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Almost forgot to post this…

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[font=tahoma]I’m really nothing special.  Believe me, you wouldn’t say that if you saw me first thing in the morning.[/font]

I bet that people who say this are both attractive AND modest.  8)

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[font=tahoma]Hmmm…

Perhaps.  I wonder where some good sites are for the beginner?  Any ideas?[/font]

I would just do a Google search on the term "drawing the human figure" and visit the sites that show up.  One nice thing about this approach is that many sites will have links to other sites, and you can possibly get recommendations on tutorials.  There should even be some links to videos on places like Youtube, which can provide some help even when the video quality is poor.

The key is to look for sites that show the basics about building the human figure.  In particular, look for information on such simple yet crucial ideas such as using action lines, building figures from basic geometric shapes, determining the proper proportions, and perspective/foreshortening.  The best places to start are any pages that are geared towards the comic artist, because they will push you in the direction of drawing muscular male physiques and "feminine" female physiques.  Once you're comfortable drawing large muscular men and thin curvy women, it's not that hard to start drawing large muscular curvy women.  At that point, photo references are your best friend.

If you're already beyond the "basics" stage and can already draw the human form well enough, then it's just time to experiment.  Take that "normal" female physique and start adding bulk to it, until you start to find the shapes that work best for you, then you can work on tweaking the shapes more and more.

I drew your standard 'comic babe' for years (although, since I used fitness magazines for my references, my women were a bit more athletic than the norm), and over time built them up while I learned what worked and what didn't.  Today I consider myself still experimenting and trying to find what works and what doesn't.  I'm still pretty far from being satisfied with where I am, but every now and then I produce a drawing that makes me think that one day I'll be able to produce good work consistently.  It's a process, and if you enjoy drawing, it can be fun even when you know you are far from being as good as you'd like to be.

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WW's proportions are poorly done but the action, linework, and backgrounds are terrific.

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Thanks!  Glad you're enjoying them, that's why I post 'em. 🙂

I'm currently posting one or two items per day.  I am so screwed when I run out of old stuff to scan. 😡

This one is a bit old, I am not sure if I ever posted it.  I may have posted the penciled version at Wreck's site many many moons ago, but it's possible that I did not.

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its simply to much money (not from the athletes) from sponsors , tv …sport is a big industry
sometimes they catch out a bauer restorative (somebody not important enough from a not so important country)like ben johnson (it was called he got caught for stanozonol…nobody could be this stupid, because stanzonol is out of the blood in one day)…
but if they would catch ALL users, who would watch a sprint of 11 seconds…nobody would watch any sports anymore..
the government needs this heros (like the gladiators in rome) to distract from real problems

I agree with this, which is why Chris' question about making it legal is relevant.  The problem is as you state, not just for governments that are pushing for recognition in international competition, but also for commercial sports.  Baseball ignored the rampant use of amphetamines for decades, because amphetamines helped ballplayers deal with the long grind of a typical season.  I believe that baseball (and other pro sports) ignore PED use, particularly anything that helps recovery and recuperation, because it keeps their elite athletes on the field.  If fewer people care about a team when Player X is not playing, then ownership will do whatever it can to make sure that Player X does not miss any time.

One of the things that upsets me most is watching sports reporters and columnists sit on their high horses and condemn players for using PEDs, and for disgracing their sports, and so on.  Yet it's nearly impossible for these people, who cover sports day in and day out and have access to some of the remotest corners of sports clubhouses, to not be aware that this was going on.  So they are part of the problem, yet they want to have it both ways- they looked away and helped cover it while it was going on, but now they want to act as moral police and wag their fingers at people.  It's sickening.

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so much false facts

If they're false, they can't be facts.

andreas münzer died from a cortisol blocking medicament, which had the side effect of dont stop the bleeding.

I admit that much of Munzer's case is rumor-based, and there are any number of "sources" that tell different (and sometimes conflicting) stories.  What was the official cause of death?  I've read people claim that it was multiple organ failure, others that it was stomach bleeding.  Why was he taking a cortisol blocker?  Some say it was to control a stomach ailment, others that it was a side effect of a drug used to lower estrogen levels.  I'll take back the statement that his death was "obviously" from PED use, but the implication remains strong lacking a definitive source, such as a death certificate or an official statement from the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

If you have a source of reliable information I'd love to have it, as I have not found one.

to treat growth deffeciencies hgh (human growth hormones are used… no steroids (in fact steroids used in young would stop the growth)

You are correct, what I should have said was that steroids were used in the past to treat Growth Failure and Drawfism in children.  HGH has replaced steroids as the treatment of choice in most growth-related problems in children.

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Yeah, you put it exactly right, Mimi. It is only intended as a point to start from, albeit a bit closer to the finish for us than most conventional proportion guides.

I like it for just that reason, it's rare to see anything but the Marvel/Image-style "guide to drawing women" which focus on soft edges and the basic hourglass curve that shows almost no muscle.  The first thing any artist should do is take your guide, deconstruct it in their minds, and substitute their ideas wherever they feel they belong.

That's the whole idea of being an artist, after all. 🙂

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Roid rage is real. No question. It may not happen to every user, but is is real.

This was my point of view for a long time, and I still think that roid rage exists, and that as GWHH said, it may be due to dosages.  But there have been studies of steroid use, and none that showed increased aggressiveness as a result of steroid use.  The evidence is, as far as I can tell, completely anecdotal.  In other words, any time a muscular guy loses his cool, it's automatically attributed to roid rage.  Even if the person in question doesn't use steroids!

According to HBO's Real Sports, which did a story on steroids (and assigned an investigator who was decidedly anti-steroid to it), there was a study done where men were given relatively high doses of steroids and the only observable effect on the group was a few cases of acne.  As far as I know, there is still no definitive link between steroids and increased aggression.  There are just anecdotes and the insistence from people who have probably seen a couple of bodybuilders lose their temper… something that happens to a lot of people every single day, for reasons not linked to steroid use.

No studies are needed. The stuff is illegal. I think we have enough info. I've seen many a human guinea pig and most have had awful long term effects with long term usage.

The reason we need studies is because we don't have enough info from controlled tests.  There are many pro-steroid proponents who point out that the majority of steroid users only ever suffer from the mildest effects… shrunken testicles, or acne.  There are anti-steroid proponents who claim a long list of people crippled and dead due to steroids.  I think it's critical to find out why some people used steroids for decades with few or no ill effects, and whether or not those people who are dead or in very bad health are from steroid use.  And if so, how did those people use it?  Andreas Munzer, for example, clearly died from use of PEDs, but it's just as obvious that steroids were not the only factor.

PED use is still rumored to be very high in pro sports.  I doubt that the ratio of 'successes' is 1-in-100.  It is likely to be much higher, and thus the pressure for young people to gravitate to steroids is considerable.  I think it's much better if they understand the risks beforehand.  And the only way to know for sure is proper and controlled testing.

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Here's a controversial thougfht – is it time for the US and UK to legalise and regulate steroids for over-18s, with a commensurate education programme?  The whole idea of treating adults like adults?

What is weird is that in the USA, steroids are classified on the same level as drugs like cocaine and heroine.  Yet, steroids and steroid derivatives are found in products that are used to treat a number of conditions.  Steroids are still used for one of their earliest purposes, to treat growth deficiencies in children.  An athlete in any of the major pro sports who suffers a mild muscle or joint injury may be given cortisone shots in order to allow him to continue to play.  Even anabolic steroids can be prescribed by a doctor for patients over a certain age.  It is used the way any powerful medicine is- available via the proper channels and restricted in use.  But most medicines, even ones with a number of dangerous side effects, are not demonized the way steroids are.

I think that we do need an education program, but more importantly we need controlled medical tests.  It would also be a good idea to check the health of the dozens (and perhaps hundreds) of bodybuilders who have used steroids regularly for a specific period of time.  A number of bodybuilders are known to have developed health problems, and some of them insist that it is due to steroid use.  I think it's long past time we cleared that issue up.  If it *is* from steroid use, we need to know.  If it isn't, then we need to know if it was another agent, or if it is just a result of normal occurrence.  We have this incredibly powerful hormone that has amazing positive effects, as well as a handful of minor negative effects, and a whole lot of negative effects that we're not entirely sure are due to their use or not.  It's time we found out for sure.

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