Customer Reviews

The Fantasy Figure Artist's Reference File with CD-ROM

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

 

 

Unfortunately, this book did not live up to my expectations. Overall, it was uninspiring to me, especially in creating my own characters. As a reference photo book, it fails because the poses are not extreme and dynamic as promised. It also seems to try to reach beyond its scope with a section on painting and many comments on characters beyond anatomy and costume.

Pros:
- "Anatomical studies" show each character type in only shorts (or shorts and sports bra for women) so you know what the body looks like in some poses.
- Summary of character wardrobe
- Poses of characters in wardrobe may help in drawing clothing -- depicting folds, how certain material hangs, etc.
- As another review mentioned, an overweight man ("cleric" and "norseman" types) and a small person ("warrior dwarf" type) are shown here, and both are helpful.
- Captions in the book often direct you to details (how material is bunching up a certain way, how a shoulder strap hangs off the body in a certain pose) or notes about anatomy ("legs need to be placed apart because they will have to bend to compensate for the weight of the ax")
- Section of close-up facial expressions (male and female)
- Although brief, there are also some photos of hand detail, including props like rings & bracelets, and accessory details -- boots, belts, jewelry
- Spiral binding allows the book to lay flat (although when you're drawing, you'll probably print images from the CD instead)

Cons:
- Uninteresting poses. This is the sale-killer for me. Although the book says the photos depict "extreme anatomy and dynamic action poses" I found the poses to be too plain. There was no "extreme" posing where the body is in extreme angles -- lunging, jumping, twisting. Instead, someone is standing still with their arms raised and feet spread, but there is no action happening. You can tell because there is a lack of tense muscles.

- The back of the book has a section on painting characters that seems out of place. This is a photo reference book, not a painting book. Unless you already know about painting with acrylics, this section is useless.

- Some captions have irrelevant comments. In a caption of a photo showing a happy "warrior prince" face, it notes, "All characters should be able to feel elation and happiness."

Summary: although a few poses are good, don't expect most of them to be "extreme" or "dynamic." Note that this is not an instruction book on learning anatomy, and you should have at least a basic understanding of human anatomy to use this book well.

Books that I would recommend for beginning artists:
- Human Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy by Christopher Hart
- Drawing the Living Figure by Joseph Sheppard
- Dynamic Figure Drawing by Burne Hogarth (great for flow of action)
- Perspective! For Comic Book Artists by David Chelsea
- Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery: Solutions for Drawing the Clothed Figure by Burne Hogarth
- Action Anatomy: For Gamers, Animators, and Digital Artists by Takashi Iijima

As a cartoonist working on a fantasy book, The Fantasy Figure Artist's Reference File is a must have. The photographs are clear and the poses are very useful to the action artist. AND the range of model types is amazing. It's rare to find images of a fat man in an art reference book..and I think this is the very first time I've seen pictures and poses of a little person! This book will be placed on the top level of my reference book shelf.

This book is just not what I thought it would be. Extreme anatomy? No, not really.

First, all the women are the same body type, which is they all are a bit thick. I would like to see more variations here. At least some of the models should be athletic, some overweight, some curvaceous. Extremes. Like they promise. The men really aren't any better. The variety is poor.

So, maybe they are saying that the anatomy of average looking people is taken to extremes? Well...

I can't tell with most of the models, as the clothes get in the way of many of the poses. If it's just a book about costumed references, that's fine (though then I'd like more professional costumes). But it says, right on the cover, extreme anatomy and dynamic poses.

What is the point of offering that if you can't see the body? If you can't see how the muscles contort and react to the poses, you might as well draw cylinders for arms and legs and drape heavy robes over them and call it a day.

Honestly, this book looks like they went to a Renaissance fair and asked some of the patrons to pose for them, rather than a professional book with professional models and research.

If you are new to the fantasy art genre or are looking for a great quick reference for figure drawing, this is the book. It gives a diverse selection of different body types, sizes and looks, as well as a good smattering of accesories, close-ups and clothing...

This book is a welcome addition to any cartoonist or illustrator's photo reference file as it includes physical and ethnical types different from the usual stereotypical idealized caucasians. On the other hand, it isn't as systematic, varied or consistent in its poses and points-of-view as the Illustrator's Reference Manuals or the Posefile series of books.

The references provided aren't really guided and it would have been better if they had shown the process used in constructing a figure in that particular pose. But some of the poses within are still useful.

This great book includes a decent variety of body-types, poses and costume/prop references from a fantasy perspective. The back of the book also includes a few helpful closeup sections on hand poses and gestures, expressions and props. The beginning of the book is done-up in archetype sections (Wizard, Elven Queen, Cleric, etc) of about six pages each.

Note though, that this book isn't a step by step drawing book, it's 90% photos with a few pencil sketches and one full-color painting for example, so it may not be something for someone looking for instruction. It's strictly for reference. There are also only a few group and couple photos, so while it's great for solo poses, you may want more reference for multiple people.

Although decently lightweight, the cover is also quite hefty and will take a decent amount of travel abuse. With it's spiral-type spine, the book lays flat when open, which may be a bonus for some folks.

The Fantasy Figure Artist's Reference File is a great book for anyone to have in their library for reference. What I enjoy most about it is the fact that the models are clothed, so that the book can be enjoyed by all ages of artists and can be shared with anyone. However, the lesson in anatomy are still very useful in the book. The models are shown in spandex for classic poses, then are shown in various stages of wardrobe to show what specific articles of clothing look like. The cd comes with all the images of the basic photos, it does not include the photos of the examples of how the photos can be used in works of art. The book though has a hard cover and a spiral spine so it is easy to open flat without damaging the spine. And the price is decent. Please support this book and other books in this series they are one of a kind and well worth their cost.

The 'Fantasy' of the title is, unfortunately, the heavily-stereotyped 'thud and blunder' style fantasy of Conan the Barbarian, Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser and other such hackneyed, outdated types.

The figures shown are Barbarian warrior, Warrior woman, Evil Sorceress, Fairy, etc. And they are all quite absurd.

The book also includes little tidbits of information about costume and weapons, like this pearl of wisdom: "The nock is the part of the bow that the arrow rests on." Uh, yeah?

Combine this with poses titled "Bring forth tidings", "Arise, my liege" and the like, you soon realise this isn't a particularly well-done piece of work.

As for the CD, the images are huge - making them very difficult to work with.

This book isn't completely useless, but there are surely better things to spend your money on.

90% of the costumes are terrible and cliche to the 'extreme'. The weapon poses are done by people who do not know which end of a sword is pointy, and the weapons are all of the cheap, ren-faire, useless, variety.
The body types are mediocre, and uhm, anyone who loves their fantasy enough to want to draw it should know that dwarves aren't the same as 'little people'.
Some of the poses are ok, but mostly way over the top so as to be goofy. Same goes for the facial expressions.
Spend your coin elsewhere...