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sexy women characters and christian comics

aloha again!i have seen to many christian comics where the girl is way to SEXY.how do we show an attactive women in a comic and not send the wrong message. disney totally FAILS on this with most of their modern princess (pochahontes, ect) has anyone seen it done right before? the only example i could think of is JESSIE from toystory 2she is female, very cute, attactive and NOT sexy. anyone else?le0www.aydellon.com

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  • And Leslie, you are perfectly right.

    I think there is also one other thing that factors in here - and that is if the artist adds an element "sensuality" in the image or not. There is a way to present the curvaceous while being (for lack of a better term) platonic. It boils down to, (as mentioned a probably a few times before in this thread) to intent.

    In the case you present, the character is very tasteful, well drawn and pretty.
    There is absolutely nothing, in my opinion, wrong with the presentation of said character. And yes, There is a happy medium I'm sure, and there may also come a point where you go, what the heck - who cares, let's make the comic and get on with life and let the people who like to grumble grumble.

    Martin
  • I don't understand the mentality of such people, for it implies that the female form is sinful. I have friends who are more curvaceous than Thracey because God made them that way: so why can't comic artists represent those women (tastefuly, of course) in their work? I'm sure there is a happy medium between disproportionate Amazons wearing dental floss and androgynous female characters in Taliban-styled clothing.


    Martin Murtonen said:
    You know what would be the sad thing about this Leslie? Some would jump up and down and yell that the "pants are too skin tight, the hip to waist ratio is too flattering, and her chest sticks out too much. Could you flatten her a little?"

    Yet, I see a regular girl. A pretty one mind you. but last I checked, that's what girls looked like.
  • Well, see now? Thats what I get for making general statements and not being more specific.
    I am all for drawing people "in good taste". What I am saying is we all have choices to make as Christians. The spectrum is broad. Ultra conservative, fanatical, scared to leave the safety of their close and closed associations and very Liberal, "open minded" Christians who are not afraid to think outside the box, which Christ is our example of thinking outside the (established) box.

    What I should have said was, depending on the audience "YOUR" (whoevers) book is attempting to reach, the art should be "appropriate" to that audience...not inappropriate to that audience. (inappropriate - not meaning raunchy, or sexually overt)

    Women need to look like women, men like men of ALL shapes, sizes, colors and "styles."

    The Idea as a Christian comic book artist (in my opinion) is to be discerning, intelligent and smart about their goals for their book.

    If it is "Super Heroes and Heroines" they should look SUPER.

    This will of course be interpreted differently by different people, yet again I drive the point, Super men and Women can appear super manly and super womanly without intentionally pandering to the animal, sexualism that many books do today.

    I ask anyone reading this to keep in mind, men and women find different body styles and clothing styles "sexy".
    A woman could be dressed from head to toe in Puritan clothing with no womanly bumps or shape and some guy will get turned on by this.

    Some men don't find super exaggerrated feminine figures with nothing left to the imagination regarding painted on costumes sexually appealing either.

    Whats my Point people?....

    My Point is, as artists you must do (design, write, draw) what you believe to be appropriate to your "Product" and "Audience" all the while delivering what we believe to be a Christian perpective...."Our" (as individuials) Christian perspective, and we all know there isn't one perspective or there wouldn't be so many "flavors" of Christian Churches and Bible versions.

    Being Christian artists, writers, publishers at the very least, "should" provide us a uniformed Perspective and/or approach in which we choose our reading audience and design our books.

    I hope this clarifies my thoughts on the subject.

    RZ

    R Jay McCarty said:
    Dude, do you know how the Romans actually drew? Lots of ...well...exaggerated naughty bits...LOL.

    I'm not into catering to the world to get them "hooked". I'm not saying that's what you are saying, but I just reject the idea that we need to bend to what's popular and on the flip-side that women can't be appealing. Objectifying goes to far and that's what I see the world doing right now (and for centuries I guess). Don't make Axe body spray commercials just because they are so popular for (some reason), but don't be afraid to use the beautiful people in a more modest way. How you want a character to look should be a reflection of who they are inside or a playing of it. Like a beautiful women who is twisted and ugly inside (much like the devil can be).

    Like so many things, it's all about moderation not just restraint or doing what feels good.

    -- R Jay

    Leslie, thanks for the image. I think it illustrates very well attractive without immodesty.

    Ron Zeilinger said:
    B) When in Rome, draw like the Romans but give them Christ.

    R Jay McCarty said:
    Dude, do you know how the Romans actually drew? Lots of ...well...exaggerated naughty bits...LOL.

    I'm not into catering to the world to get them "hooked". I'm not saying that's what you are saying, but I just reject the idea that we need to bend to what's popular and on the flip-side that women can't be appealing. Objectifying goes to far and that's what I see the world doing right now (and for centuries I guess). Don't make Axe body spray commercials just because they are so popular for (some reason), but don't be afraid to use the beautiful people in a more modest way. How you want a character to look should be a reflection of who they are inside or a playing of it. Like a beautiful women who is twisted and ugly inside (much like the devil can be).

    Like so many things, it's all about moderation not just restraint or doing what feels good.

    -- R Jay

    Leslie, thanks for the image. I think it illustrates very well attractive without immodesty.

    Ron Zeilinger said:
    B) When in Rome, draw like the Romans but give them Christ.
  • You know what would be the sad thing about this Leslie? Some would jump up and down and yell that the "pants are too skin tight, the hip to waist ratio is too flattering, and her chest sticks out too much. Could you flatten her a little?"

    Yet, I see a regular girl. A pretty one mind you. but last I checked, that's what girls looked like.
  • I don't see why female characters in Christian comics couldn't be physically appealing: if artists avoid drawing revealing clothing and exaggerated body parts then everything should be fine. However, I think the other extreme is not the answer: Jessie from Toy Story is pretty androgynous. Drawing female characters with curves and a pretty face can be done without becoming titillating. One of my favorite comic artists (Grant Gould) has a web comic coming out soon and the heroine in it (Thracey) is a great example of how characters can be appealing without going overboard (see below). In the picture you can see how Thracey's attractiveness is understated due to Grant's choices in drawing this character.

  • Who is the audience? Are all the comic books being targeted toward good Christian readers with sensetivities toward the "enhanced super figure" or are they targeting casual Christians or non Christian mainstream readers to draw them to the books so Christs message can be revealed to them?

    A) Draw more modest and less super figures (less super manly, less super feminine)
    B) When in Rome, draw like the Romans but give them Christ.

    Christians are not to be of the world, but if our mission is to share Christs Message, we have to go to the people and readers that do not know his message, through the Art and the Writing.

    I for one would love to see Christian centered stories with mainstream art delivered to the masses.
  • hey everyone this is leo, you know the guy who opened this can of worms. whoa! i guess we have alot to say about this subject huh? man i going to rename my webcomic from AYDELLON to SEXY WOMEN CHARACTERS AND CHRISTIAN COMICS ! im sure to get more traffic! hyuk! hyuk!
    God bless and great comments!
    leo
    www.aydellon.com otherwise known as sexy women charcters and christian comics.

    Martin Murtonen said:
    Ultimately I think humans always want to perfect things - hence the "idealized" sculptures/images of the day.

    Interesting how conversations turn eh?
  • Ultimately I think humans always want to perfect things - hence the "idealized" sculptures/images of the day.

    Interesting how conversations turn eh?
  • And is if a divine hand wanted to add to the mix - an article (published today even! March 24, 2010) that may help with discussion above regarding men, women, approaches to art, and why the "too sexy" element may exist in our art. It's a fairly "fluffy" article, but it does bring up some interesting points. It's not about art per se, but it explains a lot.

    The 'Male Brain': So that explains it


    Perhaps the biggest difference between the male and female brain is that men have a sexual pursuit area that is 2.5 times larger than the one in the female brain. Not only that, but beginning in their teens, they produce 200 to 250 percent more testosterone than they did during pre-adolescence.

    The author is also appearing on the Joy Behar Show (HLN Network?) tonight (March 24, 2010 at 9 p.m.) should anyone be interested in watching and then commenting back. (I don't get the show on my channels.)
    Love, sex and the male brain - CNN.com
    Although women the world over have been doing it for centuries, we can't really blame a guy for being a guy. And this is especially true now that we…
  • Ah. J'ai comprends.

    I hope we don't have limitations or expectations on women artists. I hope they produce fantastic work - and push the envelope and seize any and all opportunities available to them.

    As per women characters - use what's right for the story - but keep in mind intent, output, perceived reaction - (intentional or unintentional) and/or consider all the ramifications of the decisions made in the creation of that character (if the person creating the character is aware enough of any of this). Oh, and use real people as reference.I think that's easy enough?

    Definitely give some food for thought. Ever considered sociology?

    p.s. I think a MAN can't create what a woman can create just because.
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