Can't decide between 9 versions (male nude)

[sunandshadow]

Simple Poll - which of these 9 attempts at lineart for a skinny male is the best? I can't decide. @_@
They are numbered:
1,2,3
4,5,6
7,8,9

[Jason Rainville]

I don't really know what the point of a poll is, unless I look very closely they all look practically identical. On top of that there are a lot of weird choices for lines, like how his jaw extends all the way up to his brow or how his obliques turn into his balls.

I know you don't want to hear another standard "study anatomy" recommendation, but seriously drawing a bunch of skinny naked men would probably help more than making tiny adjustments on your line art.

[sunandshadow]

I don't really know what the point of a poll is, unless I look very closely they all look practically identical. On top of that there are a lot of weird choices for lines, like how his jaw extends all the way up to his brow or how his obliques turn into his balls.

I know you don't want to hear another standard "study anatomy" recommendation, but seriously drawing a bunch of skinny naked men would probably help more than making tiny adjustments on your line art.

But look at your own phrase - 'weird choices for lines'. I know I'm having problems translating a realistic photo reference into the simplicity of anime/comic lines; that's why the three rows are three experiments at how to represent the torso structure without using too many lines and making him look too muscular or skeletal. Maybe they all fail and I need to go back to the drawing board, but I do have both a photo reference and a musculature chart right in front of me. Problem is, the chart is for a guy with a superhero build, not a bishounen build like I'm trying to portray. I looked but haven't been successful at finding examples of how other artists present a slender male nude with simple cartoony lines.

[Mr.Badguy]

This is just kind of coming out of nowhere, but there was an episode of Samurai Champloo (maybe you've heard of it?) where the two male lead characters go into a red light district and throughout the episode one of the characters is practically naked except for shorts. It might help... Bruce Timm style might also be kind of what you're looking for.

[Notophthalmus]

It would help to have some context- what overall aesthetic you are going for. As it is, none of them look so much cartoony as abstracted. They look sort of decorative. This is most pronounced in the first three- the pectorals are divided from the rest of the body by lines that are continuous with the lines defining the shoulders The head is totally separate from the neck. The lines are too dominant for cartoon work.

Minor note- the genital position really bugs me. Where you have placed the bottom of his scrotum is about where the genitals should be "attached" to the pubis.

[Jason Rainville]

But look at your own phrase - 'weird choices for lines'. I know I'm having problems translating a realistic photo reference into the simplicity of anime/comic lines; that's why the three rows are three experiments at how to represent the torso structure without using too many lines and making him look too muscular or skeletal. Maybe they all fail and I need to go back to the drawing board, but I do have both a photo reference and a musculature chart right in front of me. Problem is, the chart is for a guy with a superhero build, not a bishounen build like I'm trying to portray. I looked but haven't been successful at finding examples of how other artists present a slender male nude with simple cartoony lines.

I guess what I'm mainly wondering then is why are there so many tiny slight changes to the hands or face when it's the torso that's the focus? I mean you only really need the 3 torso variations to give us an idea of what you're going for, the rest was just kind of information overload.