Artist Roundup: the Best of DeviantArt

A brief overview of some outstanding, very sexy artists on Deviantart...



I must confess, I barely have a clue who the hell Cloud is. So imagine my surprise to see Cloudyfan's gallery, which makes him jaw-droppingly handsome, with a hard, undeniably masculine build.

Visit his gallery here.

Mindloop loves the whole idea of growth; he has lots of growth charts and his art is worth reading if only for the text that accompanies it.

Visit his gallery here.



Nobody makes muscle men sexier than Artizek. Size, proportions, testosterone-dripping masculinity, his men are Chippendale's dancers with muscles like bodybuilders. Really incredible stuff.

Visit his gallery here.

What makes a great muscle growth story?

Muscle growth stories aren't stories in the strictest traditional sense. They are, rather, sort of like trapeze acts. Nobody worries whether a trapeze act has the traditional rising action/falling action progression because it's not about drama, but instead is an exhibition of power and eroticism. There are a few real similarities to traditional stories. For instance, there is almost always a person that is the central protagonist that represents the audience.

(Disclaimer: I try to slip in as many traditional story elements. This is because I was inspired by guys that CAN tell a good story, like Morpheus, and I think a muscle growth story should be a good, enjoyable story too, just like any other kind of escapist reading.)

In all honesty, the actual growth itself is the least interesting part of the story for me. The sexiest and most erotic questions come from asking, "okay, this guy's a muscle stud. So NOW what?"

If there's any kind of story that erotic ones most resemble, it would be horror, because the purpose of every single word is to create an atmosphere, a very primal emotion. For horror, it's fear and dread. For muscle male stories, it's an even older emotion.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS begin a muscle growth story with something erotic, or a promise of something erotic. It should be in the very first sentence. If you don't have that, just start it off with a character's randy wants or longings.

I'm trying to remember where my love of muscle guys came from, but I seem to remember this one guy I knew in Middle School at the time of my sexual awakening. His name was Ford, and he was an overdeveloped guy a head taller than nearly any other kid that year. He had immense physical development and muscles: I mostly remember he had thighs that were tree-trunk thick in soccer shorts. There were rumors he was extremely well-endowed and had a guinea pig in his pants. And he was certainly very good looking: the guy looked like Zack Morris. It goes without saying he was a great athlete. Every single girl, and I mean every single girl, was in love with him, myself included. His nicknames included "Steroids" and "Sexy Ford."

What struck me as interesting is how other guys seemed to, well, defer to him. It was totally unspoken, but it seemed when he hung around guys, his head towering over them, they didn't talk until he listened. He gave an opinion, the rest agreed.

Incidentally, for those interested in some readings involving physically perfect muscle men, I recommend a very interesting book from the 11th Century by Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Muhammad ibn Tufail al-Qaisi al-Andalusi (*gasp*). Like an 11th Century Islamic Michael Crichton, Ibn Tufail was a doctor and physician who became a bestselling novelist. His book Philosophus Autodidactus was one of the earliest known science fiction novels, and fascinatingly enough, was a story based on the scientific speculation of its day. The main character is a flawless, physically perfect and strong wild man that is created by "spontaneous generation" in a cavern. Gifted both mentally and physically, the stud's hard bod runs naked in the jungle, getting all sun-bronzed...until he has contact with some sailors.

Interestingly enough, the novel described resurrection as possible using medical techniques.

Rob Schneider: Muscle Growth Hero?

When I have to summarize the plot of a muscle growth story, a great many of them sound like plots for a Rob Schneider movie. It doesn't help that Rob Schneider himself generally looks like the Omega Male "before" in a muscle growth story.

In fact, I've noticed when reviewing stories, I start to sound like that hilarious South Park fake Rob Schneider trailers. "Derp de derpity derp da derp. Until one day derp de derp...a teetily tum! Da derp dee derp teetlee derpee dumb!"

(It's interesting to note that after that parody, Rob Schneider never really got another starring movie. There's such a thing as a parody that was so spot-on that what it parodied was torpedoed forever. I know I can't take seriously RENT after "Everybody Has AIDS.")

In fact, a lot of muscle growth stories do come off as Rob Schneider movies. Something weird happens to a guy that's barely explained, and he's transformed. Except instead of turning into an animal or a carrot or whatever, and used for comedy, it's all about the sexuality.

In fact, it occurs to me if Hollywood ever DID make a muscle growth story, it would be done not as a sexy transformation story but as a comedy.

I think it's also worth noting that the very studly, virile Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (the only good looking professional wrestler in history) looks like a sexy, muscular, grown version of Rob Schneider. Coincidence...?

Things that turn me on

Thought I might compile a list of things that turn me on, especially about muscle guys.

1. Older-Lady-Younger-Guy. After marriage, I'm probably going to leave my husband for a 20 year old, brawny boy-toy. In fact, that's probably going to be the topic of my next story: a cougar and her cougar cub.

2. Big Thighs. Seriously, nothing's better than clutching thighs the size of granite and as wide as tree-trunks. Nothing's better than seeing a guy in jeans, whose thighs fill them up like walnuts in a condom, whose teardrop shaped muscles make his legs look sunken.

3. Dark hair/Light Eyes combination. Nothing makes me melt like a blue or (especially!) green eyed guy with dark hair.

4. Well-groomed goatees. The handsome, charismatic Robert Downey Jr. (one of my five favorite actors of all time, incidentally) had one in his latest adventure movie, and I have to say, it looked GOOD.

5. Deep voice. Love a guy with a deep, growly voice that makes my toes curl. The best one would be some combination of Orson Welles and Barry White.

6. Tarzan. This one is self-explanatory. Tanned, hard, rugged wilderness guy that can fight tigers for me with his bare hands.

7. Captain Jack from Doctor Who. That man was put on earth to thrill women.

8. Accents. My personal choice for the sexiest? North Italian. Or maybe a Jamaican.

9. Bisexual guys. Nothing's hotter than a guy that wouldn't mind "sharing." Paul Telfer's supposed to be bi.

10. Daniel Dae Kim. You know, the Korean guy from LOST? Seriously, ever seen that guy shirtless? He's got abs that could break a bowling ball to glass.

11. Tattoos. I love a man like I love my coffee: hot, black, and covered with scorpions. I like "nice guys" but deep down, there's a motorcycle riding bad boy I secretly want!

12. Places to have sex. On top of the hood of a lowrider.

13. Smutty-minded men. Remember the old urban legend that guys think about sex once a minute? Ha ha, if only. But it's a nice thought, isn't it?

14. Well-Endowed Men. Any girl that says it doesn't matter has a boyfriend that isn't very large. Nothing feels better than a massively endowed stallion, especially if he's got muscles to match. It's not so much important if he's big, so long as he's THICK, an iron-hard girthy girder that makes you feel during sex that he's touching you in the neck.

15. Smart guys. I guess you figure I probably added this one so I don't look shallow, but really, this is very important to me. Ideally, a guy should be like the men of Ancient Greece: handsome, well-developed bodies, but with well-developed minds. Our school system should encourage the Greek Ideal!

16. Rich guys. Always make sure to look for the bulge in the back of the pants, as well as the front!

17. Feats of Strength. Nothing's hotter than a guy that tears phone books with his hands, can crack a walnut between his pecs, or bend a penny in between his abs with a crunch. Not to mention popping a measuring tape with his neck or bicep flex! What's more dramatic is popping a measuring tape with the TRICEPS - those muscles are really the part that give the arm its size.

18. Vampires. Some girls are waiting for their Prince Charming. Me, I'm waiting for Dracula.

19. Aussies. Love Australian guys! Bronze-tanned, rugged, from Outback cowboys to surfer guys, they grow 'em big and cute Down Under!

20. Small Waists. A big upper torso and wide back isn't as dramatic or sexy unless the guy has a small hard waist for it to spring from.

21. A big tongue. Sticks it out, and it stretches six inches or more. This is even more important than big genitals at least for me. A long tongue is great for those, ah, hard to reach places.

The Best-Looking Men of All-Time: Denis Sergovskiy

Born in Moscow, Denis Sergovskiy, a chiseled, godlike blue-eyed Slavic stud as hard as granite, has to be seen to be believed. In fact, I see him, but I still don't believe it. Strong-jawed, fierce, handsome, clefted-chinned, one of the best-looking men of all time, especially with his lustrous, curly dark hair. The thing I like about him is, despite the fact he's beautiful, he's undeniably masculine as well. I don't think it'd be possible to have sex without thinking about Denis just a little bit.

He's got a heroic quality, that's for sure. He'd be a natural for a movie about Hercules or Tarzan.

Why are we into muscular men?

One interesting theory I read, way back when I was an undergrad Anthropology student, was the idea that standards of beauty for men were determined by the primary weapon used in a culture. Our culture's image of a well-developed male torso, small waist, big shoulders, large arms, comes from the introduction of the bow and arrow. Cultures that never invented the bow and arrow have very different ideas of the ideal male physique.

The theory had the usual problems for a lot of older Anthropological theories, as it was too materialistic (in other words, the older idea that culture was determined by tools and material things, instead of the other way around, or even a give-and-take). But they're right about one thing: our standard of male beauty has always been about big, wide shoulders and hard, well-developed arms.

Alright, let's make this a little more personal now: why do I like muscular men?

I'm in love with masculinity, with maleness. I love a tall man with big, hard arms that can pick me up. Strength and power, physical, financial, mental, turn me on.

Armchair psychologists often speculate that a lot of women that like muscle men had an absent father figure. Though that's too easy an explanation, and in my case, not strictly true.

Alright, let me come at this from a different angle. One of my ex-boyfriends was the sort of guy that was into those video games like TOMB RAIDER or those games where Karate girls beat each other up. I always wondered why. After all, shouldn't they be true to form with gender identity, boys playing with GI Joes and girls play with Barbies and whatnot?

Though very few men would talk about it, the more obvious it became to me that there's an urge and a desire among men to actually be a beautiful, sexy young woman.

Once I realized that, a lot of my own interests crystalized. I want to actually BE a sexy, brawny and burly stud. There - sounds strange to say, doesn't it? It is true, though: when I read romance stories, usually, I root for the man and not the woman.

One more thing: occasionally, I'm asked what my feelings are on female muscle and bodybuilding.

I think they're dead sexy. I mean that. I love women that are tough and glamorous at the same time. I love weird, alternative types of sexuality, especially if that sexuality is also threatening and challenging to men. I love tattoos and piercings and leather.

I remember an interview once with a female bodybuilder. (I think it was Reney Toney, because this is absolutely something she'd say.) Someone asked her if it bothered her that lots of other people thought she looked like a freak. Her response?

"Well, I like looking like a freak."

COOL!

Story Reviews: The Office Boy, Future of Man

This story is rated:








You can find the story:



Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9



Let me say the first thing I like about it that comes right to mind: it's a story broken up into several parts that actually finishes. It doesn't meander around aimlessly forever. Hallelujah! This story actually has a real ending with real resolution, as opposed to an ending created whenthe writer just gets bored with the whole concept.



The Office Boy is a story all about how sexy power relations and imbalances are, with a dopey office worker whose life is taken over by his erotic fixation with a young superstud office boy of the title that commands him with his body and sexual power, like a man-on-man version of a Film Noir, with our young stud definitely in the topper position.



Here's something I've always wondered when I read stories of this type: do the people that read this imagine themselves as the young handsome stud, or as the weakling ordinary older guy that he dominates?



I'd argue that the way this fantasy works is by contrast, so it's fundamentally all about the stud guy. He's worshipped. The reason he's paired up with some wuss that he controls is to show how virile and masculine and commanding the stud is, an alpha male compared to some scraggler. That kind of worshipful desire is probably, to my mind, indicative that most people identify with the muscle guy and not his weakling buttbuddy.



(By the way, when I read romantic books, I generally root for the man. Not only because romance heroines tend to be annoying, but also because it seems the men have to strive more. Then again, maybe I'm overthinking it, and I got a crossed wire somewhere. )

As for the story itself, it is a very sexy read.

The thing I like about it is the very real tenderness between the sexy young stud. It takes a while to show up, but it's there. Compared to the grunting, nasty version of human sexuality seen in these stories, some real tenderness is a wonderful thing.

The length of the story allows the writer to develop his idea most fully. It's got more ideas than the usual story of this type.

The prose style has some incredibly hot descriptions that just speak for themselves:

Then he pulled out and fell on top of me on the bed. And he fell asleep, right on top of me. Even though he was crushing me with his huge body, I didn’t want to move him. I wanted to feel him, to smell his sweat, to feel his huge muscles on top of me, to feel the muscles of a total man. I will probably never have that experience again, having 245 pounds of solid muscle sleeping on top of me. Even though he was sleeping, his muscles were firm and solid. I could feel the ridges of his pecs, the huge size of his legs that crushed my own skinny legs, the huge thickness of his shoulders. His chest and abs went up and down as he breathed and I could feel every breath. I licked his skin and tasted the salty sweat from his hard workout. Our bodies were so close, so together. It was almost like Alex was a part of me. A huge muscular stud that was a part of me. I was hard the whole time. I was in heaven. After about a half hour, he grunted and rolled over. Finally I went to sleep again.

Future of Man is another interesting story that's worth a second look.

Read it here.

The basic jist of this story is, a muscle stud from the future, Thor (great name!) comes and challenges mankind to everything, from baseball to sex. He's a very sexy, exotic stud, half Icelandic, half-African. "His balance was so perfect he actually performed ballet so beautifully he made men weep." There were a few other great moments. The story was an aggressive fantasy of a super alpha dog, and it's worth reading if you like that sort of thing.

Artist Roundup: RedLioness

If there's one thing I love, it's cowboys. Hardbodied, brass-tanned, rugged, with those sexy shirts unbuttoned over big pecs, bananas, small waisted, well-grown, musky aftershave...

There's nothing better. NOTHING!

So, here comes one artist on deviantart that seems to share the love: RedLioness.

Visit her site here.

All her guys are sexy, cute, her poses romantic and sensual. Sure, she's got the occasional fangirl fixation (TMNT?) but it's all good. Lots of hard abs, surfer boys, cowboys.

Quit making stuff up, Portugal!

I hope nobody objects if, for a change of pace, I'd do a little science blogging.

Little countries fight for everything they can get. It's why the Danish have never shut up about Hans Christian Andersen or Niels Bohr: because that's all they got.

Portugal is a country smaller than most, and if you read a Portuguese work on the history of aviation, they say it's one of theirs - Bartolomeu de Gusmão - who invented lighter than air travel first, in 1709, years before the Montgolfier Brothers (who happen to come from France, a big, important country).

Bartolomeu de Gusmão was a Jesuit that petitioned to King John of Portugal for the right to build a lighter than air craft. Plans still exist and can be seen: de Gusmão's drawings and design involved tubes that blow at a quilt.

In general, though, de Gusmão isn't considered to be the founder of lighter than air travel, because his machine was never built, it was never publicly demonstrated, and it's doubtful it would have worked at all.

Here's why: in science and engineering, there are only a finite number of ways something can be done because of physical laws. This is why, for instance, dolphins and sharks have similar body shapes despite the fact they're in no way related.

For lighter than air travel, any sort of craft would have to look more or less like a hot air balloon. No matter where it is invented and by whom, look more or less like the hot air balloon the Montgolfiers made. The reason for this is basic high school geometry: a sphere is the shape with the greatest volume and the lowest surface area. Likewise, the cabin would have to be far smaller than the gasbag, so that the gasbag could generate enough lift to carry it.

What's interesting is, de Gusmão's device resembles the helikite, another type of aerostat. Yet hot air below the kite surface itself doesn't generate lift. It needs a gasbag like any other aerostat.

To reward everybody for their patience, here's a picture of a hard guy with a body of pure iron:

(Suckers!)

Artist Roundup: Richard Bartrop

You know, I said to myself this would be a general muscle guy blog, and so I'd keep the furry stuff to a minimum because of how, er, "general audience" it is. But this guy, Richard Batrop, is so cool that he deserves a spot on the Artist Roundup.

He also emerges from a different social/cultural context than most other furry artists: he loves Heinlein, the original Star Trek, 50s science fiction, and he draws more like Frank Kelly Freas than Japanime.

Visit his Yerf Historal Archive Here.

Visit his Elfwood page Here.



And he sure can draw the beefcake. One thing I like is how sexy and sleek all his muscle studs are. They have a sense of heroism, a sense of power like a sensual animal. Most muscle artists, when drawing muscle guys, go overboard and make them grotesque.



He can also draw multiple different types of muscular bodies. No two of his characters have the exact same body type. Witness his "Furry Tarzan" here: