Customer Reviews

Femme Digitale: Perfecting the Female Form on Your Computer

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I have been modeling for some time now and this book has definately helped me with the details of both modeling and texturing a female character. The texture refrences also transfer well when creating other characters. There are great techniquws that cover a wide array of major software used today. There are also great refrences for creating props, clothing, and hair which are three of the hardest details to finish on a model. I recommend this book to both beginners and masters as a great guide to creating great female 3D models.

I've had this book for awhile (a year or so) and finally getting around to posting a review. Let me begin by saying that the quality of the book itself is outstanding - heavy quality paper stock, nice and glossy pictures. As far as visual eyecandy, it's a stunner. If you need some visual inspiration before embarking on your own projects, I would recommend this book.

However, the disappointment for me came with the actual content aside from the pictures. Even a year ago, the content was already outdated, and now it's truly "archaic" as far as what's actually on the market in the way of software programs. The trouble with conventional books is that any reference to computer software is so quickly outdated and/or obsolete, and sadly this is the case with Femme Digitale. For instance, the book references the use of Poser 4 - but Poser 7 is now on the market. The changes that have occurred in the program and thus the "step by step" instructions themselves have changed leaps and bounds since this book's publication. That gives some idea of how useful (or not) the tutorials may be for the software-savvy.

Yes, there are some basic tutorials that can be used/adapted even in newer software, but my complaint with these is that the print in the book is SO tiny it is almost impossible to read. It actually gives me a headache to try and read the print on many of the pages, so I primarily use the book for visual references.

My advice for those considering adding this to their library is to take into consideration the dated content, and if the book is still a "must-have," then look for a used product in good condition rather than pay full-price and be disappointed.

I bought this book thinking it was going to teach me how to model a Female Character...I WAS DEAD WRONG!!This book DOES NOT teach anything about modeling,the only thing it says to do is create a box and extrude following the sketch outline.The programs covered in this book are mainly Poser(50%) Maya(15%) and Photoshop(35%)..They should call this book "How to pose and texture a character in Poser" because that is really all this book tells you to do..But if you want a book full of pictures of nude 3D Models then by all means buy this book..

As a budding digital artist myself, I've come to realize that you can actually learn a great deal from "prefab" material. That being said, this book is fantastic in it's handling of prefab female 3d form in this age. It has a few tutorials on creating the female form from scratch using Maya, Max and others, but the book is heavy in Poser and Bryce...and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

If I may harp a minute, a lot of so-called professional artists love to look down on programs like Poser, Daz Studio, Carrara Studio and Bryce because they come with predesigned models that one can manipulate. Seems to me that a true artist can draw inspiration from almost anything and if some of us need a kickstart in our imagination, then so be it. I've seen some truly fantastic things done with Poser, Bryce and the like and this book, along with the other books by Burns, showcases this. I would recommend this book to anyone open-minded enough to realize that Poser and Bryce are not the 3D software versions of "American Idol". But, then again, some American Idols have gone on to do great things with their opportunities to, and "true" musical artists still feel it's a cheat!

This book demonstrates just what can be done with tools in the hand of someone skilled.

And as a side note, there are many "professional" (side ways, make money off of) artists that use Poser and Bryce for most of their projects. I'm one of them.

Just a reference. Not gonna teach you much.
You'll get excited about the possibilities.

I happened across this book by accident, took a chance and ordered it, and am experiencing sheer joy reading the variety of tutorials it contains. femme digitale covers so much...2D, 3D, Painter and Photoshop techniques...it's almost overwhelming, but reading it is tons of fun. If you like to paint beautiful women, you'd really enjoy this book.

One drawback is -- Poser is relied on quite heavily by some of the contributing artists. However, since the book explains how to build your own 3D models (or even use a live model in place of the Poser figures), that's not a concrete limitation. I have Poser and Lightwave, so I can build my own models if I'd get off my lazy bum and do it -- which means the book is doubly valuable for me.

I highly recommend femme digitale and gave it five stars for content. The binding could be a bit more sturdy, but the glorious artwork and the information it offers compensates for that flaw.

Jan

This has got to be the one best 3D graphics Art and Tutorials book I have seen yet! Michael burns has layed out this book so nicely with some of the best 3D graphics and tutorials for multiple 3D applications such as Bryce, Poser, Terragen, Vue d'Esprit & Mojo World. As well as High End software packages such as Alias Maya, 3D Studio Max & Lightwave. These tutorials are beautifully presented and easy to follow with in depth explanations and many clear and precise illustrations.

I am not just writing this review because my work is in the book but, because I truly think this is a great book and priced way to low for the amount and quality of the content. The galley is filled with some of the best artists and their work. Artists such as Stephen Stahlberg, Ellie Morin, Daniel Scott Gabriel Murray, Will Kramer and myself... Ralph Manis. I highly recommend this book to anyone involved in or beginning a life in the 3D graphics art world.