In this post I’ll detail what I believe are qualities that go into making the best butt. These are just my opinions that I’ve formed over the years from studying anatomy and generally just being an ass guy lol. You’re free to disagree, but here’s my take. Also, artists and sculptors if you are indeed reading this, please feel free to correct me on anything you think is wrong, or if you decide to take any of this as advice please remember to play around with the shapes and sizes of your models, variety is the spice of life after all! (Excuse the crude art, I have a creative eye, but my hands won’t listen. I tried my best to make a mock up of what I’m saying below, to visually get my points across.)

I think there are two qualities most important to me when it comes to ass, one being a big round gluteus maximus, and the other being a deep gluteal fold. When it comes to the overall shape of an ass, it’s predominantly formed by the gluteus maximus, and while the saying goes “the bigger the better” it’s not always the size that counts. When designing the backside of your character keep in mind their frame, the overall shape of not just their ass but also their back, upper torso and legs. I am a person that loves me some extreme proportions, but what really puts together a great ass is the shape, and while you can sometimes make a big ass, if it doesn’t have the right shape and flow lines then it’s going to look bad. In this regard, always design with size and shape in mind. Something that I personally enjoy is when the ass protrudes outwards from the legs and back to a great degree creating what can be considered a “P” shape from a profile view. In a sense, it’s “more cushion for the pushin’”. Secondly is the gluteal fold, an anatomical term I’m sure many of you will not be aware of. In essence, it is the connection between the ass and the leg, quite literally a fold. In my opinion, it’s always good to have a deep fold, in a way it underlines the ass and really makes it pop. In this case it’s important to keep in mind the shape, and angle of your folds, nice symmetrical lines that make a sort of U shape is best, it can look bad when the angle of the fold is too shallow, like the leg and ass are fused in a way. I can’t emphasize enough how important the gluteal fold is when designing a video game butt (or any butt really!). There are too many times when a character in a game has wide hips, and a “big” ass, only to turn them and realize that they are flat, just blown up a bit.

That all being said, a good butt is only as good as it can be, what makes a good butt great are the attributes surrounding it! Something simple that can add to a good looking ass are the “Dimples of Venus” as the term suggests, these are dimples and they exist just above the sacrum or the “V” just above the butt crack (Also, make sure your character’s have deep butt cracks! Depth is essential to making great butts). Not everyone has dimples of Venus and not always are your characters going to show off that section of skin, but it’s a nice detail to keep in mind. Just the same, spinal erectors are a detail that may often be hidden by your character’s clothing, however when it’s there it adds so much to the design as a whole and the attractiveness of your character. Spinal erectors are a group of muscles that run along the length of your spine and can typically be seen when a character is flexing they’re back or arms. Spinal erectors are essential when considering the design of your character because they add to something I mentioned before, the “flow lines”, these are invisible lines that run along your character’s body, they reach out to your character’s limbs, and down their back, across their waist, around their ass and so on. Flow lines are what make a character who they are, are the lines long and angular? Probably a big brute type character, are they short and flowy? A flirtatious character, most likely. These are the sorts of subconscious assumptions your intended audience is going to make when looking at your character. It’s the basis of design, and it’s key that you master it if you want to make great art. And it’s not just characters, it’s everything from scenery to vehicles, but that’s out of the scope of this post and community.

The last thing I think I’d like to cover is proportion. There are a lot of things to consider when designing a character’s ass, but one of the most important things is proportions, those of things like hip/waist ratio, hip/shoulder ratio, hip/thigh, and thigh/waist. There are a lot of different sizes and ratios that you can use, so play around with it, but I think the sorts of ratios that I enjoy the most are when the hips are around double the width of the shoulders, it really puts a nice emphasis on the ass. Another good ratio is when the hips are wider than the waist. I think one of the more important ratios has to be the ass to thigh ratio. Simply put, if you make the thighs too big they can overpower the ass and draw attention away from it, another case of “bigger is better” but only in moderation.

Edit 1: Something I didn’t detail in the post above is color. When designing a butt it’s always important to consider color, making the butt a shade or two lighter can create a focal point on your character’s ass. The eyes will be naturally drawn to it. It also gives the illusion of softness, our brains typically tend to associate lighter colors with softer feeling fabrics, materials, and yes meat. This is a tactic often employed in fashion, next time you’re out try looking for pants typically blue jeans that have the butt lighter than the rest of the pant leg this is done on purpose to draw your attention. Also giving them undertones like where the gluteal fold is can further add a layer of depth and add to the illusion of softness. For example, if you’re designing a character with light skin, consider adding a pink rosy undertone to help contrast between the natural shadow of the gluteal fold, the butt crack and so on.

Edit 2: Also a major part of designing a great butt is to remember to give it jiggle physics! Just as it is with boobs (and everything else really), our brains expect butts to move a certain way. While breasts physics have been a popular addition to video games for decades, ass physics are just as important! Physics on ass can give your character a sense of motion that helps tie them to the real world in ome of those subtle ways that video games are known for. And secondary to the point, you need to also consider how your character’s butt is going to look during it’s walk cycle. These primary and secondary animations add a layer of realism that help the player really immerse themselves in your world and helps your characters stick out in players’ minds. Like for example Link’s hair blowing in the wind in BotW and ToTK, it’s a secondary animation that most players wouldn’t consciously realize but it’s one of the reasons people say “wow BotW is really beautiful” without them really even knowing it. Take a page out of Street Fighter VI’s book as well. Capcom realized that physics can really enhance the impact of a punch or a kick, when Cammy throws out a heavy kick, you see the force ripple and shake it’s way up her body, and what other part is shaking during that kick? Her butt! So don’t be shy, it’s only natural to add these effects and animations to your game, and to incorporate them in your character design. :)

Edit 3: Just to clarify I did not make the model, I simply used it as a base to visually explain what I described in the text throughout this post. (If it was me making the model, it’d look much different. You’d also be able to see what I was talking about without me having to draw on top of it.) I hope I didn’t give anyone the wrong impression.

And I think that’s it, if you made it this far, thanks for reading. I hope you found some useful information here if you’re a character designer, or if you’re just a connoisseur such as myself I hope you found it an interesting read. But, what do you think? Do you disagree? What would you consider to be more or less important? This was a post I was thinking of making since I made this community so I’d love to know your opinions. :)