Panel 1: Here, as occasionally happens in Empowered, I drew Emp’s feet as too short. Might I clarify the matter for those of you who don’t happen to draw very much? Drawing feet is very, very difficult. Even when directly working from photoreference, it can be shockingly challenging to produce an image that looks even halfway passable. Then again, I’m amused by folks who complain with suspicious vehemence about Emp’s too-truncated feet—uh, have you examined Emp’s g-d head and face lately, oh readers who suddenly claim to care deeply about accurate anatomical depiction? As I said a few days ago, if you’re looking for a strict and rigorous commitment to artistic—ahem—“realism,” you’re looking at the wrong artist—or at least the wrong project of mine.

Also, another perennial, foot-related difficulty arises here: Namely, the issue of what the hell Emp’s toes should look like under her supersuit’s “hypermembrane.” The idea is that the suit would not separate around her individual toes—as that would be ineffably icky and also more difficult to draw—yet would still be tight enough to show a visual indication of said toes. (Belatedly, it’s occurred to me that the best reference for this might be a model wearing nylons or pantyhose or the like.) In this panel, though, the suit is depicted as showing excessive toe separation, I think. As I’ve just said, drawing feet is tough enough, but drawing Emp’s supersuited feet is an even tougher task.

-Adam Warren