Got what I needed thanks.
My simplest answer is: if she's a woman, and you're happy with how she looks, she looks like a woman.
She looks feminine to me with broad shoulders and capable of fighting and standing her ground. I'm 6'1" tall and broad in skeletal frame compared to my 6'0" sister, who is very thin and has a slender skeletal frame, and I would probably look a lot like your character physique wise if I toned up and lost bodyfat.
I also have friends who are women who look like this, both cis and trans.
On that note, I have not a doubt in my mind about your good intentions here, but phrasing this as 'does she look like a cross-dressing man' doesn't feel ideal. There are lots of women who struggle with gender and/or body dysphoria who look like this, and this somewhat implies that it's okay to ask if people who look like them really look more like men in dresses.
A more inclusive phrasing here would be 'does her frame appear masculine or feminine?', but I also stand firm by the notion that she doesn't have to look like anything other than what you envisioned her to be, because her gender isn't defined by whether or not she fits a binary gender norm!
She looks feminine to me with broad shoulders and capable of fighting and standing her ground. I'm 6'1" tall and broad in skeletal frame compared to my 6'0" sister, who is very thin and has a slender skeletal frame, and I would probably look a lot like your character physique wise if I toned up and lost bodyfat.
I also have friends who are women who look like this, both cis and trans.
On that note, I have not a doubt in my mind about your good intentions here, but phrasing this as 'does she look like a cross-dressing man' doesn't feel ideal. There are lots of women who struggle with gender and/or body dysphoria who look like this, and this somewhat implies that it's okay to ask if people who look like them really look more like men in dresses.
A more inclusive phrasing here would be 'does her frame appear masculine or feminine?', but I also stand firm by the notion that she doesn't have to look like anything other than what you envisioned her to be, because her gender isn't defined by whether or not she fits a binary gender norm!
Ok thanks Sanne, I'll go change my phrasing. Sorry, was kinda just copying what my boyfriend said, didn't mean to offend anyone. 
Back on topic, thanks for your opinion.
Back on topic, thanks for your opinion.
It's also worth noting that someone who trains regularly and swings swords around for a living probably isn't going to have your 'stereotypically feminine' figure. It's hard work. Seriously. Fencing, which uses swords waaaay lighter than your average katana, is extremely physically demanding. The character is going to have a lower body fat percentage and higher muscle tone, which is naturally going to eliminate a lot of the fat deposits your mind associates with 'femininity', while highlighting structures such as the shoulders and torso. People who work out regularly also go down in breast size since those are indeed affected when gaining muscle or losing weight.
See my favorite example of a certain tiktok bodybuilder: identical body shape to the artwork provided. Any character who swordfights is going to have shredded arms and shoulders because 99% of the actions associated with it work those muscle groups. The legs and glutes will be less affected since you don't exactly swing a sword with your legs or butt.
Just as a side note: if this is an artwork you commissioned from someone, I'd avoid opening it to critique in the public in the future.
If you're unhappy with it, talk to them. I would be very uncomfortable and probably a bit miffed if I saw a client opening a critique thread about a piece of artwork I did for them instead of asking me how I can fix it.
See my favorite example of a certain tiktok bodybuilder: identical body shape to the artwork provided. Any character who swordfights is going to have shredded arms and shoulders because 99% of the actions associated with it work those muscle groups. The legs and glutes will be less affected since you don't exactly swing a sword with your legs or butt.
Just as a side note: if this is an artwork you commissioned from someone, I'd avoid opening it to critique in the public in the future.
If you're unhappy with it, talk to them. I would be very uncomfortable and probably a bit miffed if I saw a client opening a critique thread about a piece of artwork I did for them instead of asking me how I can fix it.
Saturninum wrote:
It's also worth noting that someone who trains regularly and swings swords around for a living probably isn't going to have your 'stereotypically feminine' figure. It's hard work. Seriously. Fencing, which uses swords waaaay lighter than your average katana, is extremely physically demanding. The character is going to have a lower body fat percentage and higher muscle tone, which is naturally going to eliminate a lot of the fat deposits your mind associates with 'femininity', while highlighting structures such as the shoulders and torso. People who work out regularly also go down in breast size since those are indeed affected when gaining muscle or losing weight.
See my favorite example of a certain tiktok bodybuilder: identical body shape to the artwork provided. Any character who swordfights is going to have shredded arms and shoulders because 99% of the actions associated with it work those muscle groups. The legs and glutes will be less affected since you don't exactly swing a sword with your legs or butt.
Just as a side note: if this is an artwork you commissioned from someone, I'd avoid opening it to critique in the public in the future. If you're unhappy with it, talk to them. I would be very uncomfortable and probably a bit miffed if I saw a client opening a critique thread about a piece of artwork I did for them instead of asking me how I can fix it.
See my favorite example of a certain tiktok bodybuilder: identical body shape to the artwork provided. Any character who swordfights is going to have shredded arms and shoulders because 99% of the actions associated with it work those muscle groups. The legs and glutes will be less affected since you don't exactly swing a sword with your legs or butt.
Just as a side note: if this is an artwork you commissioned from someone, I'd avoid opening it to critique in the public in the future.
If you're unhappy with it, talk to them. I would be very uncomfortable and probably a bit miffed if I saw a client opening a critique thread about a piece of artwork I did for them instead of asking me how I can fix it.Thank you for advice on both things and I think I will close this now.
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