I think it's because anime is stylized enough that you don't need to worry about crossing into the Uncanny Valley with art that's drawn on a deadline. There's artists who can draw comics with a more realistic art style and still have them look relatable/alive (Fiona Staples, Nicola Scott), but one of the reasons, for example, that I don't read many superhero comics is because a lot of the people in it look unsettling. Like corpses or wax dolls. It's just a consequence of having to draw fast, but the more stylized artwork is, the less likely you are to fall into this unfortunate category. And it allows for a wider range of emoting without, again, having the characters look really weird/frozen.
A lot of us who discovered anime had gateway series like Naruto or Bleach (Tenchi Muyo! was mine) but the more of it we saw, the more we were awed and inspired by the infinite number of styles, the breathtaking visuals, and the narrative creativity. I've seen Japanese animators do things that I wish more American animators would do.
It isn't all big-eyed, big-headed, bigger-breasted girls in skin-tight school uniforms.
@erancomics
Most anime art styles are quite expressive and cute, and that appeals to many readers.
I'm not being rude, but I think it's a little hypocritical of you to criticize "Non realistic" anime art styles when your own art style is quite stylised and unrealistic itself.
I think that there are many styles that I find interesting and amazing, but some styles are just bug eyed humans that I really don't understand. There are big breasted women in the world that many of us are attracted to, so drawing a big breasted women in not unrealistic.. But drawing humans with eyes half the size of their faces is. Again, it's a style, and it's an art, but I don't understand it... It's just too strange...
@erancomics
People tend to like the anime art style because it's visually appealing. It's cartoony yet slightly realistic. There's not just one generic "anime" style either. The Ghibli art style is realistic, whereas most Shoujo styles are very cartoony.
And when I said "unrealistic", I wasn't just referring to their chest size. If these women were real, their legs would be too skinny to support their heads and torsos. Their waists and ribcages would be unable to contain their vital organs either, so I don't think that your art style is "realistic."
I know that there are incredibly skinny large chested women in the world, but they are mostly models, who have had large amounts of cosmetic plastic surgery. Anorexia and other dangerous eating disorders are rampant in the modelling industry, and result in impossibly thin models. There are cases of models starving to death, so, as a feminist, I think that saying that these women are "realistic" is potentially dangerous, as it may lead to normalisation of anorexia.
If you bill your art as stylised, that's fine, but it's just too exaggerated to look realistic, and it falls into the uncanny valley effect, where things look unnerving because they're simultaneously not quite realistic or stylised enough.
@erancomics
I'll put it this way, so you can see the difference
This is David Tennant, he is a realistic skinny guy, and he looks cute.
This is a stylised drawing of David Tennant, he also looks cute.
This is an deliberately uncanny valley drawing of David Tennant, he looks like he's going to devour my skin while I'm sleeping. (Please ignore the wings and tail.)
I know this is a sensitive subject, and I really don't want any artist or reader to feel like I think their art is bad. Again, there are amazing styles that I do love, and some that I don't. It's just my personal preference. My art is another style. The proportions of the breasts and weists are big, but there are real women in the world walking with such proportions. They are skinny. Like some women are, not just starving models are skinny, there are perfectly healthy women who are skinny. Not all people are fat. There are real women looking like that. But I haven't seen a single human being walking on the planet with eyes half the size of their faces. This is adorable right until the Disney's proportions (an art style that I do like) but bigger than that is just weird and not attractive. To me. This is my personal preference. No harm intended. On that note, I will not buy half a million picture of a blank white paper because it's "art". In my eyes it isn't. I understand some think it is. It's just my personal preference. Everyone has its own preference. It all right. Don't hate me for saying what I prefer or not. It's just me...
It's part of the culture. If you don't get it that's understandable, but in Asia, bigger eyes are considered more beautiful or handsome which bleeds into the styles of art.
You're saying that lots of people are attracted to big breasts so it's not unrealistic to draw that way. But not everyone is into that, and like I said, the majority of asians are attracted to big eyes. You can't judge others based on your own standards.
It's fine if you don't like anime style but it's not really justifiable to think that your work is "better" of some degree whether it's by level of realism or exaggeration of certain body parts. Maybe not your intention but that's the feeling I got when I read your replies.
When you say "I don't understand it" and "it's just too strange" the implication is that not only do you personally not like it, but you can't comprehend why other people like and draw it, which is insulting. That's why people keep getting riled up.
Even if you don't like it, it's really easy to understand why exaggerated eyes would create appealing characters. It's not a complicated or elusive concept.
There are only two women in my comics. It's a post apocalyptic story. One of them is a beautiful big breasted woman, and the second one has normal brests. Both of them are skinny because it's a post apocalyptic no food world. One of them is gorgeous and the reason for that will unfold later in the story. So, "same face syndrome" is not really the case here. On that note, there are so many manga comics that all the women look exactly the same, except for their hair color and style...
I'm not saying that manga doesn't have this problem. Saying "but manga does this too!" does not mean that it is ok to do this in your comic. Manga has many problems too, but there are problems in your comic too.
Feminist critique below. You have been warned.
Frankly, it feels like you're objectifying these women, which is prevalent in both manga and western comics. You are treating them as sex objects, not characters, and you only really talk about their "beautiful" bodies. Shannon and Meghan are both female stereotypes (the "dumb blonde bimbo" and "bitchy brunette"), and you're presenting the prospect of being surrounded by rapists as "sexy", when it is NOT sexy, and it is a far too real terror for many women worldwide.
By presenting rape as "sexy", you are only adding to the huge problem that is rape culture. I know that it's a horror comic about being stalked by wannabe rapists, but you're sexualising the main characters too. As a woman, I hate the feeling of being sexualised and objectified. I'm guessing that you're a man, and that this comic is made to appeal to the male gaze, meaning that you and your readers will probably never experience this horrible feeling. (I am not saying that men are not objectified, but the problem is far more experienced by women.)
1 in 3 women in the UK are trapped in an abusive relationship at some point in their life.
Roughly 85,000 cases rape happen every year in the uk.
Girls as young as 4 have reportedly experienced FGM.
This is a serious problem, and by glamourising rape, you are not helping
Tapas' main demographic is female, so maybe that's why you're not getting many subscribers. Because you're reminding them of a fear that is just a story for you, but a real fear for them.
Want an example of a good story about women escaping a rapist, that doesn't objectify them, and has a strong message? Go watch Mad Max: Fury Road. Take notes.
That is actually a really good and interesting point that I have never really thought about... The story will develop in the future to be more complicated, but I can truly understand why at this point of the story it looks like it is shallow... The consent of the story is a virus that turn only biological males back to a primitive not civilized creature, and putting two women survivors in the middle. Later I will introduce more characters, some are normal males. But your comment is truly remarcble. Maybe I need to introduce the new characters in the beginning, so the reader will know that there is more to this story from the beginning. After all you can only make a first impression once...
There's nothing wrong with art style. Anime has it's reasons for being popular. I mean some people have called my Webcomic a manga even though I myself don't consider it a manga but I'm not going against it either since manga is one of many that has influenced my art style.
The "Anime" artstyle was inspired by Disney anyways it just depends how far in the rabbit hole you're willing to go and where you draw the line. Bottom line: If you have an interesting story people will find it.
But I will also promise you this if you expected to become an overnight sensation; it won't happen. You have to pay your dues first. Comics is hard, expecially with an oversaturation. You just have to figure out what makes you different and the best way to do that is make something you would read. If you can't expect make a fan of yourself how do you expect someone else to?
Best of luck and keep being true to yourself!
-Yan
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