Couple Story

As I may have lost the contents of my primary external hard drive, I lost everything relating to my Couple story including story notes, PSD files of original artwork, and photos I had planned to use as reference for the physique of the girl. Unfortunately old photos of a girl I knew in person were going to be my primary reference. With those gone, I must resort to finding pictures on the web of women that will fit the body type I have in mind for the character.

While I still have the images uploaded to my dA gallery, it has been my intent to redraw those to proper dimensions based on photo reference. I have also planned to improve the muscle anatomy drawn.

The girl character’s build is completely contrary to nearly all art I could hope to find with the possible exceptions of Mushypeaschips and the old pinup works of FoxFireArt. The distinctions being that the legs are not disproportionately long and she is very short, petite, and with a naturally slight and slender build.

I have found it very difficult to find photographic examples of this body type on the web even though I have seen it with more than enough frequency in real life. The girl character would ideally be 5 feet or under in height… I am thinking between 4’8″ and 4’11”. Due to the difficulty in finding images of adult women that fit this body type, I had to be flexible with exact height until I have a collection of images that will meet the body type I am trying to find. If my best photo references end up primarily one particular height, then that will likely be the height I settle on for the character.

I know there are a few Olympic gymnasts that will likely be useful, a few actresses like Kristin Chenoweth who is 4’11” and Jada Pinkett Smith who is 5’0″. In fitness/figure, there is Jodi Leigh Miller who is 4’11”. Jodi Leigh has been on my radar as a great photo reference from the start, but I am actually hoping I can find good photo reference subjects that are as short as 4’8″ just so I have the luxury of choosing the height I end up liking best once I’ve had the chance to play about with the character’s build enough to have a better notion of what I want.

Of course, height is necessary, but I also want to find subjects who’s physiques may influence that of the character such as Zuzana Light of Bodyrock.tv or my most recent find, Pelpina Trip founder of extrasmall.me who’s height I have yet to discover but who’s build looks quite ideal and never mind the fact that she is almost TOO pretty to be believed.

Anyhow, I would gladly welcome any constructive suggestions of anyone that might help me craft my girl character’s body type.

Barbara Fletcher the FBB is 4’9. Snooki from the Jersey Shore is also 4’9. If you’re looking for fitness/figure only, Dale Tomita is 5’1 but looks shorter.

Wow, thanks so much for the reply. Honestly, while I was hoping, I did not expect any responses, but I truly welcome the help as this has been a difficult search.

There are many that may be in the height range, but I am looking for a combination of height and body type. So for instance, while Dolly Parton is 4’11”, her body type is wrong. Those giant implants would also obstruct my efforts to correctly identify her key structural points. Observe the image below that I created for this purpose using Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller.

Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller who competed in 1992 in Barcelona at the age of 15, and in 1996 in Atlanta at the age of 19. According to http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/mi/shannon-miller-1.html, her height at competition was 4’10”. I am assuming she was that height at age 15 which is consistent with details provided from an interview at http://celebritybabyscoop.com/2010/01/13/shannon-miller-i-was-intimidated-by-everything-except-being-on-the-balance-beam. In that interview, she mentions a growth spurt to 5’0″ just before competing in 1996. Multiple sources list her adult height at 5’1″.

I could not use 1992 photos as a reference since the build of a child is still under development and differs from the build of an adult. Never mind the fact that I will not use a 15 year old minor as a photo reference for an adult character. Photos from 1996 would be acceptable since she was no longer a minor and at only 1 inch shorter than her final height, her growth spurt would have also ushered in the last of her developmental changes into her adult body type.

I am uncertain what year the photo below is from, but since this is only being used as an example and will not be used as anything but an example for this forum post, I am not worried about determining the year.

As you can see, I have marked key structures like joint placement, neck and torso and limb length, and width of shoulders, ribcage, waist, and pelvis. Head size is another important proportion.

Barbara Fletcher is a good suggestion. Snooki however is completely the wrong body type. WAY too thick and stocky. Plus Snooki just repulses me lol.