108 of 111 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Eh, it's okay...., May 17, 2004
This review is from: Femme Digitale: Perfecting the Female Form on Your Computer (Paperback)
First of all, I seem to be the odd one out when I say this book was a bit of a disappointment, so I guess you should take this review with a grain of salt. I perused the book quickly in a bookstore, but didn't have time to really examine the book. The section on Primal caught my fancy, so when I got home, I went ahead and ordered the book.
When I got it, the first thing I did was flip through it quickly and drool over the pictures. All of the artists in the book are truly gifted, some more so than others. When I came back to it later, ready to dive into the tutorials, you can imagine my dismay when I realized the longest one was only six pages, and even then, stuffed with pictures, and not much text. The book, as a whole, is a glorified Poser sales book.
I'll be more specific, if you're still with me.
There are 24 tutorials in the book, spanning over about 100 pages. That's not much space for any one topic. Granted, each topic is pretty specific, much more time could be spent on any and all of them. For instance, the Maya figure modeling tutorial is 3 pages (4 with a full-page finished render). Modeling a full character in 3 pages? You can bet they left a lot of important information out, because they sure as heck did. On top of all this, of those 24 tutorials, only five do not use Poser. As someone who watched Renderosity degenerate into a heap of canned art over the last five years, I can say I'm not too fond of Poser, although I do own and use it occasionally. I do recognize its use, although I would like to see less of the sultry woman playing kissy with the camera from artists.
What it comes down to is this: if you're into the Renderosity-type of work, or if you like digital painting/illustration, this book may or may not have something that interests you. I would be willing to bet just about anyone can find at least one or two little tricks inside that can shave a considerable time and frustration from a project. The Photoshop/Poser duo used almost exclusively throughout the book is great for digital prints and illustration, but anyone looking for something else would be advised to look elsewhere. I'm a student game designer and 3D modeler, and I don't think I found a single thing in here that was new. That's not to say that I could paint the images that are presented here; I definitely couldn't. But anyone interested in 3D art for purposes other than rendering still images should check out other sources, probably starting with software-specific references for Maya, Max, or whatnot.
All in all, this book is a truly beautiful gallery of artist talent. It may not be a great coffee-table book with the topless woman on the front, but it will attract your attention. I know it got mine. Good luck with your artistic puruits, and I hope this review helps you.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Lots of 2D detailing, little 3D anatomy, too much Poser., November 18, 2003
This review is from: Femme Digitale: Perfecting the Female Form on Your Computer (Paperback)
I would have to say that I am quite disappointed in what this book has to offer. I had hoped to see more tutorials on how to "perfect" a 3D female form, or human form in general, using applications like: Lightwave, Max, Maya and Softimage etc. with a heavy focus on anatomy. Instead, the bulk on this book is filled with Photoshop detailing techniques used to create a single STILL!!! image/scene and a gallery with many images that were obviously done in Poser and not very original. There are, in my opinion, better 3D anatomy tutorials around the web than in this book if you are interested in perfecting the art of building a realistic human figure. Thank god it wasn't expensive.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellence to Amateur, October 16, 2003
This review is from: Femme Digitale: Perfecting the Female Form on Your Computer (Paperback)
Upside: If you're looking for the Rosetta stone of digital imaging for the female form, Femm Digitale is your pick. Excellent tutorials cover everything from clothing and character creation to hair and complete scenes. Step by step, you're walked through the process, elusive secrets are demystified. The gallery works contain images from now familiar digital artists. Beautiful pinups by Steven Stalhberg and Will Kramer, Alluring women by Rene Morel and great comic characters by Daniel Scott Gabriel Murray. Other talented artists fill the work. Downside: It still amazes me that books like this who show off wonderful artists above still manage to waste pages on amateurs. But all in all, I'd give it a strong 4 stars. An excellent addition for artists and fans of the form.
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