Drawings-- The Giantess

Instead of posting my drawings into my finished portfolio, I have decided it might be more fun for my readers to know a little bit about what I was considering while I was drawing them.  I kind of like the fact that they are unfinished and yet still mark my thought process. And the opportunity to improve upon them when I go to paint them (if I do).

This one, like many of the recent fantasy drawings, "The Giantess", was drawn in late Dec of '09 or early '10 for my thesis work at MICA. At the time I was desperate to finish school and get out of the science work that I'd been doing and wanted badly to get started in the F+SF field. So, I was perusing a whole lot of fantasy artwork at the time -- mostly from Wizards of the Coast's, "Magic The Gathering", and was struck by the fact that there were few (if any) images of female Trolls, Giants, Dwarves, or Orcs. However, there were more than a few beautiful Elves, Sealies, Humans, Wizards, etc. in this wide pantheon of fantasy characters. As long as the species being represented had some aspect of the beautiful (slim, proportioned, elegant), the artists found themselves quite able to lavish a lot of attention (but not a lot of clothing) on the females of that species. 

For the other species? Not so much.  Where are their females?  Merchandising culture is not just a devastating experience for people with bodies that aren't a perfect Size *2*, but actively makes those bodies disappear entirely from the media.  The f+sf and gaming companies with their slick illustrations and animations seem to be as unable (or unwilling) to do much to help correct this very myopic view of what real women look like. 

My research tells me that the f+sf demographics are 96-98% males, ages 14 to 40; so, of course, the tastes and discretionary money of this demographic obviously drive this market. 

So, as a feminist looking to create images for this genre, there are several things I must consider: What are the ramifications of a gaming culture that gears its product to a specific demographic in which traditional female stereotypes of beauty and gender are insidiously reinforced? How can one induce cracks in the current visual system and begin to introduce and encourage new ideas and images to empower women and girls rather than demean them? Is this the market in which to attempt that? If not, then can I create a new illustration market that does?

I've said it before, the f+sf and gaming company that realizes that they need to begin to tell women's and girls' stories will begin to garner that "other" demographic and will see their profits rise.