Look at the first image. What does this tell you about her character? What relevance does it have to the game and the role she fills in it?
Bluntly, it tells sweet feck all. Her attire says things like "witch", "sultry" and "sexually confident" (another area for debate, but not here) but the posture and positioning tells us she's fan service, something to be gawked at and, apperently, is currently being gawked at as we speak. Why? What does that offer in context to the game she is in?
More to the point, how does grinding her ass against her staff speak of anything sorcery related? Or nursing a skeleton between her breasts? She's a necrophiliac?
Now, my major grievance isn't with any of that on their own... no, my issue is with her gaze. Why is she looking at us? In context of the world she is in, why is she so brazingly breaking the 4th wall? Is she looking into a mirror? Checking herself out? Or is she presenting herself for sexual gratification of an observer (ie, the viewer, specifically hetero male)?
The answer is overtly obvious. It's sexual titillation pure and simple. Is that wrong? Not inherently no, but it devalues the work the artist put into the design AND provides ZERO context for the player in a marketing perspective. Unlike say, bayonetta, who's entire character is built around her sexuality and confidence, it offers nothing beyond potential pin-up material.
The 2nd image, while not posing her in ludicrously suggestive posing, has the same gaze issue as above. Even without the OTT posturing and placement of phallic imagery and cushioning of Bonehead between her mammaries, the fact she seems to be seeking recognition or acknowledging the sweaty observer (I assume people sweat profusely when aroused... unless anime lied to me). Also, walking like she's on a catwalk... implying there is in fact a canonical viewership present in the game... that or posing for the hetero male (homo female) audience.
Pre-emptive strike: Just because you are not attracted to her design, does not mean the design is not intended to arouse the viewer. Again, nothing inherently wrong with a bit of titilation, but when it distracts the viewer from the content surrounding the subject, you are messing up your priorities.
This is not a quality comparison. My work has nary a patch on the quality of the artist in question.
What I wanted to show was, despite the OTT design aesthetic that emphasises and exaggerates physical characteristics (Women do, in fact, have boobs), the design in and of itself is not at the core of the issue. It certainly fans the flames but its neither the ignition nor the fuel to this inferno.
In my shoddy emulation of his aesthetic, I tried to pose them in a way that accentuates aspects of her that are NOT sexual. Boobs and curves have inherent sexual traits, that is unavoidable. Covering her up does nothing, as the silhouette of major boobage is enough to affect stimulation. Shrinking her boobs or trying to reduce obscure her curvature is not exactly relevant either, as in reality there are many body shapes present, big breasted curvacious women are a thing (though media tends to pick from a limited palette... another issue). Granted, such epic cleavage pushes the eroticism factor up several notches, but that CAN be a part of a persons character (again, what relevance does this have with the game? I dunno, but it CAN fit into a characters description and still work).
So my first image is a... fairly *grumble* static *grumble* action pose. Note, I know NOTHING about how she performs magic, so I did hand casting because I fucked up the position on the page and ended up obscuring the staff). This definitively tells us she, in fact, casts magic and is not some cosplayer who got in too deep with fantasy roleplay.
The 2nd image is more character related and less game orientated. During the conception stages of designing anything with characters, the person creating the characters will most likely flesh out their characters far more then the viewer at home may ever be aware of, as they tone them down as to not overshadow more important features. So in this image I attempted to portray her reclining in a non-"look at mah sexy boday" kind of way. She is coddling that frog (its a frog if you were wondering) on her knee showing a kindred relationship with nature. Note that her back arc, while still somewhat exaggerated and potentially broken looking, its not the focus of the image. Her interaction with the frog is more at focus then her ass or her boobs, though her boobs are definitely noticeable.
What do both this images have in common? The viewer is passive, not active. These could be things she does regardless if there is an observer present or not (ignoring that this is obviously fiction and what we see is all that will ever exist). The walls of narrative perspective are firmly left unbroken.
Are these images boring? Yeah, but that is due to my skill as an artist and time I invested in these images, not because of the idea I'm putting forward.
Finally, because the Amazon is not exactly doing the world any favours looking like this:
Here is my own variation of the female conan (not based on the amazonian):
Where the original images are channelling themes more like this:
I attempted to channel images more like this:
With the exception of the archer, it seems the artist can't seem to distinguish femininity with sexuality. What's more, he can't seem to justify a feminine character without making them pin-up models for sexual gratification.
Again... the DESIGNS are fine. The artist just presents them in a rather inflammatory fashion, given the current controversies the game industry is coming under flak for, and simply compounding the problem.
Should artists stop drawing sexy characters? No... but a bit of tact and variety would be MUCH appreciated by a huge chunk of the wider community. We are saturated with sexualised female characters. That is not debatable. The exceptions do not offer enough weight to counter that fact.
Note this entire discussion is distinct from the representation of men in games, hence why I didn't touch any of the male characters by this artist. There is a problem there too, but that discussion is only an ember next to the furnace that is female representation.
So... its out of my hands now. Civil discourse or baggage heaping rage fest? You decide.
Captcha: "heavens to betsy"