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How to draw fatter people (my way) PART 1

Disclaimer: Fat is incredibly variable as it depends heavily on genetics, so the way fat is shown for one person wouldn't be the same way it'll be shown on another, so feel free to mix and match anything in this tut lol

1) Boring Time (Theory)

I know, I knowwww. But before showing my way of doing it, I want to explain the logic beneath it so that you all get it. In general, I would say that there are 3 main things to take into account when drawing fat:

1.a) Fat Distribution Not all parts accumulate fat equally, but you do have your usual suspects. Fat appears in stages: the areas in pink (breasts, belly/lower torso, thighs, upper arms and neck) will be the first ones to accumulate, and the areas in grey will generally start accumulating in higher stages of obesity. Feel free to mix and match the intensity of each pink area as that should cover most fat body types!

1.b) Fat and Gravity Fat is soft, malleable, and affected by gravity, so it's going to naturally get pulled down. Generally, a rounder belly like Fig.1 indicates bloating and/or pregnancy. Note: Although some people can look like this, it's a rarer occurrence based on my own research.

When sitting, fat will press with itself and mold on flatter surfaces (highlighted in pink). From my observations, the belly is the part that changes the least in shape, but will look larger sitting compared to standing.

1.c) Skeleton Okay I'm gonna be honest, this part is more like a gripe I see often so it's kinda self indulgent. While fat is malleable, the skeleton itself remains unchanged. The spine doesn't magically extend to accommodate more belly, nor does the head become smaller the bigger they get. People get wider, not taller.

How to draw fatter people (my way) PART 2

2) How I draw it

With the theory (hopefully) clear, here's how I go about it to draw ✨fat people✨.

1) The blocks. There are two ways to go about it. You can either do the skeleton and then add fat, or do what I do and adjust the "blocks" to be wider depending on how fat you want your character to be. At this stage focus on the general shape: you want to get the pose right, so ignore belly and boobs for now.

2) The fat sketch. After you're satisfied with the pose, add the fat to the frame. Here I opted for a more even fat distribution in an hourglass frame.

3.a) Refining This is where I refine and solidify the shape of each part and the level of folds and shapes becomes highly dependent of the type of outfit of the final drawing.

3.b)Clothes For this example, I opted for a tight dress, but there are quite a few factors to watch out for as some can significantly alter the shape of the body (see below).

Extra notes in the doodles:

Erase part of the jaw to remove definition!

The hip dip is caused by the pelvis' shape, hence the squiggly shape!

The line on the midpoint of the belly helps connect the belly button to its proper spot; these two sections are also the basis to the double belly (see below)

Arm fat, due to gravity, tends to be more pronounced on the inner part, but it's mostly highly dependent on the arm position. Rule of thumb: the side that is lowest gets the fat

If drawing nips, they point downwards due to size and gravity

If the belly hangs, I like adding a double crease: one for the belly, one for the thighs.

You can have fat accumulate right before the wrist and have small dimples in the hand, but I am forgetful and keeps forgetting to add them lol

The collarbone gets more simplified the heavier the character

The belly becomes a tension point so no clothes folds in the middle

2.b) Variants

The B-belly/Double Belly The big thing with B-bellies is the more obvious "seam" that splits the belly in half. This is fully genetic and not the result of too tight clothes!

The Double Chin There are two main ways to depict the double chin in a ¾ view and it basically boils down with how much you want to add. The main difference is that Fig.2 has an undefined, rounder jaw.

Muscle Fat Fat is placed on top of the muscles, so the silhouette depends on the muscled body instead. Muscles are shown but are less defined due to fat smoothing out everything.

3) Clothes and Compression