Fat Bodies Tutorial!

fat bodies tutorial!

ALRIGHT SO my pal @kalreyno wanted help with drawing fat characters and as a fat artist i felt like i could give a bit of helpful insight on that. there’s also been a lot of complaining about “boo hoo fat characters are hard to draw so i can’t include them in my work Ever” goin on lately so if that’s your case then this is for you too!! and also just for anyone who would like help with fat bodies in general, ofc. anyway, let’s get this show on the road!!

let’s start with some common misconceptions. these are the two main attempts at chubby bodies i run into, so i’ll focus on them.

the Anime Chubby i see everywhere, and it’s just……so wrong in many ways. first of all, there is almost no additional body fat compared to your average thin character - except for where it’s added in “attractive” places (breasts, hips, thighs). the breasts are way too perky, and don’t have the realistic shape fat would give them (though how to draw accurate breasts is another tutorial all on its own lmao). there is still a thigh gap, which usually only happens in very thin people, and bones are still visible on the surface of the skin, which also rarely happens in fat people.

the Michelin Man is better in some ways, but still not that great. it’s a slightly better attempt, but basically all that’s done there is taking a thin character and blowing them up, while giving no thought to fat distribution. the thigh gap is usually still present, and they look a lot more hard than soft - and fat is very soft and pliable.

here’s a chart on how fat usually distributes (if you can’t read my messy writing, “1. next to no fat, 2. moderate amount, 3. most of the fat distribution”). basically, the more muscle an area has, the more prone it is to develop fat, such as the abdomen, thighs, and upper arms. it’s important to note that fat sits on top of muscle, and that it does distribute in different levels, and not evenly across the body as shown in the Michelin Man.

now, here’s an accurate fat body with all of that kept in mind!! notice how the fat isn’t only kept to aesthetically pleasing areas, and how it sits realistically on the character’s body. their breasts sag a lot more, which happens even in thin people with larger breasts, and the nipples are pointing more downwards than straight out. there is no thigh gap in sight, there are no bones in sight, and most importantly, they have fat rolls, which are very important in drawing a convincing fat character!! as far as i know i’ve never met a single person with no rolls at all, and everyone has them, whether thin or fat - they’re just more prominent and more consistently present in fat people. pay close attention to where they are and how they’re shaped.

here are a couple of drawings showing how fat is affected when sitting vs stretching. as seen in the first, the fat specifically on the stomach is distributed a lot more evenly and stretched out, so it becomes “flatter”. the love handles are still pretty visible, though, as well as the fat on the thighs and arms. the breasts are raised with the shoulders, and the fat on the shoulders and near the neck forms rolls as it’s being pushed together.

in the second, there is a lot less room for distribution, so the fat is all pushed together. the breasts sag and the stomach forms rolls and spills into the lap. a good analogy for the way fat works is to liken it to a water balloon, and thinking of how its shape would change when resting flat on a surface, hanging off of a ledge, held upright, etc.

here are a few extra tips i find a lot of people miss!

first on the top is the hip/pubic region. the first circle is showing the way the bellybutton is folded in fat people, as opposed to stretched out in thinner people. the second is the stomach fat spilling over onto the pubic region and creating a separation in the two areas, which is something that’s missing in a lot of art. in addition, the pubic mound also gains fat, making it round as seen in the profile drawing i did up there (i’ve heard people refer to it as fupa?). the last in the hip region is the lack of a thigh gap. i can’t stress this enough!!!! if you’re trying to draw a convincing fat character, make sure their thighs are pretty much always touching!! for reference, mine literally don’t separate until my feet are about 2ft from each other.

the bottom right is showing the double chin, which a lot of people are afraid to draw!! fat does distribute itself here too, and there’s nothing wrong with it, so don’t feel like you shouldn’t give fat characters a double chin in your work for fear of it looking like a caricature.

in the bottom middle, it’s showing how fat affects different types of breasts with the presence of more or less breast tissue.

lastly, at the very right are stretch marks with their usual locations and directions, which i also can’t stress enough!!!!! i sometimes forget to add them honestly, but they’re so important in accurately portraying fat characters, as they literally come from the skin being stretched from fat being gained (and they’re also just rlly neat lookin like why wouldn’t you lmao). some people have less and some people have more, feel free to experiment with them!

the last thing is body types!! there isn’t one single way for a person to be fat, so feel free to experiment with shapes once you’ve learned the basics!!

so there you have it, a tutorial on how to draw chubs!! now go forth and make some accurate fanart or some rad fat characters, because the world could always use more of both. hmu if you have any questions or concerns, and thanks for reading!!

EDIT: someone pointed out the bad wording in the tutorial. thank you for bringing it to my attention and sorry for offending anybody. i’ve updated the tut, so please reblog this one!

So, India is dying.

Look, I know a good number of you are from the US and things aren't amazing there either, but my country is literally on the brink of collapse. So I'd love it if we could talk about that for a minute.

If you can't do anything else, please just read and reblog.

A second COVID wave has taken out the healthcare system. There are no more hospital beds. There's an oxygen shortage. There's a critical vaccine shortage. The Central Government has thrown its hands up and is passing the baton to the State Governments to do what they can.

There are over 16 million covid cases. A record 330,000 new cases reported yesterday - comparable to the US at its peak. 187,000 dead as of today.

There is no plan.

Mass cremations are taking place. The cremation grounds are running day and night and they are short on wood. People are watching their loved ones die while waiting for a hospital bed, and then they're unable to give them the proper burial rights.

Hospitals are overwhelmed. Patients are being confined, two to a bed. They're the lucky ones.

We are on the verge of people dying in the streets.

This is the second-most populous country in the world. The largest democracy. A country that encapsulates over 15,000 years of recorded human history and has endured everything from famine to invasion to colonisation.

We might be at the end. This might be the thing that does us in.

People are dying.

People are dying and there is no plan.

More good news? Variants are popping up. A double mutation strain has shown up. It is resistant to current vaccines. This will not go away. This is the devastation they warned of when the anti-maskers were out protesting the minor inconvenience of covering their face in public.

My country is on the verge of an emergency state. Our government has failed us. This is as dire a situation as it ever could be.

Look. I don't do much with my life. I write fics, some of you have read them and that's pretty much it. I spend my days with my head in the clouds because that's where I like to be.

But two days ago, my grandmother tested positive, had to be taken to hospital and the ambulance caught fire.

She barely made it to the urgent care she needs.

So, here I am, using whatever meager platform I have to cobble this request together. Because I have to do something.

If you can, donate.

Or spread the word.

Help. Please.

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icelyme

4 years ago

THE GIFT IS THE GAY

Nico: I think I finally understand why everyone who was considered "gifted" in preschool is now gay

Nico: The gift is the gay. We're the chosen one. We're humanities saving grace

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icelyme

4 years ago

Keep the flame going for those we have lost to suicide.

1,673K notes View Post

icelyme

3 years ago

PLEASE DO NOT THINK FOR EVEN A SECOND THAT YOUR VOICE WILL NOT HAVE AN IMPACT THIS IS LITERALLY THE BARE

PLEASE DO NOT THINK FOR EVEN A SECOND THAT YOUR VOICE WILL NOT HAVE AN IMPACT THIS IS LITERALLY THE BARE MINIMUM

I'm sorry for putting this in the BLM and stop Asian hate tag but in the last few days posts tagged with "Palestine" have not been showing up.

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icelyme

4 years ago

drinking a can of soda is better than not drinking anything at all. “junk” food is better than no food at all. just rinsing your mouth out with mouthwash is better than no oral hygiene at all. changing into a different set of pyjamas is better than not changing at all. getting up just to sit down on the chair across the room for a bit is better than not getting up at all. changing just your pillowcase is better than not changing your bedding at all. cracking a window open is better than getting no fresh air at all.

if you don’t have enough spoons for full tasks, smaller adaptations are better than nothing at all. it’s okay if you don’t have the energy to actively fight today. just staying afloat is enough. you are enough.

57K notes View Post

icelyme

4 years ago

H O W I S T H A T M Y P R O B L E M F I N D A Y O U T U B E T U T O R I A L I D K

Wdym I don't have the right profile

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icelyme

4 years ago

i made a uquiz called “what color is most like how it feels to be loved by you” (link takes you to the quiz) and if you think you can handle potentially hearing something hard, you should take it. (please note that this is in no way definitive and you could be totally different, please don’t take offense)

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icelyme

4 years ago

help if you can, money or even just rebbloging!

(I hope you'll be okay, sending you strength, prayers and love)

Urgent Donation Post

Have you ever used this lesbian flag? Want to support the person who designed it? Or just want to spread some holiday cheer to a struggling person? Please keep reading and reblog.

So I've been unemployed for a while now- trust me, I am doing everything in my power to get a job -and am living off unemployment payments. Unfortunately, after rent and paying my phone plan and half of my health insurance, I'm out of money. Thanks, government that thinks people deserve to live under the poverty line for the crime of being unemployed.

Tw suicide mention below

I also suffer mental health issues... I have severe PTSD and deal with psychotic symptoms. I pay for health insurance because it allows me to be hospitalised, and I also pay for meds and psych appointments.

To be honest, I should be in hospital right now. I have episodes, and in my most recent one I tried to kill myself. The public system didn't admit me because by the time I was at the hospital I had calmed down, and because my friends had prevented me from doing any harm to myself. They just let me go home.

So my only choice is private hospital. The gap after insurance is $500. I don't even have enough money to buy groceries, and my family won't help because they basically disowned me for being gay.

I need this hospitalisation, desperately. It has helped me before when I am at my worst. It stabilises me and helps me regain my mental strength. My life is hard sometimes. Sometimes I just break. I wouldn't e-beg if this wasn't vital.

Basically, I need financial help. To save the $500, but also to eat this week. I have a ko-fi account, which is currently the only place I can accept donations:

Donate here

Disclaimer: donations through ko-fi are sent to my friend's old paypal account. My own account got limited and I am having trouble getting them to unrestrict it. I get notified of all ko-fi donations so my friend can't sneak any of the money, not that she would anyway. If you wanna talk to her, send me an ask off anon for her tumblr url.