july is disability pride month, im a disabled artist and something ive noticed a lot in art online is how wheelchairs are drawn so i wanted to make a post for artists breaking down misconceptions about wheelchairs and showing yall some good references for what most wheelchair users chairs look like.
a lot of people tend to draw wheelchairs like this, which is okay... but these kinds of chairs are mostly used for temporary use (the kind you borrow at the airport, mall, hospital, etc). a lot of people who use their chairs very often or daily (ambulatory and fulltime wheelchair users) will have a chair that is fit to their body measurements, their chair is one of a kind for their body.
a lot of manual chairs look like this to allow easy movement and are lightweight so the user can independently take it apart and put it together. most have low backs and no armrests or handles. they're called active chairs.
other manual chairs may have handles (this one also has power assist wheels to make it easier to self-propel)
now we're onto power wheelchairs, like manual chairs there are different kinds for different needs. some have higher backs and headrests (for those with back issues, low muscle tone, upper body paralysis, etc).
(this is the type of chair i use)
other power chairs like this one have no headrest and are generally smaller.
there's definitely plenty of other kinds that i missed in this post, these are just the most commonly used wheelchairs. i hope that this will help able-bodied artists create more diverse and accurate art and also teach able-bodied people in general about wheelchairs.
blakekathryn
ellievsbear
titsay
snowghoul
