Fat Character - Tumblr Posts
Compiled some basic information I know about drawing fat characters for beginners since I've been seeing more talk about absence of really basic traits in a lot of art lately.
Morpho Fat and Skin Folds on Archive.org (for free!)
YES! YES! MORE OF THIS! ALL OF THIS!
I don't post about it much, so most of my followers probably don't know, but I'm currently working on a novel with intent to publish and have been for the past few years. When I was initially doing my character sketches in the beginning, my main goal was to avoid toxic, overdone stereotypes- specifically punk phobic and fatphobic ones. And to avoid the godforsaken "all the main characters are traditionally hot" syndrome.
The result of this is four plus size characters:
Ken; an athlete whose kindness gets taken advantage of.
Hyro; an opinionated nerd and fierce leader.
Akari; a caring emo girl with a mentally unwell boyfriend.
Hibiki; a seemingly lazy bum with a secret.
Is there a bummy, dislikeable fat character? Yes. There's also multiple lazy thin characters, including Jin who is traditionally sexy and attractive. It's all about fair representation and equality.
I have three alternative characters and not all of them are mentally ill or unstable or pagan or self harmers. In fact, Akari is none of the above. She's gentle and sweet.
My main character, Youko, is not aggressive and sassy and sarcastic as has become the one-size-fits-all for female protagonists. She's quiet, talented, insecure, and autism coded. Her possible love interest, Tomo, is one of the most average looking characters.
Gotta say, as a fat person and a writer, one of the most healing things I've done is writing fat characters of my own and giving myself the representation I never got to have. My two favorites are: a stereotypical 80's/90's skater guy who calls everyone "dude" or "bro" and fucking loves classic rock and has fluffy bleached hair that always covers his eyes and he's kind of got Bill and Ted vibes, I'm just realizing.
And a chronically ill lesbian whose weight is viewed as super positive because it's a sign she's recovering from her most recent bout of illness and she's artsy and passionate and geeky and her girlfriend absolutely adores her soft, round face because it reminds her of the moon.
We need more fat characters who get to be more than just The Fat Guy, I don't get why people just seem to refuse to give their OCs actual human traits and instead revolve everything around their fatness and how funny or bad it is to be fat.
I'm glad to know there are people who are actively working on bettering the miniscule positive fat representation we have in media currently. I especially love when people make fat characters who are the opposite of all of the stereotypes and tropes forced on us. The athletic character being a fat person whose body has stayed fat all these years, a fat video game character who isn't forced to be a tank, the fashionista character is a fat person who grew up having to sew their own clothes and now is a sewing master with the best sense of style on this side of the Mississippi river. The fat person with an eating disorder who actually gains weight in recovery, the popular girl in school who's fat and not the bully, a love interest who isn't stick thin for once. I hope you continue to write fat characters you enjoy!
-Mod Worthy
i wanna be a bimbo doll!!! let’s have another shopping haul!!!
Something I honestly hate is when I am looking for books with a plus-size main character, and when I finally find a story that looks like it works, all the art for the "plus size" character is just a skinny woman. Like come fucking on, now.