We Need Better Miniatures.
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- Good afternoon!
This is a different topic than what I usually present, but it is more important. Today, I want to talk about the hobby's need for better female miniatures and the over-sexualization of the female form in the hobby. We need better female miniatures.
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The model: Anna, Bold Miniatures: bit.ly/3xSj5t5
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Female Creators:
Dana Howl: danahowl.com
Shoshie's Miniatures: bit.ly/3feoH8L
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A special thanks to:
Miscast: bit.ly/3epIDGs
Berserker Works: bit.ly/3xS39al
Raqrex Arts: bit.ly/3heCnmq
Grey House Games: bit.ly/3eW3al2
Nerd Craft HQ: bit.ly/3vNCvxm
.........
Places to buy better female models:
Bold Miniatures: boldminiatures...
Bad Squiddo Games: bit.ly/3xLVtXb
Victoria Miniatures: bit.ly/3tqbFdc
.........
Sources and further reading:
A look at Sexism in fantasy: bit.ly/33iHudg
How to Draw Women Without Being F*cking Creepy: bit.ly/3upM997
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Instagram: bit.ly/2JJV4MM
Patreon: bit.ly/2LVP0Dn
My Tools: bit.ly/32xq4YI
Merch: bit.ly/3sC38n6
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My Tools (some of these may be affiliate links):
Red Grass Games Everlasting Wet Palette: bit.ly/2V8eTUi
Winsor Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable Watercolor Brush - Round #1 amzn.to/2n2pQIU
Winsor Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable Watercolor Brush - Round #0: amzn.to/2T1mfHv
Prisma Color Micro Pen: amzn.to/3gjIPFc
Green stuff: amzn.to/2liTj0v
Milliput: amzn.to/2lNGifB
Testors Dull coat: amzn.to/2lN6Mhe
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creativecommon...
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License - Навчання та стиль
An old video, but i really appreciate this take. Zooms in on the problematic aspects of the very common trends toward hyper sexualized minis without being judgey about individual sculpts or tastes. Thank you!
The loudest way to say 'THIS!!!' is with my wallet so ill gladly do so!
I want to thank you for the overwhelmingly positive response I have had on this video, you are all wonderful!
A few things I want to address that I did not cover in this video:
The body of a woman itself is not sexual. Showing legs and cleavage is not inherently a problem, it is only a problem when it is the default and it is difficult to find models who do not have cleavage, boob armor, an overall "sexy" feel, etc. Please do not think that miniatures with cleavage are “bad miniatures” by default. To do so would put negative connotations on the female body, which we should never do. Miniatures can be sexy and badass, but it should also be possible to be badass without being sexy.
Sisters of battle is a great sect of badass female miniatures. However, the fact that nearly every sister of battle has boob armor, and historically had high heals, is still a problem. But I'm very excited to see in the most recent release that there were 2 models without boob armor!
I would love to sculpt my own miniatures! Before I started UA-cam, I decided I had to choose between UA-cam and sculpting, and I chose UA-cam with the dream of hiring someone to create badass female models under my own brand. This dream is closer because of all of you!
I agree with everything except for the body itself not being sexual. We are sexual beings, male, female or otherwise and there's nothing wrong with that. In my opinion the problem starts when everything else is made insignificant or even stripped away completely (no pun intended). Every sculpture carries an idea, a theme, an emotion, some story to tell and if there is only what you described in the video then it's just...not art anymore. And, of course, there's the matter of what kind of "message" is being sent even when it's not just about the sexual side. Like you said, too often the male energy is about exuding power while the female, even if also shown as a warrior, is more timid. I think the contrast is best visible in the two similar minis from Black Sun: "Rozok the Beastmaster" and "Savage Beauty and Her Beast". I mean, look at the names even, why doesn't she get a proper name?!
Btw, if you're still looking for more minis to use in your RPG, Shieldwolf, Red Box Games and DGS Games have some serviceable ones (many still have boob armor or cleavage but there are a few that fully pass your test).
Do it! ❤❤❤
@@Ainar86 Watch Fury Road. That scene with the water about sums it up - It's really about presentation. Sure, some people see everything as sexual but that's basing your argument on the outlier perspectives, not reality.
@@vincentmuyo Which scene with the water? I tried to google it but only found a scene where water gets dumped on people and I don't feel like watching the entire movie again :P
I agree with almost every one of your points, except for two: "Boob armor" actually is inherently, objectively bad in real-life use, and so are *high* high heels (higher than the 3-5 cm needed to use a stirrup effectively, at any rate). I think it justified to be offended that (supposedly) badass female warriors are depicted wearing armor that would not only protect them less in actual battle, but would actually put them at higher risk of grave or lethal injury.
Well said! You're a great messenger for this. Also, that Anna miniature from Bold rules! I've had her printed off for a year now, she really deserves a coat of paint :-)
You have her printed? Goobs, where is that STL? I need it!! Thanks!
Dude, how are you so wholesome.
Hey Goober, my wife and I got into painting minis from your channel and miniac! Absolutely major thank you.
Question, can you link that mini here? Would LOVE to purchase that for my wife!
@@flannelbeard4621 Looks like it's from this kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com/projects/boldminiatures/anna-and-valery
Is the Anna miniature in one of your little bags for your mystery painting?
This miniature barrier has been most embarrassing for me when I try to introduce female friends to the hobby I love. Its hard enough to explain the miniatures bit without getting embarrassed, let alone explain why all the female representation is all sexy or doe-eyed and if they want alternatives you have to go shop somewhere else. I'm a member of a gaming club where parents are often bringing their kids to play as well and having more age appropriate non-sexualised model options for the younger players would be great to.
It sucks having a "sexy paladin" mini. I MEAN. Sexualized pally?!?
I think you've hit on solid market idea. You should run with it.
I feel this. Some female artist friends expressed interest in trying mini painting, and I got super-excited, then had a good ol' cringe-fest as I went through my collection trying to find female models that don't make me look like a creep for owning them.
@mdgibsonism What miniatures do you know that I don't know?! At least every mini in this video should not be a problem to present in public.
@@pinguinposted990 I had a very very creepy ex who was obsessed with the Juan Diaz Daemonettes, and he also had one very disturbing OOP metal piece of a massive breasted slave girl in a bra who was tied up in chains (which was actually given to him by a staff member at my local Games Workshop..) which he placed on the base of a demon prince so he was holding her hostage. I always knew there were creepy pieces out there but some of the ones in this video blew me away... especially the one with the man carrying a woman over his shoulder with the red butt cheeks.. like wtf is that!
I now know I'm not the only one trying to find age appropriate female mini's for my daughter. Thank you for this.
I agree, I would like to find age appropriate female minis for my son too. What are we telling boys about women as they go into their formative years. There are a lot of younger gamers they aren’t all old dudes.
Check online for people that make 3D printer plans for figurines. There are businesses that can print them out for you as well if you lack a printer. Also look into HeroForge - fully customizable stuff.
Try Northstar's Frostgrave plastic sets (Soldiers II and Wizards II). The game is set in a frozen city, so all these are dressed for it. Arms and heads are separate, and there are a ton of extra equipment bits for customization. They're wargame minis, so not as much fine detail as resin minis meant for painters, but for D&D female characters they work well.
Also, all their different plastic sets can be intermixed (to an extent). I'm waiting to get their Knights box to see if I can kitbash a female paladin or two.
I started playing D&D with my 11 & 8 year old daughters- they searched online and hated everything they found due mainly to the overt sexuality. Thank you HeroForge for existing as they can avoid this entirely and make characters they can feel comfortable with.
3d prints tend to have more modest female sculpts. Dragonbond and loot are 2 that I have for that reason. Artisans guild was a strong option for me but the pin up models made me uncomfortable so I went for loot.
As a dad of a 14 year old daughter who loves to paint minis. Its difficult to find appropriate models to paint! Thanks for sticking your neck out, I hope you get nothing but positive responses!
As a father of girls who also paint miniatures I think you're probably looking in the wrong place bickers nothing she complained about in this video is particularly on point. Just about every company that makes many atures as well as most 3-D modeling groups that work off of patreon offer great female miniatures who are not oversexed.
As a father you should be more concerned about what teenagers do, watch and how they behave these days. Especially when you can easily find ANY model you want, or just print them.
@@sensuscommunis2526 dude. Did you just assume that my only worry in the whole world and the only thing I focus on is this in regards to parenting? Come on man. Just...really?
@@davidseim4106 I think, as a father you have way bigger problems with modern world and proper raising of your children, than miniature models. Honestly.
Your kids probably watch movies sexualizing people, even kids (recent Netflix production), they probably love watching music stars and their oversexualized acts in music videos (where nobody forces them to do so). I could point you to some most popular music clips and trust me - you'd consider them NSFW. And your kids probably don't dress like nuns, especially when going to club or on a date. And with all that, you worry about toys they 'could' be painting - but don't have to, because there are thousands of other models to choose from and 3D printers to make your own.
Malifaux, Wizkids and plenty of specific game systems have tasteful depictions of female characters. The only time I come across this issue is when looking for barbarian/tribe like models and to be honest the male miniatures in that case are just as stupidly attired as sculptors stick to the classic yet a little tired trope of big muscles and weapons but small clothes.
hot here from GinniDi's shoutout on the role-playing across gender video, and I am now subscribed =)
good work!
I’m just a D&D player and to be honest I never really thought about oversexualization in the hobby. In my small bubble most people seem to think of each other as a human being first and gender second and I’m quite grateful for that.
After seeing this video I browsed through the Internet looking at some miniatures. I’m a bit baffled how little difference most female minis have and how bad the sexualization is. Thanks for opening my eyes on this topic. I’m definitely stay up to date with this and I’m exited to see some positive changes in this direction!
Yeah as a D&D painter I didn't notice this either until I started looking at other minis.
Give loot a look. Youll find a variety of amazing sculpts for ladies.
I have been searching for female minis to paint and play with my daughter (4 year old right now, but a parent looks forward; she already paints and bases my minis) and son (1 Year old) for the time being, and I have had problems finding adequate female minis. Adequate meaning "not preposterous", not necessarily historically realistic or accurate. Game of thrones, north star and oathsworn have been life savers for me here. I wholly support your message. Kudos and i look forward to your future miniatures line!
Check out fart quests models!
All I can say is that you hit the nail on the head every point. 100%
Thank you!
Simp
@@OrkWAAAAGH if some rando in the UA-cam comments says I simp for Lyla because of that comment... I’m totally fine with that. 👍
I haven't delved too deep, but so far the comments section here is pretty good. Can't say the same for at least one FB group I'm in. The bottom line is, you're essentially advocating for MORE MINIS! How can anyone be mad at that?
Would you be mad if someone made an accusation that was not true 🤔. That's what some are mad about. You can't just go around saying something is happening if it isn't and there are countless tasteful minis. There are entire ranges. Entire companies that strictly design with this in mind.
@@pushinpigment2756 That's the thing. What she says IS true. I've held the same opinion for years and always roll my eyes when I see new oversexualized minis on the market.
@@pushinpigment2756 lol "some". Re-read your post and re-watch the video. Try to find your self own.
Was it Loot?
It is the way it is being presented. It is being presented as if there is a pre-existing problem. That non-sexualized minis cant and wont be found, which simply isnt true. I purchase and paint them all the time.
Classy female miniatures is the majority of what I sculpt at this point. I released a Viking collection last month that was a blast! The female blacksmith was among the favorites despite having zero cleavage, imagine that haha
I was actually coming to comment here and recommend M3DM's models. There are others, but these minis are some of the best in the 3D Printing community.
I just checked out your work. I really like it! Thank you for so many amazing options.
Nice! Love Viking related miniatures and themes.
As a comic book reader I’ve always cringed when seeing most female heroes drawn in these ways. Depends on the genre and book. There can be a book that I’m ok with the absurdity of a female character drawn that way. But mostly I just wished female characters got to suit up with something that makes sense for that character. Even if that means tights/leotard similar to the boys or straight up battle armour. When Wonder Woman got that full armour outfit it looked so damn cool. I’d love to see that kind of outfit on most of favourite characters. Same with minis.
As a father teaching my daughter to paint...I want options too
That's the problem I encounter as well.
Try the sensible shoes line
www.oathswornminiatures.co.uk/c/4555399/1/sensible-shoes.html
Congrats on both counts Guillermo.
Bad Squiddo is fantastic too, especially for historicals: badsquiddogames.com/shop#!/Bad-Squiddo-Miniatures/c/20887901/
Learn the basics, then build on that. There’s many minis to learn on. Orks, NURGLE lol, nah there is a lot. But I agree. I like the cyber punk style female models, they get the skin, nmm, and osl, makes for a good study. IanStudio on IG does a ton of female stuff and a lot aren’t super sexualized sculpts.
Yes, this. Half-naked male miniatures are also different from half-naked female miniatures because of male gaze. It's still overwhelmingly a hobby for young men. And we should do better. We need more variety, and less sexualization and objectification of women. There's always going to be sculpts out there for the kids who like cheesecake. Let's have more non-cheesecake options.
A very mature topic. Its all live grenades. My 12 yr old girl has a hard time finding miniatures she feels comfortable with. Thank you for bringing the topic up.
Shout out to Dana howl !!!!
There some great minis in the "women in sensible shoes" line up.
My daughters and my wife love playing role playing games and I love that they enjoy them. I don't want issues like these or overly sexualized art to drive them away from something that they enjoy. I recently picked up the Ironsworn RPG and my ten and twelve year old daughters were drawn to photo of the badass fully armored viking warrior woman on the front cover. That stuff matters.
Mia Kay is on Thingiverse (and Patreon) and has a number of normal female characters in a few D&D races that might be of interest.
Sensible she’s Kickstarter was awesome
Shoes even
Only seen this video now and while I could quibble about your views on the topic at the end of the day...well..its not hurting anyone, haha. Like others have already pointed out in the comments, you're not trying to tell people to stop painting what they love or that they should be ashamed for liking it. If you just want more options, there is NOTHING wrong with that, haha. More options are good. Its not my personal preference, I don't associate practical with being badass as a small example but more importantly its just good to have those options out there. So people can have the minis that they want to paint or use. I like cheese-cake-y miniatures, no two ways about it. I also like knowing there's beefcake for those who want it and practical minis for those who want them.
More importantly, this is a good conversation to be able to have without getting heated on it. So mad props for that and I hope your STL files do really well. Heck, if some of my players are interested in them, I'll probably end up downloading, printing, and painting the minis up for them! All about options, right?
I found a series of well clad female miniatures by Oathsworn miniatures called "Sensible Shoes" they are designed to be strong females wearing armor and shoes that would be sensible in battle! Love your videos keep up the good work
Because we all know that fantasy armor makes it almost impossible to fight imaginary beasts. Yall sound ridiculous. They are miniatures not concubines.
Those are some really great minis. Thank you for the tip!
@@pushinpigment2756 It really does. Most fantasy pauldrons would not even allow men to move their arms properly. Boob-plates would be a sternum fracture hazard. Breasplates incorrectly ending at the hips instead of the natural waist (with a fauld for the lower abdomen) is also a problem for everyone. Etc. People have ended up in hospitals for trying to wear imitation fantasy armor in LARPs. There's plenty of ink poured on this already. ua-cam.com/video/q8DaGHL8WzM/v-deo.html
We bought the Firbolg druid from Oathsworn's "Heroines in Sensible Shoes" for our D&D party's druid and can heartily recommend, the quality is excellent. Bad Squiddo also do a lot of baddass ladies in pragmatic clothes. There's a few companies out there trying to break the mold, worth supporting!
I really liek the Oathsworn stuff, Sensible Shoes AND Burrows and Badgers. Super friendly people work their too.
Really excellent video, and I'm sure it was challenging to make. Kudos, you have my admiration, and support in the subject.
Do you know company's or sculptors who create miniatures with well-clad female miniatures? comment them here!
*So many people have brought up sisters of battle that I obviously should have addressed this in the video! The sisters of battle line has been getting better and better! Especially with their newest release. However, the fact that up until a few days ago, every sister of battle still had huge boob armor, and several had high heels, still makes them sexualized. And as stated in the video, the ability to name a handful of options does not change the problem at hand.
I was very pleased the other day to see sisters of battle with no boob armor!
**I've had a lot of people ask why I don't just sculpt them myself: before I started UA-cam, I seriously considered learning to sculpt so I could do just that. I chose UA-cam with the dream of one day being able to hire someone to sculpt miniatures for me to sell under my own brand. Hopefully someday soon!
Stonehaven miniatures. They are a slight more whimsy than other makers. But they are all very unique and full of character.
Victoria Miniatures!
Westfalia miniatures.
Bad Squiddo Games!!
Oathsworn in has their sensible shoes line, but it has a limited variety.
This video is just what the community needs to hear. I saw the title and thought "but we have loads of good models" and expected an anti-gw thing. Then you started talking about sexualised models and I was half-expecting a self-righteous rant.
Neither of those was what I found. Thank goodness. This was a very mature talk which covered many possible ideas. You have my respect.
Also, a while back people got mad at GW when they released the infamous "you will not be missed" announcement. But hearing some of your more negative personal stories, I'm inclined to agree that we don't want that kind of behaviour in our community. I had no idea that those kind of people were in the hobby. I am just thankful that I've never run into them, so they must be a very small minority.
Thank you so much for covering this topic.
I worked in a FLTS and it was always so awkward when trying to help folks new to table top or other lady gamers find minis. Trying to find the perfect fit for someone's DnD or Pathfinder character or deciding on what war game army to go with only to not have anything that was both reasonably dressed and female presenting or even gender neutral could get dishearteneling. Bringing up this fact was generally a good way to start an un-needed argument (I refuse to consider those talks "debates" because they were far from it). They usually ended with multiple guys declaring something along the lines of "It's not a problem, but if it was it's not a prevalent one, but if it is no one is bothered by it, but if they are they need to nut up or get out of the hobby." Hero Forge is great, but not always an ideal alternative to what someone might want or need.
I have a theory about what may have caused or at least contributed to this issue originally. 28mm sculpting for fantasy usually has exaggerated proportions - larger heads and hands for example. The enlargement of these features can sometimes read as masculine, so to make a mini "read as female" at a glance perhaps there was some logic that they had to have a ludicrously snatched waist and exposed midriff with boob armour. But of course that wouldn't explain this trope being prevalent in comic books and things (Rob Liefeld lol) for ages. I blame princess Leias iconic metal bikini for the bikini armour lol. Really thoughtful video Lyla. If anyone knows some cool normal looking fantasy and sci fi NPCs and characters I'd love to hear about em for my roleplaying campaign!
I agree completely. The limitations of handsculpting a torso the size of a tictac or a face the size of a BB led to some interesting proportions.
Yes, it's easier to see what is male or female if certain proportions are exaggerated. Shoulders and pecs for men. Breasts and hips for women. Was the same thing for RTS games. Also, sex simply sells better.
@@rain6353 sex sells better to who? If that was all that was involved, we should see surging numbers of sexy men designed for female consumption. We don't. You TRY to find my hypersexual male minis. They're one in a thousand.
Going all the way back to Conan and the pulp fantasy roots of the Sword and Sorcery genre, it's been macho men and boobalicious bimbos. It's a legacy of misogyny we seriously need to address in our hobby.
no it was sexism.
@@rain6353 sex doesnt sell. thats just something that people who dont know anything about marketing say.
Even trying to find art for a character is tough. I’m a dm building a world right now and I use google images to find inspiration for kings, queen, people locations exc. And I was trying to find a female barbarian for a chief and I was so grossed out. I was ashamed trying to scroll through the junk to find a decent image that I would be fine with my daughter or wife seeing I had saved. It’s a real problem
Learn to be less of a prude
I had to design my own paper minis for a campaign for my 5 kids (3 of which are girls), not just because of limited selection of female heroes, but also female NPCs and villains. Over 50% of the world's population is female, so why not the same demographic for the characters in the campaign?
i am a father of 3 daughters and finding female mini's to paint that aren't all legs and cleavage is hard, especially in the wargaming side of the hobby..
I would say about 1/2of Reaper models are Kid safe and ALL of Bad Sqiddo Games models are totally female friendly.
I feel that so much. Even the warhammer sisters of battle who are supposed to be like. Warrior paladins have high heels.
And that's just the "nuns"!
@@SugarCandyMiniatures What is with people claiming that Sister have high heels? Only one old model has high heels. Rest have normal boots with slight heels.
How sad!
This took me all of 30 seconds to find!
www.reapermini.com/miniatures/dhl
www.miniaturemarket.com/collectible-miniatures/pathfinder-battles.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwytOEBhD5ARIsANnRjVhw2OaZt8QUDDZBQZ8j9dG8c4kHeFJQSHp3wDup1L-5SFbeFVAQR5gaAlcxEALw_wcB&
www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=12717
otherworldminiatures.co.uk/shop/product-category/dab-series-dungeon-adventurers-boxed-sets/
www.flyingfrog.net/shadowsofbrimstone/sobs_heropacks.html
www.paintedfigs.com/blog/2019/11/7/zombicide-miniature-painting-service
Great video.
Only semi related sidenote. I think I've seen you mention pursuing youtube instead of sculpting a couple times and it kind of makes sense you would only have time for one or the other but I think it would be really cool if you did some "let's learn to sculpt together" type videos.
Unfortunately I discovered you really late into my painting career so I had to suffer through some other youtubers guides. I do definitely revisit a lot of your stuff to passively pickup better habits on methods I kind of half ass while I am painting so the content is all still very much appreciated.
I really think your ability to explain things clearly and your insight will still translate to being educational even in something you aren't already totally amazing at. And it would definitely help a lot of us take the plunge into sculpting. Seeing someone you respect be humble through the failures of a learning process is so useful IMO.
I've always tried to steer away from this sort of thing - Westfalia miniatures does a great job.
I'll have to check them out, thanks for the info!
Oathsworn's Heroines in Sensible Shoes is also good for it on the 28-32mm scale. Dark Sword has been coming out with more practical women lately too, and their Stephanie Law line has always been more female-fantasy based (some mixed garb, but not really over-sexualized, just general beauty).
Thanks. The Frostgrave miniatures (mentioned above) also look pretty cool. I am learning about a lot of great sources from these comments. I appreciate everyone sharing models and companies that are doing such a good job.
If you have a 3d printer or access to one Vae Victis Miniatures has some of the best mini women I've seen in a while :)
@@LylaMev By the by, this guy isn't big in the miniature painting community. He's from the community of the sword, but he has some really good points when it comes to sculpts. ua-cam.com/video/KL-bkO4su3I/v-deo.html
There is nothing more deflating as a woman than seeing the representation of your gender constantly be treated as an object to satisfy the male gaze.
This happens in almost every genre, media and form, but it stings so much more when it comes from a place you appreciate and are passionate about.
There is not much for me to add since Lyla summed it up excellently so all ill say is thank you for bringing it up.
I hope we can change this together (male, female and other) as a community as a whole.
Well put Lyla! And thanks for taking the time to put all this into a video. It must have been a harder one to make... Cheers!
The problem became apparent to me, when I described an evil female cleric as overweight to my Pathfinder group. I then struggled to find a fitting miniature for the upcoming fight. I settled for Sister Maria from Reaper and converted her.
As a male I have no problems to find not sexualized miniatures or males fitting a specific body type. We need more women in nerdy hobbies and I think this makes them feel them less welcome.
Great video of something I've been saying for *years*! The most frustrating is when I talk to sculptors and model makers and I keep getting the narrow-mindes excuse "well, that just doesn't sell models." So sick of hearing that. How can they know if they've never even tried??
So good that you bring up this topic! I'ts really important and it annoys me that there really doesnt excists any options. I was hyped about Rage Crafts latest miniature reveal, and when they finally revealed it it was a sexualized female with her eyes covered, boobs held in place by a small strap and her tounge licking her lips. I was so dissapointed. I reached out to them that they should consider making a less sexualized mini next time, but I didn't even get a reply on that.
It's actually really annoying having to go way out of my way to find a normal ass model.
That's the thing, you have to go out of your way.
EXACTLY! That's my problem with it You can go look at male models and every single one looks perfectly SFW, you could pick literally any one and it's perfectly normal, no sexual content.
Look at female models, and suddenly, it feels like you accidentally went to fucking Victoria's Secret, and you've gotta scroll for pages before you find even a single one that isn't sexualized- LET ALONE one that both isn't sexualized *and* fits what you were actually looking for. It's incredibly inconvenient.
If you want to avoid sexual content, you can pick almost any male mini, but must be incredibly meticulous when selecting female minis.
@@justseffstuff3308 maybe I don’t want my warrior to have bikini armor. Ever think of that Wizkids
I love your videos. You take a reasoned approach to your tutorials. Not too "preachy". I've learned quite a few tricks to help with my mini painting. I started 50 some years ago painting the crew for my 1/35 scale tanks and have kept at it on and off all these years. I'm not artistic ( I have trouble drawing stick figures!) and am in awe of those of you who are.
I'm happily surprised that you didn't condemn out of hand the sexualized female minis. Other UA-camrs I've seen address this question have invariably done so, which dilutes the message. If I want to paint a sexy female mini, it's my choice. If I want to paint a reasonably attired female mini that's my choice, too. The only problem is that it's harder to find the latter, like you say. Unfortunately ya gotta shuck a lot of oysters to find a pearl.
I know it might not seem so to you, but the mini scene is improving, however slowly. Back in the 1970's when I first started painting minis for D&D you literally could not find a female mini that didn't look like a hooker! Believe me, I tried. Slowly but surely more and more "realistic" female minis have appeared.
Just so you know, I'm male (not that it should matter). I spent the 1970's in the U.S. Army, where I was disabused of any ideas that women are inferior. A Sergeant is a Sergeant no matter the plumbing. If they can do the job that's all that counts. Period. You can do the job.
The lack of models that appeal most directly to my interests is a big part of why I'm so excite about 3d printing. It might still be a year or two until things really take off, but I'm anticipating a miniature hobbyist renaissance as more people get into 3d sculpting.
That is already happening for like 3 years already. You should check out the endless amount of awesome patreons and kickstarters that we have today
There is this thing called Etsy you should look into
This is such an easy and yet difficult topic. People have never been more polarised about everything. I have always been one for letting people paint what they want, as everyone has their own preferences as you stated. That being said I believe in an inclusive community where people can feel comfortable. I agree that more options should be presented and available to the community, and that companies should take the time to see what their customers want in more realistic female forms in their models. As fro the sexist comments you have faced, those are wrong. Always have been, and are the bad bits of the hobby showing through and sexism will be problem for a while longer. I hope you continue to find great people to share your hobby with.
Cat purring DOES indeed mean he can go on your desk. Its in the fine print in the cat rights and responsibilities paper work!
I completely agree that there need to be more options for female models. I have children that I want to get into the hobby as they get older and I don't want any of them to see nothing but "sexy women" and what such models/ minis imply. They need to be able to see women as they are, capable and independent.
Thank you for uploading this and saying what needs to be said.
Bad Squiddo Games have a great range. badsquiddogames.com/about
Good video, well said! But as a person who focuses on 3d miniatures and backs 15 different 3d miniature Patreons, I have tons of non-sexualized models from a variety of different artists, including some of whom you actually showed sexualized models from (some of those artists whose work you showed make both sexualized and non-sexualized females), I think if you look around you can find a great deal (smaller % than sexualized for sure I agree, but still) of non-sexualized female models in the 3d printing world, also on Heroforge, Eldritch Foundry, and Desktop Hero you can make totally non-sexualized figures in any pose with any type of armor you want, and any type of weapons you want :) Also, there is a very low barrier to entry to making figures these days, especially on Kickstarter, you can actually start your own company and design the figures you want to see and sell them to everyone who wants them and help re-shape the industry, and you can do it for an extremely low cost as you you don't have to produce physical product, just digital .stl files for sale! :)
Thank you for taking a fair, well-thought, constructive take on this.
When this topic comes up I use an extreme example of context matters about stuff. If there is a model of a Succubus wearing skimpy or even nothing that's fine as it's a Succubus! Now have a figure where it's say a peasant/farmer (fantasy setting) working in the fields wearing what is typical clothing for working the fields but has high heels. Get that crap out of here. It doesn't belong.
Context matters and that is what I try to look for when first viewing a model or model line.
Agree whole-heartedly here. Context definitely matters, which is also what makes a lot of these types of arguments so groundless. When it comes to fantasy-real settings, those are the things you have to look at. You cant just generalize it, because there are some areas where that would be acceptable, and that it isnt. It needs to be appropriate to its setting. As you said, a female peasant farmer shouldnt have high heels and a slip dress. They should have more than likely either a tunic or burlap style dress, possibly a bonnet, and those clothing items are usually going to be dirty and worn, they arent going to be fine-threads like someone of nobility would wear.
Now the fantasy part of it does have somewhat of an influence. In reality, there werent many mercenary warriors that could actually afford badass armor. As far as armies went, chainmail was cheaper to make than plate due to material use. And half of the armor would usually wear leater as it was easier hunted than metal was mined. So, fantasy armies with badass armor and such, yeah thats a bit of the nature bleeding through there, but, that is going to happen.
It’s hard to hunt for minis when most my players are female. My girlfriend likes bad ass female miniatures but she hates that it takes us so long to come across one that doesn’t look like she’s modeling for a magazine.
Hi, Where do I get the water tank you dunk your brushes in.
first, sorry for my probable broken english.
second: thank you for one of the best video-esays concerning our little hobby, this is the kind of voices we need to mature as a comunity, too long defined as a niche for over entitled man childs (of whom i know i have been a part for too long). the urgency for representation must be undestand as an oportunity for development, variety is not a threat but a chance for artists and consumers to meet in a deeper dialog. im a fan of the sex positive attitude of kdm, but i have to say that the amaizing male pinups have come a little too late to define the brand as esentialy inclusive, and actualy represent just the tip of the iceberg concerning diversity; the hope is that in time this kind of criticism wont be necesary, but we have to understand that we are not there jet. anyway, plz, keep it up, you are an inspiration, a mature comunity is a braver comunity and a happier comunity, with room for the risqué (we hate to love from time to time) and the brave and realist representation of the richness of human kind (or any other fantasy comunity).
Personally I think the hobby needs women in it. Most of the professional artists I watch is actually women. I just wished more would enter the hobby. Those people who are against women in the hobby are just morons.
I just started a Heather Crowley Scale 75 model, I’m not sure I’d call it sexualised though. I just like the model because it’s Steampunk & that it offers me challenges to improve my painting skills. Though it’s the first model this size I’ve even attempted & it’s taken me almost a year not to be scared of it lol.
Great video & insights.
Hello again Lyla! Comment number 2 for me 😊 After seeing the comments from all these folks I am even more proud of you and happy to see this dialog open up. Change always starts small and I’m hopeful that you have ignited some great sparks here 💫
Excellent video, I came here thanks to Dana Howl and I'm glad I did. It's good to see multiple UA-cam mini painters discuss this in such a great, succinct way. You've got a new sub and now I've got more videos to watch.
Have a good day!
This video was shared in a group and I'm here to say that this is a well balanced and carefully thought out video that highlights an issue with tact.
Positive encouragement for greater representation of people and body types.
I can't justify all the sexualised female figures to my young daughter who is interested in the hobby.
Let's encourage more variety and praise those creators who do so.
Also, liked, subscribed and shared the video. Alert bell turned on to get more of your work.
Ironically, Games Workshops newer line for Sisters of Battle, despite still having the armored corsets, has changed them to be less sexualized. Repentia now are wearing clothes other than a parchment of their sins, the battle sisters themselves have thicker waists and less pronounced boob-plate.
While Catachan Sgt. Ripper Jackson is in a tank top, it passes your test of "If a man were in this pose, in these clothes, would it seem weird." She is just a kick-ass woman with a big gun and a chainsaw sword.
And then you have Commisar Severina Raine who has an actual, practical chest plate. I find it amusing that GW, of all companies,is doing pretty well on this front.
Now if only they started sculpting female faces to look...human...and female...
I'm really glad you point out other aspects of models that still deserve a side eye beyond the obvious cleavage. The wasp waist, for instance. It's often more than just a one or two elements that tilt a model into eye-rolling territory when it comes to design.
Ironically, ridiculously tiny wasp waists were a genuine trend in historical plate armour. You almost never see this on a male mini though.
@@kallisto9166 indeed, because someone along the way would ask "how can he fight effectively in that ridiculous looking armor?" without a hint of self reflection.
Lyla, you should make your own mini line. Start a Kickstarter, put together some image boards, find some artists to do concept art, and then some 3d sculptors to make stl models.
Then you could put out a line of printable minis or do limited resin runs.
I like this idea. Maybe a bunch of creators who agree with this stance can design a line of bad-ass women minis that aren't overly sexualized. I think there is definitely a market for it and those creators have a platform with which to promote the idea.
This is genius
Don't you think if there'd be money in that, someone would've already done this...?
It costs nothing to criticize and complain, but to invest your own real money into something that you know will be a failure is a different story.
@@sensuscommunis2526 that's why I suggested a kickstarter. You can gage the interest with little risk.
If you get the funds together, great you have you chance and a built in consumer base.
If you don't get funded then you walk away knowing you tried to fix a problem you saw, having only spent the time and money that you used to set up the kickstarter.
@@mindlasher I agree it's better to try and do something, instead of just whining. My point is, this is all just a rant and nothing more. We already have numerous companies offering all sorts of models, not to mention 3D printing. There is no denying you can get almost anything you can imagine. And if there's really more of this than that, it only means the customers are more likely to pay for this than that.
The subreddit /r/ReasonableFantasy takes on this question about fantasy art in general, rather than just in mniatures. Thought you and the other viewers might enjoy it.
Thank you$
Hi Lyla,
Thank you for making this video. I really appreciate you taking the time to present it. I can’t wait to show it to my wife when she gets home from the office. If you made a follow-up video, I’d love to see some recommendations of miniature makers that you see as doing an excellent job sculpting and selling miniatures that give you the variety you crave. Certainly Oathsworn’s ‘Sensible Shoes’ line is geared right toward this. Cheers, -Jesse
Love the fact that Northstar's stargrave troopers have male and female heads but the same bodies, their reasoning is that under all the armour and gear they would end up looking the same. It takes a much more realistic approach
Surely if you can't tell if a model is male or female it defeats the purpose of it being representative?
@@poshboy4749 The armour and gear is not gendered, it's the person inside it. If the only thing showing is the head, then that is still representation, and it's the best kind, one that doesn't assume female is such a divergence from the default that it needs to be flagged with boob-shaped armour or a pink bow. Gender presentation in the real world is many, varied, and complicated. Representation doesn't have to mean visible secondary sex characteristics but less male-gazey. If the game you play has everyone in hard-vacuum space suits, then representation is in the text of the game, not the model. Part of dealing with the broader culture of sexism is confronting the assumption that male is the default for most things. A very small part of that, but big in my world where I spend most of my free time with tiny plastic figures and dice, is the idea a neutral-gendered figure with a weapon is a male unless specified.
@@poshboy4749 Unless you want to represent a character of ambiguous gender. Don't tell me you've never looked at someone and been unable to tell if they were male or female. What's wrong with representing that in a mini?
Hear me out, the women lying in a dragon head with sheets, but it's Rogal Dorn.
Frostgrave do a whole box of multi-part female warriors, all very sensibly clad and perfect for adding a bit of gender diversity to your rank-and-file! Also if you were or are able to get your hands on the miniatures from the HATE boardgame there are a few female sculpts among them that, while depicting scantily clad barbarians, do feature a more diverse range of body sizes and shapes than you might usually expect!
Frostgrave Soldiers II, for anyone looking for the frostgrave ones: www.miniaturemarket.com/nsm-fgvp05.html
💯 I just received my second box and love it. Personally, I think the female heads of the female wizard box turned out a bit better.
Kudos also for being able to combine them with any other kit. This time I'm going to add some parts from the demon box to make them really badass armored.
@@MakroThePainter I'm really grateful to North Star Miniatures for making the whole Frostgrave/Oathmark miniature ecology so great for kitbashing.
Totally agree, both about sexualization in female minis and in the treatment of women in the hobby. Proud that the company I primarily support, Wyrd Games has taken large steps to improve the presentation of women in its line.
Yo, this lady be spitting! Preach woman!
booba sells, strong women doesnt sell nearly as much, thus more booba
Thank you for sharing your perspective and experience, Lyla. As a hobbyist who also makes minis, I thought this was really informative - especially the part about swapping genders. Well done!
If i can be honest about this topic, i totally agree with that, i saw a lot of womens get annoyed by mens who says "Don't touch my miniature's better go sell your body in a hot tub" or "ew a girl play a miniature game? Is this a joke?"
They need to be stop. Everyone can have fun to paint a miniature and everyone can play what they want. Stop with this nonsense. About the idea of sexualization, yeah i kinda agree too. I love the sisters of battle models from games workshop and, for me, they are not sexualized at all. They are strong and intimidating like a man can be without showing some boobs or any other part of the body. Of course, here there is also to think about what to collect or play. If that game points to that art line it's okay, for me, Sexualization too for me I see it as a right thing but simply because I see it more from an artistic point of view but if you have to stereotype the woman then no. Do we need variety? Yeah, a woman can be strong and independent even without showing anything at all. This idea of thinking and stereotyping must be stopped. Obviously these are my thoughts and I hope I have not offended anyone. We are here to entertain ourselves as we paint miniature's
I totally agree and I am also wanting to look for minis for my little girl for when she is old enough to join the hobby I enjoy so much. That being said I believe that the only place I have been able to find such minis is with custom minis on hero forge. I love hero forge but it can get expensive to get custom minis.
This is so true! I tried to get a female half orc Paladin that looks gritty, mean and practical...but all i could find was unrealisticly huge breastplates, unusable armor, or the "Female Barbarian furr string" issue 😣...its okay to have this too but no alternatives? It really sucks!
Try heroes in sensible shoes by Oathsworn miniatures or bombshells by Patrick Keith they both sculpt fully dressed and included half orcs
@@MsBlood01 ah they seem quite over the top aswell. But thanks anyway! 🤗
@@MsBlood01 oathworms a bit better. You are right 🤗
Well said, Lyla! I used to play a lot of Overwatch which suffers from the same problem. The variety in costuming and silhouettes of the male characters vastly outnumbers the variety in the female characters, which are mostly of the same body type with tighter clothing. Definitely an industry wide problem across all gaming. Thanks for this video.
Seriously? Overwatch?
The game with silhouette variety likw Mei, Brigitte & Zarya.
I think you're barking up the wrong tree there.
@@Cernunnnos You're right, they've made some good strides with heroes added after vanilla OW (like Brigitte) and have removed certain sexualized poses, which has positively impacted the player diversity. I was more thinking of the highly exaggerated silhouettes like Roadhog or a Winston or a Torbjorn. Totally agree that OW is not the worst offender in this area, but I still think it's worth considering how the character designs can affect the demographic of players that feel encouraged to join a community.
@@StudsonStudio I mean yea, the big 3 male tanks are all very exaggerated. But if we count Reinhardt, we should count dvas mech. Reinhardt is wearing a big mech suit too. And Winstone is a Gorilla.
Roadhog is the only one with an absurdly exaggerated natural silhouette fir a human.
The women are generally smaller and more slender than the males, but I think Zarya filled the niche of a big strong woman quite well, she's much larger than any of the non tank males.
I get what you're saying, but I think overwatch did a bang up job of giving everyone really distinct and diverse silhouettes.
Every character could be distinguished from a glance, even the stereotypically feminine characters were all completely distinct.
Design is one thing I think Blizzard knocked out of the park on that game.
I have been pointing at high heels on minis a lot, because they are an obvious sign of lack of realism for me (as a minimum criticism). How easy can it be to battle, run, fist fight etc with high heels? Not at all. Wikipedia lists high heels as an invention of the 1950's. They are an anachronism in any fantasy realm for me - even if fantasy means we can have differences with reality. This has for instance been a huge turnout for me on most Nocturna models, which is a shame because overall they have a very interesting universe, and produce high-quality minis.
I know it's only one small part of what you've mentioned in the video. I overall agree there should be more choices for less provoquing female minis. And I have already felt uneasy with a number of miniatures when I wanted to purchase them. I have taken the habbit of pausing before getting a new (artistic) mini, asking myself a few questions. One of them is: would I feel ashamed to show this mini to my friends and family? I mean - it's okay for me to have 1, maybe 2 models that are even nude, but I want most of my collection to be part of the decoration in my home.
This is very well put. I especially like that you bring upp postures and just the 'feeling' of the character in general. Just putting clothes on is not the point. It is about force of character, who it is made for and in which way. The sheer volume being what drives the problem is also an important point.
I would be interested in a follow up video with good examples of games and makers that have good female miniatures. I guess reviews in general with this focus on the female models could also be cool.
Thank you for a very good and important video! I just wish boardgame designers also listened and not only independent minifig designers. I mostly paint miniatures for boardgames, and some games ick me out with the way their female minifigs look.
Hey, thisbis just a suggestion. Have you ever considered collaborating with a sculptor and print shop? I would kill for a range of diverse minis inspired by your imagination!
Please do a kickstarter!!! A portion of the funds can go to a scholarship for talented young artists!
Best way to solve a problem is to be a part of the solution!
Great idea honestly, that idea could run a whole company or mini line tbh. Maybe it could be a multi influencer movement. Money talks so we just have to make it speak a healthy message.
@@garfield-9500 You're exactly right. And if there really was money in there, then someone would have done it long time ago. Oh, wait - but we *do* have minis of all shapes and sizes already, from fantasy beasts, through sexualized males and females, to hyper realistic ones. And we do have 3D printers. So what's the problem...?
@@sensuscommunis2526 not everyone has 3D printers and the problem is the fact that you have to specifically search out un-sexualized female minis since they're a rare sight in mainstream mini lines. And yeah there can definitely be money there's a multitude of reasons why a company may not get off the ground, but you can still make successful businesses from pre existing products and communities, especially since the bar for fame and influence has been lowered so much in recent times. Plus it'll give consumers more options when buying and that isn't a bad thing most of the time.
I agree with you! Do what makes you happy! On a different subject, why is it that almost everyone paints their modes just as if the stepped right into battle gear from the shower or sauna I am disappointed by this. I started to paint but found that My eyesight and patience are lacking so, I am going to try Terrain. I hope others read your words and comment!
I cannot express how much I appreciate this video! This topic is really important and something I'd love to see addressed more.
I feel the same way about different body types being under repeated... Great topic and a great video!
Indeed, the only time I see my body type (a fairly typical one among gamers, I think) is in Nurgle miniatures :(
@@euansmith3699 same here. I'm tall and a good bit "Overweight" and it's frustrating that the closest representation I can find for my body type is typically an ogre. 😑
@@SlicePrintRoleplay I'm more Nurgling or Halfling :D That said, I'm not comparing my problems in finding chunky dudes to the trouble of finding much beyond problematic pin-ups that the female minis can present.
@@euansmith3699 agreed. There is a much bigger issue with oversexualized female minis then with under-represented male body types.
As an underweight guy who can't gain weight I agree. I'd love to play a skinny as a rail coward bard in dnd but no model represents it unless they're really elderly
None of my miniatures are doing anything for themselves, just for me. They arent real. I realize you are aware of this, but for me this is just an unimportant issue. What sells is what is being made, and 0 people get hurt in the process. The models have no identity, they are not real, and noone can convince me anyone is hurt by someone creating an overly sexualized miniatures. I personally dont paint them, and anyone who doesnt can freely avoid them. I agree that it would be nice to have more realistic images sometimes, but its not like they dont exist. Anyone who wants them can support their creators and that is the only thing that counts.
Fucking finally.
Someone saw sense.
Hi! Mario from bold miniatures here.
Thank you for explaining the problem so well. I often have issues explaining why sexualization in the hobby is an issue.
It's amazing how a lot of guys (including myself) are or were so oblivious to the issue. Since sexualization is such a normalized thing in the hobby, you don't even see it anymore. One of the reasons I started the studio was because when I had my daughter, I decided I wanted to paint something for her and suddenly I started seeing that everything was very sexualized, and I had a really hard time finding a nice and cool model for her. I'm amazed it took me that long to see the problem. Then I decided I wanted to make models where the focus would be in the character, not in how sexy they could be.
I'm super proud to see Anna in your video. Thank you
I’m happy to have found your minis. Likewise a dad who wants to teach my daughter to paint minis, that portray women in strong and frankly, just normal, ways.
I’ll definitely be hitting up your web store!
Leaving a comment to appease the algorithm because this video deserves recognition
Interaction is important. All hail the algorithm
Well said, and I’m pleasantly surprised that the comments section isn’t a dumpster fire.
It’s sad that when someone brings up this point on the comments of a Kickstarter like a CMON game or Reaper Bones, and asks for more options, they get shouted down.
plenty of options out there:
www.reapermini.com/miniatures/dhl
www.miniaturemarket.com/collectible-miniatures/pathfinder-battles.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwytOEBhD5ARIsANnRjVhw2OaZt8QUDDZBQZ8j9dG8c4kHeFJQSHp3wDup1L-5SFbeFVAQR5gaAlcxEALw_wcB&
www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=12717
otherworldminiatures.co.uk/shop/product-category/dab-series-dungeon-adventurers-boxed-sets/
www.flyingfrog.net/shadowsofbrimstone/sobs_heropacks.html
www.paintedfigs.com/blog/2019/11/7/zombicide-miniature-painting-service
I'd say a big issue is not just reducing the excessive sexualization of every female mini, but improving the design language that makes them visually interesting without leaning heavily on sexualized design language.
Male coded miniatures have tons of design styles and flourishes while a lot of less sexualized female minis just come off as drabber than their male counterparts because a good design language that doesn't lean heavily on over sexualization isn't established yet in every model line.
Though I admit I have a bias towards exaggerated minis in general since they're just more fun to look at at tabletop scale.
Six links are ‘plenty of options’. No. It’s not.
I personally dont see it as a problem tbh if someone wants a more clothed mini they can find them online or even in stores, I can say the same thing about the male models they are all huge jacked men and in fantasy half of them are nearly naked as well and I dont have an issue with that either, after all you look at movies and entertainment everywhere all men are tall, super jacked and good looking. I also have alot of KDM stuff and the pin ups are well meant to be like that and they are also releasing and have released more pin up males. Again people just need to look for what they are well looking for. Yeah sure many of the women tend to be the most feminine types of woman like the men are the most masculine types of men. Also they are models and toys and if people feel weird about tiny bits of plastic or resin then I dunno thats on them and sounds like they have some issues with themselves or how they think people see them. Of course if your job is being paid by others to paint their minis and all you got were minis of naked women every day then yes id say you would see it more so as a "problem" because its what is being forced on you and not what you are doing for yourself. Either way it goes both ways at the end of the day.
This is a great message. I too enjoy painting sexualized miniatures but you're correct about more options. Preach it, Lyla. You're definitely not alone.
Really well said. I couldn't agree more. With my daughter just beginning to get into the hobby, it's hard to find anything she is interested in painting that isn't sexual and I'd like her not to believe that's all she is worth. Thanks for this well explained video.
You know what we need, a by girls for girls miniature company. I would love to see an abundance of models you described and would definitely support it.
This is one of the most well presented videos on this touchy subject that I've seen.
It's good that the issue is raised (again). The cover art, and miniature sculpt, in Sword and Sorcery made me not purchase that game. My wife takes some convincing to play dungeon crawls, and we have a few, and the graphic style made me abandon the purchase as it would make a bad first impression. If companies realise that they are abandoning parts of the market then perhaps we'll see a better variation of available miniatures.
Looking forward to getting to paint some of these minis. Admission: I like painting the sexy minis... BUT I also want to have bad-ass options. Just last week, I was looking for a good model for the female monk I'm playing right now and one of the best monk models I've seen is on the campaign. So, thanks for running this. We definitely need more options.
To share some sources of good female miniatures I would recommend Annie at Bad Squiddo Games. Her sculpts are fabulously characterful :)
The frostgrave female soldiers and wizard kits are also a pretty good resource for realistic female miniatures and are great for kitbashing with Perry historical figures :))
Eeee thank you!
what a great script!
this problem is everywhere, not just minis and games, with men as people/potential self inserts to a male audience and women as... eye candy for that (presumed straight) audience. it wouldnt be a problem if everyone was sexy, or everyone was sensible and realistic individuals in an ip/brand! (and with diversity too, also a problem p much everywhere, sigh)
a lot of illustrative artists online have started doing corrections to make this problem (particularly when the anatomy just. makes no damn sense), which makes it more obvious to stubborn deniers who insist its fine, or just fixing things that are just irritating the hell out of themselves, and as art exercises!
my favorite trend was 'the hawkeye initiative' though, where an artist would take a female characters pose and recreate it with a male character from the same franchise, like the one (1) figure you found as an example :p
any thoughts on doing a video(s) on brands/creators who make non cheesecake models? im sure theres lists and recommendations swimming out there on the web but its always nice to see a good compilation of them reviewed in video!
Just recently got into miniatures, in particular Warhammer 40k. The army I am choosing is the Adepts Sororitas, aka The Sisters of Battle. One of the things in particular that drew me to them was that they were super badass and imposing they were and weren’t sexualized or made to be less.
@@The_Vision_and_the_Choice Nothing wrong with current repentias. They are wearing shorts and t-shirts basically what plenty of women are wearing during summer.
The Repentia's look kind of suits the character though. They're basically berserkers. It also makes them stand out from the heavily armoured army around them.
Repentias are sucking sadly. I don't like the sports look. Could gone better with more cloth like robes n Stuff.
The new repentia are dressed no worse then what one would see out on bike trail or running path, the original repentia when they came out reflected the lore of them being stripped of all their armour and just left with their robes and handed a large power sword, there really wasn't anything showing but you could tell they were naked under the robes. I have no problems taking the new ones to a game other then I really don't like other aspects of the sculpts.
I like the new repentia miniatures, they look like wreslters, its rad
i just had and continually have a similar conversation. people give me shit for not liking KDM... to me, its just over sexualised garbage that doesnt need to exist and is only counterproductive to a world of focus on bodies instead of personalities and attitudes. i was literally asking last night, why do sisters have boob armour? its not practical. they're supposed to be badass battle nuns, not thin little, breast popping, heel wearing objects in corsets. it just doesnt appeal to me in any way and im tired of it being brushed off. this was a great perspective. i really appreciate your putting this out and putting your self out there on the subject. very well put and very fair.
Amen! I love the art of sculpting miniatures. I love sexy minis of all genders too.
But OMG please can I have some more badass female minis! I feel like sexy female minis are just easier to make because they all look the same.
One thing I have noticed are cyberpunk and modern minis. They seem to keep the sexualization down a lot.
Sexualized art and models have their place in the hobby but it's become the norm. It actually diminishes the hobby and stagnates the art.
More choices means more fun and more creativity!
Really? The cyberpunk ones I've seen lately are some of the worst offenders. Limbo really likes leg poses that just can't happen.
I do agree - more choices is good! I like my sexy minis, but I want to see all options equally available :)
Great Topic! My wife and I paint on Esty. She has commented on this as well. We stand behind your message 100%.
I completely agree that wee need more options as a whole. It definitely feels like we're starting to see a shift, but only time will tell. Then there is Slaanesh... I look at the Slaanesh Armies and go "Yeah... this both awkward and sexy for both Genders, congrats Slaanesh, you nailed it!"
Slaanesh is GWs god of excess and it seems they have started to realize that there are other excesses besides sex and are starting to have models depicting gluttony and other aspects..they have also toned down alot of their female models compared to the 80's,90's and early 2000's.
@@1crlski Aye, they're getting better in some aspects, and worse in others. Granted much of it is boiling down to "We don't need to just market to men." Which was much needed.
Do you realize you just said something is a problem and right after saying there is not. You basically did what she did a lot faster.
Slaanesh is darker than anything GW does if you look past the "let's stick boobs on it" mentality. The artist in the Fulgrim novel for me shows more about Slaanesh and the pursuit of perfection over moral boundaries than a boob marine ever has. Think more of films like Seven, Event Horizon, and Hellraiser all rolled into one and you're on the right track.
One thing that really hit me a few years ago, is when some men shamed me about how I just had sexy minis. When I really just was working with what I had access too. It’s probably why I won’t ever go back to 40k when there is a strong no alt models or you need opponents permission to have models that are not GW offical.
I like my demons a lot as well, but getting female demons that are not super sexy is really hard :( monsters default to male as well. It says a lot when I have had people confused my dragons had names that where not male and I called them as such. It’s just really demoralising in the hobby and I have thought about leaving it a lot over the last few years.
"If you put a man there, would it be weird" is basically the entire premise of The Hawkeye Initiative (in comics). I hope the comments stay civil, because this is an important subject.
Tbf most female miniature poses would work great with male minis too.
Agreed 100%. This is a great technique I use often to find my own unconscious biases in many other situations as well. If my reactions would be different for someone of a different gender/race/social standing/national origin/etc., then I can begin to question and examine that bias and work to correct it.
No, no it's not. It is a complete waste of time because there was no actual "this person did this" but rather a pretty heavy accusation.
Thank you for this video.
I wish I could like and subscribe more than once. My husband and I both paint and I feel like our kids will follow us soon in them hobby. Hopefully we can make a change in this department. Keep up the fantastic work!
You make an excelent point: can’t agree more, and I would love to see more like the archer that you showed here! I’ll definitely be looking into the links you have provided!
Thank you for saying this, I made a post about this issue for international women's day. Just give me more options so I can choose how I want a mini or character to look. Necromancers and sorcerer minis are the worst as it is as little cloth as possible.
Brand new fan (thanks Dana!) but thank you for taking time and energy to put out this video, cannot wait to do a midnight UA-cam spiral through some of your painting videos hahaha
Well done my dear. It is not just battle miniature hobbyists who face this, but Native American artists too face this frustration. Thank you for engaging a necessary conversation.
Well now I want to lounge seductively in the maw of a dragon. I’m a man. It wouldn’t be weird.
Ok it might be weird.
She is pretty cool. She is from kabuki studios.
Not gunna lie, I like that figure a lot. She is sexy, but she can wear what she wants and can lounge wherever she wants.
If you a dude did that, I think it would be fine - or at least should be. Folks who complain can lump it - you do you. :)
I would so buy a mini of you in a maw!
hehehe, long as dragons breath isn't too foul.
I think you kind of hit the nail on the head there though with the "Ok it might be weird." part - though its all down to culture as to what would be considered weird or sexualised anyway, we are not all coming from the Christian( or Muslim etc) morals based societies, lots of the native cultures that just about survive the modern world would probably think those fantasy females are well overdressed, as it seems many of them don't really bother with clothing for either gender much at all, as its just not needed in the environments they live in...
Personally I'd say looking at minis from just about any company for any purpose they tend to show "over sexualised" or plan daft male body image just as much as female - rare is the out of shape, balding fat dude... But there is a little sliver of reality in the mix - if you look at female athletes they tend to look thin and wiry which often exaggerates the curves of whatever hips and breasts they posses, where males tend to have the bulk, both rather like the minis its just the way human biology works to some extent, males generally can bulk up vastly easier, and have a bulkier by default skeletal structure where a tough and strong woman is likely to be well toned but not bulky...
Plus once you put on full armour female or male would in reality be damn near impossible to tell, once shrunk down to 28mm scale even more so... So if you want a female that looks like just one of the boys use a 'male' figure, less its got a beard, or I suppose gone bald (though a shaved head accounts for that) there isn't really any visual difference between them. Its one of the reasons sculptors and prop makers put 'boob' armour shapes in, or big high heels, because otherwise the gender isn't going to visible at all..
Excellent points all around, and well-taken.
And also: Subscribed. I look forward to seeing more of your work, and hearing more of your insights.
Thank you for this video. I fully support your message! It would be great to easily find female models where the primary message of the sculpt is that this is a confident and capable individual. I have two daughters that like paint with me every now and then. So far I've had more luck finding my little pony miniatures for them to paint than non sexualized females...
Also thank you, people who shared links to where this kind of miniatures can be found..
Little late to the party, but excellent video. You’re absolutely correct, it’s all about variety. Sexualized minis can be fun to paint and show off! Recently I’ve been trying to learn how to paint skin tones better, and I’ve printed off a couple of pin up minis to practice on, and it’s fun. But the problems show up when I then try to find proxies for repentia, and they look ALMOST IDENTICAL! It’s all about variety, and providing enough different options that everybody can have fun and feel welcome. If every female mini on the market looks like she’s in a “bed me” pose, what does that say about the hobby at large?
i would love some more strong female characters in the hobby.. i just love painting skin so i find it hard getting both of those boxes checked at the same time. as a follow up to this video i would appreciate some examples of strong female non sexualized characters you have found in art form or movies or something like that, which i would assume can inspire people to create their own models and get some more diversity in where these models come from as well (we need more model makers!).
I am in no way disagreeing with you and I think I take your point. It’s fine to have a sexy miniature (an androgynous succubus would be like a suntanned vampire). I see your message is that there is no balance. There is a dearth of more-business-like character models.
I’m interested in this topic, largely because I’m looking into producing custom minis. The challenge I see is the scale. I feel like you need to have slightly highlighted sexual characteristics to give the viewer a clear cue that this tiny sculpture is of a woman. In other words, I’m expressing from a pragmatic (not idealistic) perspective what the challenges are. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but I would suggest that SOME of this tendency to enhance waste and breast size has to do with the medium itself. A four-inch tall mini of a woman with a more reasonable figure, non-boob armor with no exposed cleavage, can probably work fine, because the more-subtle gender cues can be appreciated - facial feature proportion, leg-to-torso length ratio, size of hands and feet, and so forth. The human perceptual system is highly attuned to these cues and will help you sell the character. At one inch on the other hand, facial proportions are hard if not impossible to distinguish, as are many of the other cues I mentioned. Add to that clothing and equipment, and the sex differences will be further-masked. Throw in the cultural bias about men being the default risk-taker/adventurer, and a tiny, reasonably-presented, female model is very likely to be perceived as male.
I’m sure your painting skills are advanced enough to include the more-subtle gender cues on a small-scale female mini, but a random viewer is very likely not going to be able to perceive them without a jeweler’s loupe or microscope. I’m curious if you have any thoughts on practically how to overcome this. You spoke of poses in the context of the over-the-top odalisque lounging about with strategically-placed cloth dripping off of them. As culturally-dependent as they may be, there are certain poses and postures that convey femininity. Little things we barely notice. When I was in college, a friend once pointed out to me that women carry their books in the crook of their elbow, close to their chests, while men carried them at arm’s length at their sides. I thought it was a funny observation, but the more I tested it, the more it accurate generalization it was. These kinds of differences are whole-body expressions and therefore perceptible at very small scale. Because of basic skeletal differences, women and men have slightly different gates and stances. They aren’t typically significant in a our forefront mental processing, but you can be sure there are older, inner-brain functions that deeply concerned with all such information. I would think those could be your friend in terms of communicating gender at small scale. The boob-cleavage armor and wasp wastes are in some ways just a lazy solution to a perceptual problem.
Anyway. Loved the presentation. I thought you expressed your position well.