I'd like to get your feedback on two possible female templates. The image below has the two generic ones (with faces for reference) in the middle, then two sample characters with outfits on so you can see how they might look dressed.
The major change has been in the pose. We discovered that trying to put a female in the pose the male is in -- arms akimbo, held out from the body, weight evenly distributed, feet on the same level -- made her look very mannish, no matter what her body was like. At the end of the day, the point of this whole thing is to get a drawing that looks good, as if it were commissioned at a convention by a real comics artist, NOT to make my life easier. So I am probably going to have to abandon the concept that the poses would be exactly the same and that it would be up to the user to put it however they wanted. That's still possible, but I have to make the default image, I think, the best it can possibly be for those who don't want to go the extra mile.
I'm curious to get your input on that, as well.
Anyway, here goes:
Which (if either) do you like better? In addition to the physical differences (the one on the left is more full-figured, the one on the right more athletic), obviously the major thing is the pose itself -- feet together, hips and shoulders parallel to the ground, weight evenly distributed, versus one hip and shoulder cocked, feet slightly set back from one another.
Here's the hip-cocked one up close:
For reference, on the right is the Zombie Female body and on the left was my last attempt at a new female template:
Some of the criticism before was that the new body was too tensed-up, so hopefully the latest version will come across as more relaxed and confident.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on these.
I think a static pose would be better just for the default, if people want to focus on building the costume rather than on making a fully-fledged character. I do think that the body in the static pose needs details more akin to the hips-cocked or the zombie.
However, I do think that you could afford to bring the arms out just a little bit. Not as much as the male or zombie pose, but just so they’re not completely touching the hips. The legs could do with a little bit of a stronger stance, but that’s something that those who are willing to go the extra mile could easily do on their own.
It would be interesting to include elements of both bodies, not unlike you’ve done very well with the male bodies. There is great potential in both, but I do think the default pose should be something more neutral. On another note, it is very exciting to see the female template moving forwards. The items you have on the example characters look pretty good.
Anyways, those are just my thoughts, take ’em or leave ’em. Thanks for going the extra mile yourself to make this the most awesome hero creation device on the internet, and for letting fans like me have their input!
I like the build on the athletic one, but I agree with Iago — a more neutral stance would be preferable, especially if you’re enabling the same sort of figure modifications as the male form (e.g. poseable arms and the like).
I prefer the athletic hip cock. She looks ready for action, like she’s going to take the viewer by storm, just like a female hero should.
On the other hand, it would be wonderful if she were provided two-fold, say such as female-standard and female-athletic, with various parts as the males have as suggested by Iago.
I prefer the athletic hip cock. She looks ready for action, like she’s going to take the viewer by storm, just like a female hero should.
Brad, I agree with you. Of the possibilities you’ve provided here, I think the hip-cocked one is the best of the lot.
Jeff, am I correct in assuming that, as it does for the male figure, HM3 will have a more or less complete female figure template for those who don’t want to customize everything, along just a torso without arms and legs and separate arms in legs in various positions to allow for a customized look?
That last bit came out sounding kinda gruesome, but hey, it’s Halloween! 🙂
You are correct, Niall, any female template will be broken into bits just like the male one, so you can pose it and build it how you like, in addition to having various stages of “pre-built-ness”. The main difference would be that the female will probably have a couple of extra options for the breast area, specifically a torso with no breasts, and at least one set of just the breasts, so you can size them how you like. That will be a bit awkward with Tops, although when it comes down to it I might end up breaking the breasts out of the tops as well. So to speak.
IMO, the new one is definitely the best by far.
And I know it would be extra work for you Jeff, but I think you should go on with your idea of separating the tops so they would fit better on different breast sizes.
Definitely the hip-cocked chick because she has attitude.
My vote goes for the hip cocked babe.
Hm… I think the main one should be the hip cocked one, but I would like the regular one as well. There have been times where I was looking for a more reserved character, which the hip cocked one wouldn’t work as well for. Looking great though Jeff. Looking forward to seeing this completed.
+1 hip and shoulder cocked
I know this will seem like a cop-out but it’s not.
I vote for both.
Let me explain….We have two fully fledged male templates, MaleStandard and MaleMilitary, so why not two fully fledged female templates as well? For the straight on, you just need to get the hands slightly away from the body so that they don’t touch. Otherwise, we’re in business baby. Can’t wait to get these on and give them a test drive!
I like the Hip-cocked one, as well!
My vote is for the hip-cocked one.
I like the hip-cocked one, too. It might have a bit too much of a “Hey there, sailor” aspect to it, but it looks more realistic and animated, less static, than the other.
The hip-cock for sure. I like the dynamism, and by playing with expressions and hands you can make it aggressive or seductive. The neutral is not bad, though. The biggest problem is the overlap between hands and body, but you’ve already fixed that, no?
I also like the hip cocked better.