This is Andrilaum. She's one of my newest D&D characters, an evil ilumian cleric. Hardest part of this was designing the amour. Since she's bald I wanted to make the armor show her breasts, so you'd know she's a lady - but whenever I drew it they looked so overemphasized and made her look silly. Not quite chainmail bikini bad, but you know. Still not good.
I guess this version is more boyish then some other ones I tried, but I think thats the best its going to be.

What do y'all think?

...^^;

FIRST OFF:

You have to be mindful of the basic female shape. It is curvy and elegant. It is easy on the eyes because of it's slopes and all. Even on a bulky/muscular sort of frame. At this part, you have to know how she has to be like because this is your foundation for the rest.

SECOND OFF:

On the assumption you have chosen a shape, I assume a super heroine/muscular frame, you can start making armor.

Armor can either be bulky/light and what not.

Like clothes, it can conceal and emphasize certain parts of the body. :3 Even if the armor covers every inch of the human body, it can still be very sexy and shapely.

You have to know what sort of armor you're envisioning.

THIRD AND LAST:

It's always good to have TONS of drafts. Dx

Have fun while you're doing them.

Maybe if I'm free, I might show you what I mean with some illustrations to boot. But they won't be inked and will be sketchy messy. We'll see <3

Hope I helped! DX

The frame I was thinking of was stocky. While her race is very humanoid, I was thinking more "dwarf" when I made it. I didn't want a curvy elegant girl.
I didn't want her amour to be sexy and shapely. I kept reworking what I had to de-emphasize her breasts, because the first few attempts made them stand out too much and made her too curvy.
"Manly" is definitely something I wanted her to be.

As for what sort of amour I was envisioning. I don't know much about amour in general. I wanted to go with "splint" amour, but it ended up looking nothing like it... It's more like some sort of strange halfplate... or something...
I don't really know enough about different kinds of armor though.
Guess I need to look into that a lot more.

...It's unavoidable. DX

It's the natural body shape of women to have curves.

But here's a tip:

To make her look stocky give her big shoulders. Giver her smaller breasts, emphasize her thigh and upper arms with muscles.

I'm trying to sketch out some armor but now that I think about it. It's kind of difficult not to end up emphasizing the chest since that's one of the most fragile areas. If you must. Make the plate there one cell. Not parted in the middle. That gives an image of a cleavage.

...somehow I ended up drawing abs. XD'

*thinks about making the plate one cell* That works. I think I know what you mean.
I'm generally pretty terrible at my proportions and things, but I'll try to do things like more defined thighs and upper arms.

Thankyou for for advice. <3

I'm drawing up something for you.

Wait a minute.

>3

I usually draw men -though abit on the bishounen side- but basically that's how you do it.

Emphasize lines. Make her look imposing with her built.

Since she is supposed to be manly.

Though me thinks my take on your armor emphasizes her torso curves. Dx;

Not a problem. :3 I feel oddly generous/helpful at the moment.

Not very nice or what...But bleh. I felt randomly inspired/hmm...-doodle mode- when I saw your thread. -.-;

Though I do hope you get some idea or feel.

It would also help to look at how other people draw armor so you can somewhat get an idea how to make it on your own. :3

Sorry - I went away from the computer last night. I'm happy to have help spark some inspiration in you. I'll quite possibly draw this character again, and if I do I'll definitely take all your advice into consideration.

You're right though that this one emphasizes torso a lot, but I do like the top piece. Also emphasizing that a little could be a good idea. Its what would help get across that she's female.

Thanks. <3

It's alright. No problem. >3

I have no class and besides when you do art advise you just have to get down to sketching it out and showing the other how it works. -sweatdrop-

So I was like...BLEH *sketches out the advise/idea*

I gave the body I showed you a stocky frame by broadening the shoulders and larger arms. Not to mention the abs. XD' I took into consideration the possibility of muscles and such so I followed the shape of her rib cage.
I wanted to also draw out the difference between stocky super hero frame and elegant lady line buuut I got lazy. As for making her look more man than woman... Depends. It's your call. :3
Though I'd try to make it that people shouldn't forget she's a woman and has her periods. XD'

<3 You're welcome! Character creation/design is very tricky business. Glad to have helped somehow!

PS: The rib cage is armor in itself but protect it anyway. The heart's there XD'

PPS: The stomach lower abdomen...NEEDS to be protected. It's a very soft area. Also, important organs are there too! Dx

Yesh! Stocky women, huzzah for diversity.

I think even more important to keep her grounded in womanhood would be hips.
A combination of even a vaguely lifted chest, with wider hips immediately says woman.

That's interesting. I don't usually think of a stocky person having longer arms. I'd draw them with slightly condensed proportions in the limbs. Broader shoulders, more muscle everywhere (whether it's the lumpy weight-lifter style or just a thicker frame), and a shorter frame in general.

Something for me to experiment with I guess.

-sweatdrop-

Long arms? :shock:

Nuu. I meant larger. Giving it more emphasis... Not long. DX

Since we're going to have her bigger in built/muscle and exaggerating her skeletal frame, we can't exaggerate the limbs length. It might make her look orangutanish ; ;

Though...the sketch DOES have proportion problems. -.-;

It was quick and easy and weird. Dx But usually wrist should end where the crotch ends too. Meep.

-hides-

I rarely make stocky women so drawing for Celria was quite a challenge. XD' I do draw stocky men... however.

Women...are just plain tricky subjects. Period. Dx

Oh! Curse me and my sitting to far away from the computer. I'm sorry.

I thought it was kind of interesting though. I doodled some stocky people with long over some lunch. Stocky + long arms = gorilla for sure. xD I thought that might happen. But it sure was fun.

I do like your sketch muchly by the by. :3

XD'

But I guess it all depends on what clan/creature type you're working with hehe. ^^

Thank you! ...It was quick and simply just to give Celria an idea of what I wanted to say. I was running out of words to actually describe what I wanted to advise her so I plugged in my scanner -and got disconnected several times XD- then presto.

Ooh. Show <3

Yeah, since part of stocky inherently means short, longer arms would make her look orangutangish. Which might be fitting if she was more of a brute then she is, but she's not.
I know that whitebeast meant. She was talking more about thicker arms then upper arms.

And you're right whitebeast. Taking out a pencil (Or pointing at a picture which has what you're trying to exolain on it) is much easier then using words.

Hips and a smaller (thinner) waist bit would get across that she's female yes.

I find I only ever draw my strange looking charcters, Like my lady a vulture head, and my dwarven woman with a beard. I guess its more interesting to think about what the ones with interesting quirks look like.

...My ladies are usually on the elegant, femme fatale side. XD' My ideal sort of women.

Hee hee. ^^

Though you know what'll be fun about the armor you chose for her? THE DESIGNS. The real armor calls for details. Chainmail, strips of plated armor. Ooh it makes me giddy with the details of lines and such.

It'll be so pretty to look afterwards! <3

The brown bits in the one up there are supposed to be leather. I was going to put studs on the leather bits. Perhaps studs in the cracks you can see from the middle of the main body plate to the shoulder plates.
The bottom of a bit of chain, like a chain shirt down near her thighs might work, but then, not with the leather.

Hrmm...

Details are interesting. <3

Sorry for the language but...

Yours truly is a details whore.

>.>;

I simply will not do something unless it is chuck full of details and is beautiful after.

I lack imagination. I can't seem to see what you're trying to describe! -thinks harder-

=_______________=;

Do you mind if I draw over the top of your picture, so I can show you what I mean a bit better?

Not at all my dear. :3

Though I'm not quite sure if I should be giddy or what that you're considering it since I still find that armor idea I made semi-lame. DX'

But then if I spent more time on it, I bet it would end up having too many details and I wouldn't be able to let go of it because I'm too attached to it as a concept. x3'

-end ramble-

I started to draw it while I was waiting for you to reply. (I figured if you said I wasn't allowed, I could just delete it and nobody would be hurt.)
Cause you took awhile to respond I kept going and going and now it looks like this:


The bits with the arrows are what I was trying to point out. Leather with studs, and the bottom of a chainshirt coming out.
I also made a high collar part for the leather, and you can see a bit of chain from the top so hopefully it makes sense that she's wearing a leather suit, and some chain on top of the leather, and then the metal plates on top of that.

Those are the details I meant.

Though you could go further and add etchings and things, like the swirly things I tried to put on the boots of the first picture.

I GET IT NOW. XD'

>3> Well I was offline!

And...and...my connection was wonky! DX

But I do get what you mean now. >w<

Oh no. I'm not complaining that you were offline for such a time. Really, it gave me something to do, which is always great. <3

You think those details are okay?

...I actually want to draw her >_>;;

Ooh. Wow. Second draft and looking quite good mah dear! >3

Though the question is: Are you happy?

The second draft is basically just a trace of your sketch that has been worked over - Doubt I could have done a body that nice by myself.
That one is really more of a collaboration piece I guess.

I mostly like it. I think the bits of chain in the middle might be quite silly. Can't imagine why they'd stop making the plates there to put some less protective chain in. If I do it again, I might get rid 'o that.

Might also make her shoulders a bit broader.

Mostly I'm pretty happy though.

Thanks for all the help. <3