She is also on a personal mission to challenge artists to focus less on objectification and more on character.
The mother of four recently took to Twitter to address the ways artists can add power to female characters.
"Drawing women sexy is an automatic response to many artists. Done without thought," De Liz writes.
"I was like that for many years until I recognised it."
She then describes seven steps that can transform a character from sultry to super.
1. (Left) A common expression in comics. Eyes are lidded, mouth is pouty. It’s look to promote a sense of sexiness & lessens personality. (Right) Personality and uniqueness first. Think of distinct facial features outside the usual. Promote thought in eyes. What’s she thinking of?
2. (Left) Commonly taught way to draw breasts (OR fully separated/circles/sticking out). The intent is to highlight sex appeal. It’s not realistic for a hero. (Right) What’s REALISTIC for your hero? Athletes need major support (i.e sports bra) which have a different look. Consider not ALL heroes have DD’s.
3. Arms are closer to supermodel size on the left. What best fits your hero? If she’s strong, she’ll likely very built. Give her muscles!
4. Hands on left are set in a way to promote the sense of softness, it lessens her power. Be sure hands are set in a way to promote strength.
5. (Left) It’s common to see “the arch n’ twist” in comics. A female arched and twisted to show both cheeks AND both boobs. (Right) Twists in the body are a powerful art tool but stick to what can realistically be done, and use arches w/o intent for “boob/butt perk.”
6. One on left feels like she’s posing. The right feels like she’s standing heroically. Make her overall pose functional vs. sexually appealing.
7. Heels! Modern heels are generally used to amplify stance & increase visual appeal. I like them, but if I were a hero, not too realistic. Most important is what would your character choose? It’s very difficult to hero around in stilettos. Perhaps consider low/no heels.
The original post has been shared more than 5,200 times and attracted over 7,100 likes.
In conversation with fans who responded to her post, De Liz also offered a couple of bits of advice.
"If your hero has a zippered top, DON’T unzip it! Breasts can easily fall out during hero work, which would be silly," she writes.
"If nothing else, consider this: Would I do this to a male character? (ie, would you perk out Batman’s butt and twist him to see BOTH his pecs?)"
While the series of tweets prompted a lot of conversation and many commended De Liz for her stance, we have to give props to Twitter user Emilio Lopez who illustrates her last point beautifully.
