A few months back I was contacted by a company and offered a contract illustrator position for one of their clients. Basically I was hired to create character designs and produce comic strips to compliment an update/redesign of their informational pamphlets. It pays really well and it keeps me from working retail now that I'm back down in Savannah, so I really can't complain about the job itself.

However, that being said, the feedback I've been receiving from the company has become rather troublesome. Let me explain why.

As part of the project, I was given character descriptions and rough doodles of four individual teenagers: two male and two female. The male designs were accepted without too many comments from the client, but the female ones all came back the same: "Make them skinnier."

Now, when I drew these characters, they were ALREADY skinny. I drew them thinner than I usually draw my own female characters, and yet they still wanted them to lose some weight. This frustrates me to no end, as I cannot understand how it has become such a trendy thing to be scrawny and anorexic. Why do people insist on beauty meaning nothing but skin & bones? Why don't people enjoy girls who actually have CURVES anymore?!

Both female characters had to be redesigned and slimmed even further. Now they both look like they're 5'8 and MAYBE 100 pounds each. But hey, I guess that's what is popular with the kids nowadays.

I really can't complain, I guess. It's good money and they're not even MY characters. It's not like people are forcing me to make Lily and Buckley anorexic.

So yes, please just tell me that there are people out there who agree with me on this. Girls with curves are FAR more attractive in my opinion, and I wish more people in the art community would embrace putting actual weight on their female characters.