Escher Girls

Float like a butterfly, Sting like a WTF!?

This is a blog to archive and showcase the prevalence of certain ways women are depicted in illustrated pop media, specifically how women are posed, drawn, distorted, and sexualized out of context, often in ridiculous, impossible or disturbing ways that sacrifice storytelling.

contact: eschergirls@gmail.com

Please read submitting and commenting guidelines (sidebar) before doing either.

Celebrenithil wrote:

Hello!

I’ve been wanteing to jump in the recent Tumblr trend of having male superheroes get a similar costume treatment than of their female peers, but then I discovered your awesome blog and I was inspired to go one step further.

If I may, I’d humbly present you Crimson Starwizard. 

Thanks a lot and hope keep up at this blog for a long time, it’s pure gold! :D

Thank you Celebrenithil!  I feel honoured to have inspired such awesome parody art! (I’m sure Deodato is blushing too)  And don’t worry, I still have a ton of images in my backlog to come.

And without further ado, here’s Celebrenithil’s hilariously awesome Crimson Starwizard:

This was drawn by the lovely and talented Spearhafoc who has graciously allowed me to share it with you! :D

This was drawn by the lovely and talented Spearhafoc who has graciously allowed me to share it with you! :D

kamesen: eschergirls: averagesparrow submitted: Oh no! Someone’s folded Scandal in half! From Villains United #5 I’ve been out of reading DC too long.  They brought back Elongated Man as a woman!?  DAMN FEMINISTS! (and why do her boobs go up to her neck?) I’ve done all I could with Photoshop.  Well, I suppose I COULD do more, but.. I’d be here all night.  At least she’s got some of her organs back. Wow, excellent fix up job given what you were given to start with!

kamesen:

eschergirls:

averagesparrow submitted:

Oh no! Someone’s folded Scandal in half!

From Villains United #5

I’ve been out of reading DC too long.  They brought back Elongated Man as a woman!?  DAMN FEMINISTS!

(and why do her boobs go up to her neck?)

I’ve done all I could with Photoshop.  Well, I suppose I COULD do more, but.. I’d be here all night.  At least she’s got some of her organs back.

Wow, excellent fix up job given what you were given to start with!

etchersketch: eschergirls: tofunaga submitted: I don’t want to know what’s going on under her skirt. Yikes! Can someone trace the leg? *Tries tracing the leg with her finger* O_O I don’t have the greatest concept of anatomy in general, Ill be the first to admit this….however, that foot should be a little to the right 8C This is correct :)  The problem isn’t that the foot placement is too far, but that the ankle is going straight up.

etchersketch:

eschergirls:

tofunaga submitted:

I don’t want to know what’s going on under her skirt. Yikes! Can someone trace the leg?

*Tries tracing the leg with her finger*

O_O

I don’t have the greatest concept of anatomy in general, Ill be the first to admit this….however, that foot should be a little to the right 8C

This is correct :)  The problem isn’t that the foot placement is too far, but that the ankle is going straight up.

This is an alteration of the Phelps/Coughlin picture created by talesfromtheend: No you see, this is what women REALLY look like in my lonesome fantasies I thank you for fixing the picture for us!   Unfortunately, the evil feminist conspiracy photoshops a lot of pictures to keep the truth of how women really DO look (that brave heroes such as Silvestri, Churchill, Deodato, Liefeld and Campbell fight tooth and nail to bring us) from us and make reality more like their sexy hating standards.  We need brave photoshoppers like yourself and those who work in the fashion, advertising and everything else industries to keep fighting that good fight!

This is an alteration of the Phelps/Coughlin picture created by talesfromtheend:

No you see, this is what women REALLY look like in my lonesome fantasies

I thank you for fixing the picture for us!   Unfortunately, the evil feminist conspiracy photoshops a lot of pictures to keep the truth of how women really DO look (that brave heroes such as Silvestri, Churchill, Deodato, Liefeld and Campbell fight tooth and nail to bring us) from us and make reality more like their sexy hating standards.  We need brave photoshoppers like yourself and those who work in the fashion, advertising and everything else industries to keep fighting that good fight!

mandacookie submitted: I thought of this blog when I read #5. Linkage: http://karuhichan359.deviantart.com/art/DRAWING-SEXY-PEOPLE-A-TUTORIAL-272716748?q=in%3Aresources%2Ftutorials%20sort%3Atime&qo=125 Great post!  I know some people are gonna take that as meaning all cheesecake poses aren’t sexy, but I think the point is that you can have sexy WITHOUT making it Maxim 24/7… which should be how you do sexy when you’re doing a genre which isn’t about that, like superheroes and other comics.  It’s not “not sexy vs broken spine mixture of various pin-up poses”.

mandacookie submitted:

I thought of this blog when I read #5.

Linkage: http://karuhichan359.deviantart.com/art/DRAWING-SEXY-PEOPLE-A-TUTORIAL-272716748?q=in%3Aresources%2Ftutorials%20sort%3Atime&qo=125

Great post!  I know some people are gonna take that as meaning all cheesecake poses aren’t sexy, but I think the point is that you can have sexy WITHOUT making it Maxim 24/7… which should be how you do sexy when you’re doing a genre which isn’t about that, like superheroes and other comics.  It’s not “not sexy vs broken spine mixture of various pin-up poses”.

ceilingtheo: fuck-no-greg-land: eschergirls: If there was a chest burster inside one of my boobs, I’d be screaming too. Edit: I didn’t even notice Wolverine’s exploding bicep!  What’s hilarious, is that this is the second Greg Land picture with falling-apart women where Wolverine’s bicep is exploding in the background. Dear god, one of her breasts is bigger than the other so much it overshadows. Also, Greg, the face. Why is Psylocke’s face… Like that? I seem to have accidentally created an illustrated guide to why this picture is bad and Greg Land should feel bad. I was going to just write a comment, but then I realised I’m not sure I am capable of talking about what is happening with her anatomy in words. So here’s pictures. Although I make no claim to be any kind of artist, and apologise in advance for the fact I don’t actually understand anatomy either. Where I feel like her body should be in comparison to her head: Where I feel like her body should be in comparison to her arms: Where I feel like her body should be in comparison to her kicking leg: Where I feel like her body should be in comparison to her lower torso: (This is terrible, but seriously, WHAT IS GOING ON WITH HER LOWER TORSO?) Where I feel like her body should be in comparison to whatever is happening on her chest: I just noticed this.  This is an amazing breakdown of all the (many) things wrong with Psylocke in that picture.  Bravo! :3

ceilingtheo:

fuck-no-greg-land:

eschergirls:

If there was a chest burster inside one of my boobs, I’d be screaming too.

Edit: I didn’t even notice Wolverine’s exploding bicep!  What’s hilarious, is that this is the second Greg Land picture with falling-apart women where Wolverine’s bicep is exploding in the background.

Dear god, one of her breasts is bigger than the other so much it overshadows.

Also, Greg, the face.

Why is Psylocke’s face…

Like that?

I seem to have accidentally created an illustrated guide to why this picture is bad and Greg Land should feel bad.

I was going to just write a comment, but then I realised I’m not sure I am capable of talking about what is happening with her anatomy in words.

So here’s pictures. Although I make no claim to be any kind of artist, and apologise in advance for the fact I don’t actually understand anatomy either.

Where I feel like her body should be in comparison to her head:

Where I feel like her body should be in comparison to her arms:

Where I feel like her body should be in comparison to her kicking leg:

Where I feel like her body should be in comparison to her lower torso:

(This is terrible, but seriously, WHAT IS GOING ON WITH HER LOWER TORSO?)

Where I feel like her body should be in comparison to whatever is happening on her chest:

I just noticed this.  This is an amazing breakdown of all the (many) things wrong with Psylocke in that picture.  Bravo! :3

chlorinesea submitted: What I love is that the pose was so absurd, that they had to tone it down in the statue, probably because if they made it like the picture, she would look REALLY WEIRD on the other side. I did a crappy paint-over to give some idea what the other side might look like. I think this “both boobs and both ass cheeks facing camera” thing is being used the same way you’ll see anime characters in profile with their entire mouth facing the camera. It’s a sort of symbolism but I’ve always thought it was extremely creepy. Also, stop inspiring me to do paintovers of stuff, I have work to do jeez. This is quite good, and illustrates it pretty well.  I think in 3 dimensions (like a statuette) it would look even weirder.

chlorinesea submitted:

What I love is that the pose was so absurd, that they had to tone it down in the statue, probably because if they made it like the picture, she would look REALLY WEIRD on the other side.

I did a crappy paint-over to give some idea what the other side might look like.

I think this “both boobs and both ass cheeks facing camera” thing is being used the same way you’ll see anime characters in profile with their entire mouth facing the camera. It’s a sort of symbolism but I’ve always thought it was extremely creepy.

Also, stop inspiring me to do paintovers of stuff, I have work to do jeez.

This is quite good, and illustrates it pretty well.  I think in 3 dimensions (like a statuette) it would look even weirder.

My friend, RenegadeSaint, who is a 3d artist, made this to illustrate his problems with “Escher Girl” art. The DA link (with his more detailed commentary) is here: http://renegadesaint.deviantart.com/art/Sensible-Storm-vs-Escher-Storm-273776493

My friend, RenegadeSaint, who is a 3d artist, made this to illustrate his problems with “Escher Girl” art.

The DA link (with his more detailed commentary) is here: http://renegadesaint.deviantart.com/art/Sensible-Storm-vs-Escher-Storm-273776493

bbunny74 submitted: I was on DeviantArt one day and I saw a submission by a comic artist that made the front page. The left image is a cover for Grimm Fairy Tales - the right side is my own lines trying to give more of a structure to it. The original image has little to no ribs because the artist was trying to show the breasts from behind her arms- ironically  it made her breasts sag really low. And she seems to be lacking organs in her torso. I know I’m not a professional but I hope the version I did is a little more palatable. Very good breakdown. :)  She looks less like an angular Tetris block.  A lot of artists seem to really like centaur women.
bbunny74 submitted:
I was on DeviantArt one day and I saw a submission by a comic artist that made the front page.

The left image is a cover for Grimm Fairy Tales - the right side is my own lines trying to give more of a structure to it.

The original image has little to no ribs because the artist was trying to show the breasts from behind her arms- ironically  it made her breasts sag really low. And she seems to be lacking organs in her torso.

I know I’m not a professional but I hope the version I did is a little more palatable.

Very good breakdown. :)  She looks less like an angular Tetris block.  A lot of artists seem to really like centaur women.