Opinions on nudity please. NSFW 18+ Topic and imagery

[Banditt]

Hey everyone. Ive been gone for like what, 6 months? 7? big life changes. Im leaving the army in a couple of months, Im engaged to the perfect woman And Im transitioning to the civilian world with big aims at a good job.

In the meantime, Im working on my portfolio. An homage to my amazing wife-to-be, whom used to be a fitness model and competitor, who is modeling for my newest, biggest pieces; of which are a series of paintings and a comic Ive been working on for years and never had the right direction, or outlet.

So some background on the project: Im a child of the 80s and it will never die Big hair, tight jeans, action movies, chrome, lasers, dinosaurs, BWAH!! All that is going into my project. Im giving it a back-rigged technology embellished, feral/barbaric land that time forgot kind of thing. Huge influences like the Barsoom series, Conan the Barbarian, Weird Tales and Heavy Metal magazines, etc. Art influences such as Frank Frazetta, Boris Valejo and Julie Bell, Sanjulian, Earl Noram, etc.

And thus the crux of the situation..... In the 80s the fantasy art genre boomed and was added to with science fiction art, which kicked up a whole new interest. The punk movement saw a lot of in-your-face, anarchist, anti-establishment art and shock value was huge.

Now me, Im not a fan of shock value. I want art to be intrinsic to the admiration of the human form. I also hate smut. I have a lot of very harsh, personal feelings toward less "polite" art that I will not get into a discussion about because I love Tapastic and all of you are amazingly supportive and I truly think dearly of you all. If I get into that rant, what kind opinions you might have of me will vanish in my assault of strong language and stalwart opinion! lol.

The point is: Im including nudity (topless) and its for arts sake. To admire the human form, celebrate it, but also just be a part of a world and a story. It shouldnt be anything more than any other background bit to the art. Its not the focal point, Its not a political statement, nothing at all like that stuff. Its just blah. its there, meh. you know? Because..... Conan lol

Now also understand my fiancee is my model, she is a professional model, for fitness magazines and the like. She is not a smut model, she has never been fully nude or shown bits that should remain covered at all times. She keeps it classy (while also sexy). And I am very proud of her and how she looks, she works damned hard! I am celebrating her form as much as anything else. So PLEASE do not assume Im some perv who is objectifying women. Again, so it may as well be seen slightly as eye candy, it sure is NOT Playboy :/ And I am striving to give every ounce of my skill and talent into this project so that it is seen as art pure and simple.

Im also not dead-set on having nudity. Ill say that also. and I dont plan on having everyone all walking around in loin cloths and bare breasted ALL the time! I love designing costumes and this character will go through lots of crazy fantasy wardrobe changes. These kinds of barbarian characters just dont see the need for excessive coverage, and jungles are hot and humid!

I just want to post the questions: What is everyones initial reaction? and... What do you think after giving it a minute to sink in?

I also recognize that maybe two incomplete panels is way premature for getting a reaction. That seeing maybe a full page or two so you can get into the STORY instead of me just slapping you with a topless character would probably give you a more whole impression to base on it. But I really want to get some initial impressions while Im still so early into this so I can adjust accordingly.

OMG I hope I am making sense I had major surgery this morning and Im on some crazy pain killers, so I can only imagine what I must sound like.

Anyway, let me show you what Im working on , how Im approaching the art. PLEASE give me your feedback! I will not post this publicly if its coming off wrong please help me do it right and present to the world what I am truly trying to accomplish.

Also, that being said, I hope NOT to offend anyone!!!!! And I apologize in advance if I do. I hope I have given ample warnings at what is to come before anyone got to the image. In fact, anyone of so easily harmed sensibilities should not have come to this topic, based on the thread title stating right off what it contains.

The following image might offend anyone not interested in looking at bare breasts. Not Safe For Work. etc etc, avert ye eyes!
.................

And thats it. Again, going for well rendered art celebrating the human form. Story involves lost technology being reverse engineered by a lost civilization that has reverted to barbarism. The Lost World meets He-Man, honestly

Please give me constructive criticism. Honest reactions. Honest thoughts. Please help me polish this into the project Im working so hard to make it.

And as always, thank you everyone. You have always been the greatest boon to creativity in this field and helping feed the morale to keep going!

Kindest regards and eternal thanks,
-Jason

[ratique]

Welcome back, Banditt!

First of all, congratulations on leaving the army – it is a big step and as the wife of a now disabled Army Veteran I know that the road ahead of you might be stoney at times. Remember to surround yourself with family and friends and to seek help when that is not enough anymore.

Now, forgive me if I am misreading the purpose of your post. From what I understand, you are asking for feedback on your art, a first impression. And you are planning on using the character for a comic, correct?

I have two very opposite opinions on this.

As an artist I appreciate your level of skill and I like the helmet and weapon design a lot. You know what you are doing and what else can I say, really? Looks great!

Then comes my opinion as a potential reader: I would have a very hard time taking your story seriously if the main character (male or female) would be bare chested. It makes no sense in any kind of setting that requires a certain amount of body armor and huge weapons to run around half naked. Nudity, should you want the reader to take the story seriously, must make sense in the context.

Unfortunately I do not know if your comic is going to be a serious one. Because maybe your plan was to create a super, over-the-top 80's comic with a ridiculous story and fantastic characters. A story, that is so self aware of it's craziness that OF COURSE has a bare chested lead character. If you are going for that, great, that could be awesome! And as Kung Fury has recently shown, stuff like that can be highly successful and a ton of fun.

Or, of course, I am simply not your targeted audience.

I am looking forward to other opinions on this and maybe you can post a few more sketches or ideas that makes it easier for us to figure out where you are going with this.

[apocryphagraphics]

Nudity is a part of every life so I don't mind it in comics. The problem with nudity in most comics is that it's misogynist, objectifying, and juvenile. The truth is that a great deal of the fantasy art from the 70's and 80's is extremely juvenile in its portrayal of women. I agree with @ratique that the image you put up there seems like you're just going out of your way to draw some boobs. It doesn't feel very realistic. It looks like the woman is holding some kind of advanced weapon. She seems to have a helmet on. Why hasn't she covered her heart? Why is she going into combat half-naked? I don't find the breasts offensive, just kind of juvenile. I have half-naked women running around in my comic but they're natives living in a stone-aged technological existence. They dress like Pacific islanders because they live in similar conditions. I think if you absolutely don't want readers to think you're just portraying women as sex-objects then any nudity should make sense within the framework of the story-- and that doesn't mean throwing in a gratuitous shower scene just because everyone bathes! That's still just an excuse to draw naked women. Having said all that you're free to express yourself how you like and a whole lot of artists make a living drawing erotica. There's certainly a huge market for it. Just be honest with yourself about why you're throwing topless women into your story.

[AnnaLandin]

Hi @Banditt! Here are my thoughts on your character-design. I'll state upfront that I have absolutely NO PROBLEMS with nudity as such, so you don't have to worry about that. : )

1.) This is some seriously nice artwork, and I love her helmet and her muscular arms - they look great!

2.) However. The bare chest. Why is she bare-chested? You say she's from a barbarian civilisation that has lost a bunch of technology - but she's got gloves. It's not like they've lost the ability to make clothes, right? So I'm assuming some sort of shirt would be available to her. If there are shirts available, there really is no reason why she wouldn't wear one; shirts aren't just for covering up - they're for protection. They'd lower the risk of itchy bug-bites, she wouldn't have to worry about sunburn, and it would keep that strap around her shoulder from wearing away at her skin.

Also, if clothing is still a thing that exists (and I assume it is, since she is, again, wearing gloves), I'm fairly certain that most women would choose to wear something. Running around and fighting with your breasts uncovered like that - and breasts of that size, certainly - is going to be really uncomfortable. The reason a lot of women wear sports-bras while exercising isn't cause they look good - it's because they keep the breasts in place; otherwise, it's awkward (they get in the way!) and it actually hurts if you do it too much.

3.) You say she lives in a jungle. There are tribes in the modern world who live in jungles - or similar climates - where both men and women are bare-chested, so if you're going for that sort of tribal, hunter-gatherer civilisation, having her go bare-chested is fairly accurate - however, I doubt she would look the way she does then. See, most women living under those kinds of conditions will have smaller breasts than your character, and are much more likely to have sagging breasts, because of malnutrition and a continuous lack of support (as from a modern bra).

They're likely to look less like a nude model, and more like this (note - NSFW)

So. In conclusion. I'm not telling you that you need to cover her up from head to toe in a parka or something, but adding a shirt, or a top, or even just a bra (or equivalent) would make more sense in the context of your world.

[Banditt]

Thank you Ratique! I'm also being med boarded I know exactly where you and your husband have been and now the crazy transition time begins for me. I just had a nerve abrasion operation done for the second time in my spine. Should be the last one.

I'm on Oxycodone, so between the pain and these meds my ability to string coherent thought together is limited lol. Not to mention my auto correct butchers every third word!

So yeah I'm trying to go with a Tank Girl kind of gig. Crazy, off the wall, punk. But trying to stay to the roots of the artists that have inspired me for 35 years and try to keep my art style high fantasy/sci fi.

No one calls Frazetta juvenile. He was a comic artist just as much as a cover artist and stand alone illustrator. I need to find out how to bridge that gap

[apocryphagraphics]

I have no problem calling a lot of Frazetta's depictions of women juvenile. He was a great illustrator but paintings of women with enormous bare breasts lying around on fantastical beasts next to bloody barbarians is a 15-year-old's power fantasy. Hard to describe That as "grown up" art. As I said, it's a big world out there and to each his own. These are just my personal opinions on the subject you raised.

[Banditt]

Thanks Anna. I love the depth of thought you're giving me; it shows you're really trying to help me! And there is so little displayed by me, there is no proper gist to be gotten

My world isn't really meant to make sense like that. Like Tank Girl doesn't make sense it's just fun zanniness and Barsoom doesn't follow concepts like normal. All the things I've cited as inspiration are a huge indication of the direction I'm going.

As for how the model should look, I think you missed the point of the character. But that's ok, I had surgery this morning and I'm in a lot of pain and strong meds trying to fight that, so I'm sure I made it difficult to follow I know I was rambling.

That's my fiancee, she is modeling for this. She is a fitness model. And this whole project is in large part an homage to her. So altering her breast size and shape isn't in the cards lol

But I totally get what you are saying. And I've been mulling over strapping the them down. And I know in the little bit of art that is there, she looks nude except for accessories. Lol totally misleading! Sorry. There is more to it, honest!

I've also been playing with the idea of gossamer fabric. I like the Spanish style off-the-shoulder blouses on her. But I really don't want to give it too much of any sort of identity that aligns her with a known culture. I'm stuck

I've always loved the Barsoom look (Princess of Mars) the golden, jewel encrusted stuff. They are topless in that series and it's beloved. But again, literature from the 20s and 30s, just like Conan and Lovecraft.

And yes, the dudes are going to be just as bare and fit! it's just this huge amalgamation of inspiration and I'm ironing it out as I go.

Help me bridge the gap. Help me create a project celebrating art and the human form. Roll up your newspaper and swat me a couple of times "no, no, bad Banditt!" And push me in the right direction.

[GlanceReviver]

If it's shock value you're going for, then an attractive woman with bare breasts isn't exactly new or offensive.

If you want to do something like Tank Girl, anything by Masamune Shirow, or more recently crazy anime like Kill la Kill, that's totally cool. If it's quirky, weird, has it's own crazy logic, and exists for fan service, I can dig it. I actually don't have a problem with objectification of fictional characters when it is in the right context, honest about what it is doing.

I think the problem in perception is when you publicly say you're morally against what you call smut, but then put out a story where a woman is objectified for shock value. That's going to come across as misogynist, or at least hypocritical, even if you didn't mean it that way.

I have to say though, I love how muscular she is and that you gave her kind of a hook nose. If she was just SLIGHTLY more practical, I would really enjoy the design. Like, you could add some reaslitic support and still keep the nudity by means of a sheer or mesh top, or something.

Also, I am super impressed you can form complete sentences on Oxy! I hope you recover from your thing soon, it sounds pretty bad.

Edit: I posted before the last reply. Check out some of the designs by Alphonse Mucha if you'd like to see some of that flowy, off the shoulder, classy-but-revealing type of stuff.

[keac]

Let me make it simple:

You have a very good illustration of nudity! (It's fitting in my eyes, even if I don't know anything about the art of nudity ^ ^)

Since I'm still young, I'm already exposed with these kind of photos. But for me, make it as NSFW. 'Cause other people might see this uncomfortable (Even to those people who haven't seen breasts on women yet).
Some people might be curious of the comic and clicked on it, and eventually see nudity on the comic.

There are still younger audiences on Tapastic and they always click on what they see. It happened to me years ago, so I need to be cautious.

So for me, it's advisable to mark it as NSFW.
I'm not sure, but for more information, kindly read this from the link below ^ ^
http://tapastic.com/policies/content

[scythe]

Come on guys, isn't all this talk a bit slut shamey? (Me, personally, I don't think it is because I don't buy into all that nonsense, but it sounds very much like what someone on twitter or tumblr might say.)

On a complete side note, I don't get why being juvenile or yes, even smutty, is necessarily something to look down on. (I'm not saying that's what your comic is, of course, I'm just trying to make a point.) What I mean is, there's plenty of room for all kinds of comics, and I don't see why something like this should be seen as inferior, or at the very least, sent to the naughty corner just because it draws its influences from an era when the phrase "sex sells" wasn't always immediately followed by the words, "because misogyny". I mean, why is a 15-year-old's power fantasy any less valid than anyone else's? (Again, I'm not saying that's what this is, but even if it were, so what? 90% of fantasy comics on this site are someone's power fantasy and I don't see anything wrong with that.)

But yeah, I think, especially in this day and age, when attitudes towards sex and nudity seem to be rapidly slipping back to an early 20th century mindset, you'll want to slap a NSFW on your comic. Doubly especially if the ladies may on happenstance be exposing their buxominity in the way you've portrayed here. After all, keeping up with Apple's increasingly puritanical demands is hard enough even for the most vanilla of companies, let alone one that's actively attempting to foster a hub of free expression. So I think it's probably best if we all err on the side of caution when it comes to full frontal nudity.

Bt the way, this art rocks, so if the story is of equal calibre, I'd be happy to read it.

[ratique]

Come on guys, isn't all this talk a bit slut shamey?

Slut shamey? I think you need to elaborate on that one, as I have no idea where you are coming from with that one.

[ArtistHan]

First of all, congrats on your engagement and starting your new life post army!

My reaction was simply: she has a nice ass body. And that was it haha But then again, I'm very open to nudity in art. Nudity is part of humanity and being all squealy about it, like some people can be, seems juvenile to me. Of course, the problem is that many times in comics (or media and entertainment in general), nudity is not a form or truth or celebration but simply sex appeal and objectification.

I think I'd have to see the image in the context of the comic to see if it could be potentially offensive, misogynist, or the typical objectification of women as is often seen in comics in general (though of course, you're trying not do that, which I have to say, I really respect). I would have no problem with this character design if she were clearly some kind of sci-fi take on tribal warriors and there was some kind of need or pride within that character's culture for nudity, for example. Also, if this were a Mystique-like character who doesn't give a rat's ass about clothes and runs around naked because that's just how she likes to dress(? haha), then I think that would be very empowering. After all, I think women dressing the way they want despite judgment is a powerful thing, and if in a comic that includes nudity, people can deal with it. You could also show nudity of different body types to celebrate the human body further, etc.

Point is, I think execution is everything. It will all depend on the context, the world-building, the plot, and the themes of the comic. But as for the drawing itself, I just think it's a superbly drawn sketch of a very toned woman within a sci-fi world. I guess I can see the worry about it being objectifying, but I had to really think about it before it hit me that it could be that way. I think if the pose had her leaning over a car or something, I'd definitely be offended, but this alone just looks like a nice sketch.

Hope that helps!

[Banditt]

Ive stated my goals and asked for help in steering toward a product that would have artistic value. So please everyone try to refrain from accusing me of being a hypocrite or calling my art juvenile :/ I asked for constructive criticism, not people to drop by just to shove opinions in my face and walk away. If you feel so strongly, then HELP me, dont condemn me. THAT is hypocrisy!

I do feel strongly against my art coming off as smut. Ive been rather uncomfortable in rendering nudity myself all this time, despite adoring the artwork of high fantasy artists like Boris Valejo and Julie Bell, FrankFrazetta, Sanjulian, etc. . Im going in this direction as something entirely new to me and that is why I have asked for HELP! Help me make it respectable!!!! Dont condemn me, shame me and offer nothing constructive or advice that would help you see it in a better light! I have complete confidence in my art. It is NOT juvenile and those statements offend me the most. Im not drawing some dirty little cartoon. Im trying to render good artwork that celebrates the human form. For heavens sake, GO LOOK at the artist whom I cite for examples!!!!!! Go look up classic Conan the Barbarian art by those artists! Go look at Weird Tales; they are still in business after all these years! Look at the cover art for the Barsoom series! I LOVE that Alphonse Mucha was suggested!! YESSSS!!!! Thats exactly what Im talking about!

And yes I do feel as though some posters are slut shaming And Im trying VERY hard not to get offended because this is MY FIANCEE And I am very proud of her. As far as mysgonist, not only does she work hard to be so fit, she is also a very strong independent woman. both of these values are going into this character. This isnt some poor helpless princess damsel in distress being bared at the delight of her captors! This is a strong woman, "hear her roar". Also a big part of the 80s, if any of you were alive to experience it. How many feminists are out there protesting topless? How many anti-rape protesters? Women should not be ashamed of their bodies! And it sure as hell should not be shamed as being "slutty" in artwork!!

Fan service has girls bent over, breasts spilling out, sexual poses, UPSKIRT, overly sexualized characters. I have a REAL PERSON, drawn as she really is, in NO provocative pose! A strong woman with a big gun about to lay the smack down on her enemies. How is anyone offended or feeling this is smut??

Sorry, I dont mean to get so bent out of shape, but I feel like a few of you are straight up attacking me and NOT even trying to help me make this project something to take seriously. IF you arent going to help, dont bother to post!!

On the other hand, the rest of you folks are what I cherish about Tapastic!! THANK YOU With your helpful opinions and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, I can steer this project the direction it needs to go. And I appreciate every single one of you so much!!!

Im still figuring out tags on here. I think Ive got it now...

@keac totally! Im all over that label, which is why I even labeled this topic Thank you

@GlanceReviver Im not going for shock value or smut. I appreciate your opinions, thankyou. When you were drawing the nudes from a life model in class, did you find that an exercise in shock value or smut? There is nothing driving an explicit scene here. I do thank you for pointing out what you like as well That is extremely helpful. Im just drawing my model as she is. The sheer top seems like a good place to lean you also think? And I LOOOOVE Mucha But again thats an example of turn of the century when people appreciated artwork and nudity But yes, totally! Maybe something akin to his Worlds Fair art, match box or menus? Gossamer veils and sheer, draping cloth? I might accent it and attach it to the body with the gold and jewel encrusted chains from Conan and Barsoom?

@scythe Thank you very kindly. You see the issue I see. Nudity just isnt acceptable so much anymore. Victorian and turn of the century people conducted themselves prudishly but adored nude art. Now we have a society where we have Miley Cirus displaying as she does and pregnant 15 year olds.... but my simple nude rendering, which is NOT in an explicit pose, is being shamed Well, as I get enough rendered to give a sample of the story, I am sure it will hold up and be something worth reading thank you.

@ArtistHan Thank you Im super excited for the new life Im starting! And yes, super helpful! You also totally get where Im stuck I need to keep it classy and not objectified; and we are also so slathered with that sort of fan service, we instantly jump at anything showing skin as smut. Frankly, I dont see how the Xmen are NOT seen as smut. The White Queen outfits? The skin tight spandex that highlights every muscle and curve? Even nipples are highlighted on females in XMEN costumes Those costumes are far more sexualized and objectifying. To get that level of skin tight in the real world, you need latex or super small, thin spandex... like any BDSM :/ Cyclops looks like a gimp, everything covered except his mouth, skin tight leotard and bright yellow straps and belts.

*NOTE Im a huge XMEN fan, Im just pointing this out.

And yes, Mystique is completely nude in all the XMEN movies and is super active and combative. Thank you for pointing that out as well!

Honestly, I value everyones opinion. It helps me get a good idea of the full range of what I will experience once it is released; and can adjust it NOW so that Im not investing so much time and work into something that will just blow up in my face when done Please understand what I am trying to achieve!! PLEASE. And get the fact that Im bringing this project up now, in its infancy so I can adjust it to be better and better...with your help everyone!

I will ask for a bit more patience. Let me get a couple pages knocked out so you can get the feel for the project and the story and see what is going on.

And if this thread gets out of control I will delete it. I have no shame for my project, I believe in what I am doing. But I appreciate this community way too much to start a powder keg I am flabbergasted to see the kind of cruel and demeaning responses that a few individuals have posted. However, I am beyond thankful for the rest of you; the 90% who are trying to be super helpful. You all rock!! THANK YOU

[gateofselidor]

The comments here are very mild. None of them are saying anything negative about your fiancee or shaming her, they are merely making observations about your choice of costume vs your story. I think you're concentrating too hard on what the comic means to you (and by extension what your fiancee means to you) and you're not really seeing things from the perspective of a potential reader, who knows nothing about you, your relationship, or your intentions.

Nobody is going to look at your comic and see a man who loves his fiancee and wants to celebrate her through his art. They are simply going to see a comic with an attractive, topless woman in an environment where it's not really practical or necessary to be going topless. Your justifications for drawing her as she is are perfectly reasonable, and it's also perfectly understandable that you don't want your art of her to be seen as smut, but the reader will not know this, and probably won't care. Comics as a whole are not exactly known for their sensitive and progressive depictions of women, so when people read your comic they will bring certain assumptions with them, and interpret your work through them.

There's really nothing you can do about it besides accept it and not let it get you down. Posting art online is difficult enough as it is because of the emotional bond creators tend to have with their works, but the added layer of attachment you have because of the subject matter is going to make things extra difficult, and you're going to need a thick skin to deal with the feedback.

[RiverKai]

I'm having trouble reading 100% of the replies above, it's quite a bit of text!

However, I wanted to add that before there were heavy gender roles, in Ancient societies men and women would wear the same style of outfits. This often meant showing off their breasts and nipples (regardless of their sex) because it was just what everyone wore, and that's the first thing I thought of when I saw your drawing. It looks like a mix of ancient and futuristic to me, and it sounds like you aren't intending to heavily sexualize her? I mean she's buff as hell (which yes, reminds me of Tank Girl too) and this is exactly the same as all of the countless buff-shirtless-dude-protagonists I've seen going to war and such.

Without context, I guess this forum post shows how people first respond above. If I'm looking at it completely neutrally, what I wrote above is what I see.

Either way, it would be hard to know unless it was in story context. I can't argue it either way because I don't know what your story will end up like, so I can't say I am accurately judging or not. All I know is what it reminds me of, so I hope that helps!

[scythe]

I guess I should have added a smiley because that comment was supposed to be a bit tongue in cheek. As in, something someone on tumblr might say about a bunch of people passive aggressively telling a woman that she's too sexy and needs to cover up.

[ratique]

Ah, yes, that in mind it makes more sense. Thanks!

[Banditt]

I totally see what you mean @gateofselidor and I can't thank you enough for the positive vibes! That's the support this community is famous for
There is half a page drawn, no text; I can't help but feel it's premature for folks to be judging what fits or not. I believe I'm a victim of preconceived notions :/

I'm rolling out the rest of this page and a second soon. I might wait to post anything until I've got 3 or 4 done so that some semblance of story can be gleaned. Then fair judgement can be rendered. Again though, I'm totally flexible; if I need to alter it, I will.

Yes @KaiLynx!! you do totally get it!!
Ancient mixed with lost technology. Thank you for seeing the other side of the coin. You are also fair enough to recognize there isn't enough presented to make any sort of accurate judgement on what is appropriate to the setting or story. I haven't presented either, so by what basis is it being judged or compared? I don't understand

[Banditt]

My appreciation for this community is boundless. Thank you all.
@GlanceReviver gave me the PERFECT suggestion on bridging the gap and making the story flow properly and give credence to the character. So please everyone stand by, Ill make it right in the end.

Im also still struggling with my medical issues But I see why Im coming off as such a jerk and hipcrit I totally dont mean to and I apologize. Allow me to give a better explanation of my mindset regarding smut.....

Please dont think Im an ass becuase of my statements about smut. I dont want to get confused smut with erotic art. Its not the same. Where Im coming from, Ive been a professional illustrator since 1999. Im published by companies in 6 different countries. Ive struggled like every artist. I worked the comic book industry during its downfall in the late nineties and the gimmicks they used in the 2000s to save their billion dollar corporations at the expense of thousands of simple little comic book stores. I have seen the all mighty $$$ destroy everything. Ive seen artists struggle and I myself even went under when the economy tanked.

What I mean by smut is this.....

So an artist isnt getting the sales they want or need. Mostly because they are lacking proper skills. What is the first thing they do? They start throwing in a bullshit shower scene or their females get overly sexualized, whatever. Like, its a gimmick! Its not about ART and that makes me mad. Because I spent 16 years pushing myself to heighten my skill and have people appreciate my art for what it is, not get suckered by a low brow gimmick. So please do not see my topless illustration as a gimmick. It will make sense, just give it a chance and see the story. Again, nudity and expression in this form is NEW to me!!!!!! This is my first sojourn into such a venture. In my entire career, regarding nudes, I have made 1 private commission sketch, 1 professional sketch, 1 "covered" nude painting where you dont see any nipples or anything. No full-blown nudity.

But I have spent decades admiring artists who make it look easy. They are so secure in their talent. I want that too. Boris Vallejo is doing this huge painting right now a Medusa by the Sea for a collector. And its GORGEOUS and nude. Julie Bell is stunning in everything she does and her female form (and she always goes for fitness models like my fiancee) are perfect. Like.....perfect.

Im not perfect :/ But I want to get there. and I believe this project has merit! I believe it in my heart! I just need to separate the art from the gimmick. and that is why I cherish this community and the help everyone is providing.

There is my strong feeling toward smut. Same idea like a XMEN or Superman or whatever arent making high enough sales. So what do they do? Kill someone off!!! Its a bullshit gimmick! And they bring the character back 3 months later anyway Thats just like the smut card.

Erotic art is its own genre, Fantasy artists illustrate nudity in their genre. I recognize and do not demean those genres. and well, ..to be fair, Heavy Metal was all shock value and a lot of smut LOL HOWEVER some of the best artists go their start there and some GREAT ideas came from it! So meh, take it or leave it. It was pretty juvenile now and again. lol But really, some AMAZING art passed through those pages. that was legitimate

Ive seen such juvenile garbage, where there is no attempt at proper artistic skill It demeans all artists who try to create nudity in a serious appreciative light. And those of us trying to make nudity acceptable get preconceived notions slapped against us because of it Another reason for my strong feelings. and honestly Im SUPER laid back. I totally dont get strongly defense or emotional, except about this very thing. And I fear everyone now thinks Im an asshole

My fiancee loves my art, she is my biggest fan. its sort of what brought us together. And she inspires me like nothing IVe ever experienced. She makes me whole as a person and an artist She was a model before and did some nudes. So she isnt shy and isnt ashamed. She isnt like, pushing it out there. She hasnt done it in a few years and isnt looking to go back, but she is still proud of the hard work and accomplishment; as she should be. I think thats what spurred this project. I want her to still be proud of herself and hard work and give a new outlet for her to be appreciated.

I hope Im making sense. Im super sad I cannot string together the proper coherent thought to have everyone see what I want to accomplish. Like seriously depressed.

[SpavVy]

I think it's a nice drawing, you seem to work vary well with anatomy and her breasts look vary natural which is nice. My only complaint is that the gun isn't finished, haha. When it comes to nudity I think people just need to take a chill pill. There is a big difference between nude and lewd.