Customer Reviews

Art Models: Life Nudes for Drawing Painting and Sculpting

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was surprised by how many photos they could fit in a 160 page book. They're on just about every page and they fill the page. And since the book is 8.5x11, the photos are really big.

Other pose books I've seen put the photos in little frames. Maybe little photos and lots of white space looks nice, but it's a bad idea if you really want to see the models. Would you rather work from big color photos or little ones that you can't really see?

The quality, size of the photos, and the sheer number of them is stunning. Definitely the best bang for the buck of any pose book out there.

About the models,
If you buy the book expecting to get airbrushed ultra skinny fashion models, you might be disappointed. But, if you want naturally beautiful models photographed in clear lighting so you can see every bit of them, then this book is great. And there's a nice range, from Susan who is slim and athletic and has a classic Greek-sculpture face to someone like Jen with her amazing natural figure and more modern look.

The previews above give a good idea of the range of models but it's kind of hard to see how beautiful they are. And a couple of my favorites, Jessica and Jennifer (who have pin-up style figures) are missing.

So, if you want supermodels, go buy a fashion magazine, or if you want erotic models airbrushed to look like plastic, go buy a men's magazine, but if you're looking for attractive naturally beautiful models, this is the book to get.

The poses are good too.

I've been searching for a really good model reference for several years. I've tried most of the others but the photos were always too small. This one is much better- not only is it the best one I've found, it's also one of the least expensive.

The book comes on two disks: one of them has the book in a PDF and the other one (a DVD-ROM) has all the photos in JPGs.

Pros
The JPGs are huge so you can zoom in for details. There are a ton of views of each pose so you can see them all around which is nice for finding just the right angle. You can print them out if you want- I wanted to zoom in and print out closeups to use in my studio. The photos are evenly lit which is great for seeing details. There's a good variety of models: male and female, ages range from young to middle age, a few different ethnicities and several different body types. There's a good variety of poses, some are taken from the classics while others are more dynamic and some ordinary ones.
I emailed the seller and they seemed friendly and were quick to respond.

Cons:
This version is on disk only, no print book included. So, your computer must have a DVD reader in it and you need a recent version of Adobe Reader.

Conclusion- I like the big clear photos and the low price.

When I first received this book in the mail, I was quite impressed with its quality. There are several models featured in the book, the lighting in the photographs is inoffensive, and the pages are beautifully printed. I soon discovered, however, that the book itself would be of little use to me.
While the book initially appears to provide an abundance of photographic material and a variety of models, a few flip-throughs will reveal that many of the poses and models are incredibly similar. It focuses mostly on the female figure and provides female models who, but for one, appear to be young, slender (but not athletic), and white. They are all heavily made-up, they have no visible body hair and their genitals (while intact on the DVD) are nonexistant in the printed images: they have been airbrushed out. I find this choice particularly offensive considering that the male models did not receive the same treatment, nor do they adhere to the same idealistic standards. The one female model who is an exception to being thin is also not white: though she is a beautiful and capable model, I feel it is unfortunate that she alone bears the burden of "otherness". Although the average western (American) dress size for women is size 14, and the majority of people in the world are non-white, there is only one model out of nine that reflects this reality.
Variety is not just lacking in the bodies of female models, it is also absent in their poses. The poses are, for the most part, very passive, static, and inactive. Although there are a few dynamic poses, the majority of them are constructed and trite, showing little or no tension in the muscle or weight in the form. This is an important matter to consider, since much of the DVD is comprised of different angles of the same pictures represented in the book. If you are looking for stiff, formulated and "feminine" poses, you will be no doubt satisfied.
The two male models featured in the book provide better material. they are different than one another, in age and athleticism, although they are both still white. Their poses range from active to passive, the more graceful ones reminiscent of Greek and Roman statues.
One of the biggest disappointments for me was the discovery that the lighting in the images doesn't appear to differ in any way, from one model to another. It is an all-over, seemingly directionless light, hardly useful to the artist in my opinion. It is so bright that there are few form shadows to be found on the models, and little contrast.
The images on the DVD-ROM are generously large, but strangely lacking in texture. I don't know if this is due to the way the lighting was set up for the photographs, or if the models were "touched up", but their skin looks flat and plastic. Even when an image is zoomed in on, rarely can there be seen any veins, muscles, wrinkles or pores.
I have not owned many other model reference books, but I have found that my anatomy books in conjunction with internet resources have provided me with more stimulus than this collection of poses. While the print quality exceeds older books of its kind, I do not think the book itself is a great reference. The DVD-ROM is more worthwhile, and the publisher's website provides some nice extras, such as free downloads and contests. If you are interested in purchasing this book, I definitely recommend visiting the site and having a look around - maybe even purchase some of their images available for download to see if you like them.
In conclusion, I think this set will appeal to artists who are new to figure drawing and to hobbyists who have not had much experience rendering the human form. To anyone else, however, it is simply more of the same.

The photographs are high-resolution and well-lit. The models show a variety of poses and each pose is shot from multiple angles. It's also nice to have different body types represented. However, the photos are too small to see much detail of hand, foot, or muscle tone. Also, some of the poses are ridiculous. Maybe you can get an idea from their titles. For example, "country boy" (complete with wheat sprig sticking out between the man's teeth), "super surfer", "razzle dazzle". There are silly props too. For example, one nude half-reclining in a chair is reaching for a bowl of chips. Adding to the cheap effect, the book is arranged not by theme, but by model (first names only).

A much better reference is The Figure in Motion by Thomas Earley. The photos are black-and-white and somewhat grainy, but they are full-page, graceful and dynamic, and much more thoughtfully chosen for use in studying anatomy or for incorporating into compositions.

Easily worth every penny, there are so many really good poses that it's hard to choose which one to do first.

Pros
On the disk: the JPGs are huge so you can zoom in for details which is really helpful for sculpting. The disk gives you more views of all the poses in the book so you can see them in rotation which is nice for finding just the right view. You can print them out if you want- I wanted the ability to zoom in and print out the models for use in my workshop and the disk let's me do that. In the book, all the photos are in color and are roughly quarter page size. The photos are evenly lit which is great for seeing details, although it might seem a little flat for painting. There's a good variety of models, male and female, ages range from young to middle age, a few different ethnicities, several different body types from thin to athletic to slightly heavy. There's a good variety of poses- Some are taken from the classics while others are more dynamic (like swinging a sword or crouching) and some ordinary ones (like sitting, lying down or reading a book).
You can see all the models ahead of time by going to their site, livemodelbooks-com.

Cons:
The book includes a DVD-ROM so make sure your computer has a DVD reader in it.

I think the book with disk is easily worth the price since you get over 2500 more views and there's a lot of detail you can see when displayed full-size on your monitor.

Conclusion- A really well done book for practicing without hiring a nude model.

What a wonderful book created for the support of figurative artists! It seems like this book has it all, from drawing reference material to inspiring examples of actual artwork based on the reference material, to helpful perspectives from the authors and models, in short everything. It is so very heartening to find a work so committed to the art of the human form that is not tempted to sully the human body in any way. This book is clearly not just a "project" for the authors, it is a work of love and passion, indeed it is a work of art all its own and in its own right.

P.S., this is supposed to be 5 stars, and I can't figure out how to change it....

I bought this book months ago.

When I first opened it I was quite disappointed because, as previously mentioned, some of the models do not have inspiring bodies at all. I do not expect nor want skinny models - those are useless. I wish for "plush" female bodies NOT michelin waist, or doughy types. Also, I am interested only in female figurative sculpture and the book has males and couples. I thought the poses were not very inspiring either and I agree with someone's comment about the weird poses with corny props (totally useless)

However, now that I am a tiny bit more advanced in my sculpture program I think I am finally getting a return on my investment. The CD-ROm is really extremely useful as there are many pictures (360 degree plus from above) of the same pose. So, I use the CD to simulate a real session with a life model. I use my Mac Notebook to go throug the pictures as we do when we move a life model on the "lazy susan." I zoom when I work on some specific area. This works really well and I am extremely pleased. As to the poses, use it as a starter and then make some modifications of course.

Give it a try, it is worth it if one use it appropiately.

This book/CD set is a must for anyone producing visual images of the human form. The photographs are art in themselves, beautiful enough to enjoy for their own sake without intruding on the creative process of an artist/user.

Tastefully done with wonderful models and well worth the investment. A treasured addition to my art study library.

the book provides approx 3x5 photos for the contents in the dvd. it was easy to manipulate the photos to print what i needed e.g. enlargement of a particular part of the body. many different views were shown of a variety of models.