Plus-size pinups are a niche within a
niche. It's hard to see a potential of growth
outside of the plus-size fetish community. I
would like to propose otherwise, by
showcasing a few plus-size pinup
artists.
Searching for plus-size pinups
is (as in many other pinup sub-niches) tough
and yields little results. Even more
discouraging was finding the following short
conversation on Yahoo Answers, in the
begining stages of research.
Q: Who are some of the greatest
plus-size pin-up models of today?
A1: Look on myspace, and you'll find
plenty. the thing is, pin-up models, plus
size or otherwise, aren't really part of a
booming industry outside of fetishists,
Betty Page fans and tattoo conventions. Can
you name a contemporary pin-up model
(outside of Dita Von-Teese) at all?
Plus size pin-ups especially are a
non-issue - I can't name any because there
aren't any famous ones. Again, you'll find
hundreds of women calling themselves plus
size models on myspace - so you can check
them out there, but the majority of them
are not actual models.
A2:Are you talking about waist line or bust
size?
Not a huge market for fat pin-ups. Pun
intended.
With the advent of the internet the market
for modern pin-ups has become huge,
de-valued, international, and fragmented. I
can't say who is the queen of today's
pin-up market. 99% of pin-ups are viewed
eletronically and never make it to print.
Just 10 years ago it was the complete
opposite.
Certainly there is no modern Betty Page of
any size.
Hilda - Very Humble Beginnings
I’ve
mentioned Hilda before and I just adore
Duane Bryers’ work, as an artist. Hilda is
just attractively drawn in that sweet yet
all-woman style of cheesecake. She gets into
terribly embarrassing situations and makes
the most adorable facial expressions as a
reaction.
Duane Bryers’ was so in love with Hilda, he
drew her in a way we couldn’t but fall in
love with her, ourselves. Hilda is an active,
fun-loving gal of many talents; usually
depicted in nature, fishing, swimming, biking
or sharpening axes.(?!) All this is done with
a smile a wink and a very pure enjoyment of
life and environment.
Les Toil - Loving them Just the Way they
Are
Les Toil does amazing graphic works. His line
art and colors are meticulous and simple and,
frankly, one Les Toil girl is just never
enough. Les Toil toys with fantasy and takes
his inspiration from many different sources.
Wether it’s an office fantasy, something for
the troops, a retro ad or even a deck of
cards.
What’s fascinating about the online Les Toil
Gallery (apart from all that cheesecake) is
the care with which it handles its pinups.
Each pinup displays the original model and a
few words, beside it. By reading the words,
you could easily understand Les Toil
rellishes in drawing any women as long as she
is of a full figure.
Bodacious Magazine - Larger than
Playboy
Bodacious Magazine is much like Playboy
Magazine: tasteful, clean and caters to a
very specific audience. First and foremost
the models are just gorgeous and as you can
see in
the free
sample, diversity rules (as long as
you’re not skinny
).
One thing bugged me about Bodacious and it
wasn’t the girls. It was a sentence in the
mission statement:
so similar to the mainstream magazines
that it would be hard to tell the
difference
It’s too bad for something so outstanding and
unique to want to be like everybody else. As
a life-long skinny-girl, myself, I could
never understand what goes through a
plus-size woman’s mind, when she’s looking in
the mirror. My guess is that these women,
like myself, just want to be themselves, with
no one telling them they are no good. I
understand Bodacious Magazine’s need to go
mainstream, but you’re catering to a very
specific audience- don’t loose them trying to
convince everyone else.
Chris Cooper - Big Bad Girls In
Print
Chris Cooper draws
big girls in comic book rendering. They
look like regular sexed up super
heroines at first glance, but a close
look reviles their true dimensions. The
super heroine’s muscles are there, but
these girls are big. From the breast to
the hip to the arm radius.
Chris copper brings underground comics fun to
his prints. A lot of steam and raunch, not
for the easily offended.
Booty Babe Art- Adding some Meat to the
Standard
Spencer Davis got to his plus-size pinup art
in an overzealous attack of doll sculpting.
“Adding material to an otherwise skinny,
12" fashion doll.”
Thus
Booty Babe
Art was born. The statues look like
what would happen if somebody fed a
Bratz Doll. The Booty Babe sculptures
change skin and hair color, but the base
remains the same, tackling fantasy with
the dress and styling.
Booty Babes are the only contemporary works,
I could find, that are reminiscent of the
Hilda Magic. I think, in today’s world, sex
has lost it’s humor. Not that I don’t
appreciate a cold hard dominatrix, it’s just
that every once in a while, I’d like to see
her smile.
Skinny-minnie for big luscious and beautiful-
signing off,
Tags: Hilda, Plus-size Pinup, pinup artists, Duane Bryers, Booty Babe Art, Les Toil girls, Bodacious Magazine, chris Cooper, Big Bad Girls
