Strength in Femininity: Why I Draw Women

  My name is Abigail, and I’m an artist. More specifically, I am a character designer and illustrator. I take influence from many places, and one of those places is historical gowns. I love drawing gowns. The flow of the fabric, the bows and buttons and ribbons and details, the drama and volume. I adore the way that a gown can accentuate the female form, even with such an excess of fabric. And at the end of the day, that’s really what I love to draw—the female form. 

  I’ve been creating female characters and centering illustrations around women since I could hold a crayon. Being able to portray all the diversity of what women can look like and what we can do has been a true passion in my life. But when I went to school to hone my skills, my subjects created some friction.

  Professors told me on several occasions that I should draw more men. That I would appeal to a wider audience that way, as if I wanted to appeal to an audience that couldn’t see the beauty in what I was making. “You draw too many women,” they’d say, “why not try something else?”

  It’s not that I refuse to draw men. I draw them on occasion. But there’s a reason I make it a point to feature women in my work, especially clothed in gorgeous ballgowns. I want people like me to see that a woman doesn’t need to give up her femininity to be strong. My characters can do anything they want, and they can do it in a frilly dress. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. So much modern media favors a more masculine lens when portraying a “strong, independent woman.” It’s either “princess” OR “strong,” rarely both. My goal is to show that there is so much strength in our femininity. The pink and the bows and the petticoats don’t take away our strength. In my eyes, they add to it. And that’s what I do my best to showcase in every piece I create. Beautiful, bold, empowered women. Just like me.