As an artist with a focus on fat and trans bodies, my understanding of the human form comes from seeing variety.
I admire bodies that don't fit into the ideal form, because they are all the more common and all the more ignored.
You can find a million drawings featuring fat bodies that are drawn with the sole purpose of being appealing due to following the ideal form. Whether it be because our eyes have gotten the idea, through repetitive influence, that that form is *ideal*. Or for audiences to lust after.
Finding art depicting variety in body types, in fat distribution and structure, is very.. very hard. Sometimes, if you want to see more of something, YOU ought to be the thing you want to see more of.
If you truly want to be a body positive artist, learning to draw a generally appealing fat body is less than half the battle. Thin bodies have variety in fat distribution and in structure. Fat bodies just accentuate these forms.
Practice the ways fat falls around the body, see how it feels when you let yourself play around with the human form. Have FUN with it.
Learning to stop caring about making bodies look the most appealing to wider audiences has been the most freeing thing for me. Practicing various body types has been very fun, and has improved my understanding of the human form more than anything else possibly could.
