Customer Reviews

Live Model, Book One: Artistic Nude Figures for Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture

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

 

 

This is an excellent resource for artists and particularly for sculptors. The book is well laid out and provides clear color shots which are well lit with neutral backgrounds. The models are posed in comfortable and natural gestures which do not seem contrived or forced. There are also excellent references with male and female comparisons of the same pose, shot from multiple angles.

So many other figure reference guides are stale poses from one view. Not so, here. Each pose is photographed from various points 360 degrees around the model which provides excellent appeal to artists working in a three-dimensional medium.

The included CD is a gem and provides higher resolution images that are clearer then the print versions, and can even be accessed through most image editing software like Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro.

Another great feature of the book is it's spiral bound. Any working artist in a studio can attest this as an excellent feature. For hands-free reference while drawing or painting this is incredibly useful. One idea came to mind to prop the book up some distance away and view it from the vantage point where the model would be, were they actually in the studio. Other binding would make this difficult to set up.

Anyone serious about figure drawing without access to live models should find this to be an invaluable resource. Even artists with regular access to life models will find this book useful to fill in the areas where a fifteen-minute pose, or access to a single angle, are just too limited.

Most of the poses are contrived and very amateurish. Artists interested in realistic poses should look elsewhere. Photos appear to have been chosen at random with regards to zoomed shots on some poses and not on others (plus the zoomed shots are often of a tattoo or a necklace). Normally I don't have a problem with tattoos or piercings - but the models look as if they've come back from shore leave. The tattoos are often covering important "lines" within the figures. Those that are not directly disrupting form are just distracting enough to make things difficult. Above all else though, it is the incredibly poor selection of poses that makes this book useless. Do you want to paint/sculpt sleeping or reading women from weird perspectives? Then you're in luck! The standing poses look as if they were posed by someone who has never painted or set foot in a studio. Very clichéd, contorted, chest out, head back, positions. If you can somehow make use of it, great. I have seen much worse, at least this book has color photography that you can make out details in. The details are just useless. So, good idea - really poor execution.

This is a great book for those of us who do not have access to live models. The photography is crisp and clear, and the lighting is great- there are no details obscured by shadows. There is a really good selection of poses, with detail pictures of "hard to sketch" body parts such as hands and feet. Each pose is also photographed from different angles, which gives even more selection. The e book is very easy to navigate, and also has a print option, which is a HUGE plus if you don't want to be stuck at your computer trying to sketch. This is a great book!

The book doesn't have too many poses, however, it has several poses as seen from different angles(8 in all) which is helpful. However, the lighting on the models and the quality of print is so bad, that all images appear extremely flat.

I liked the variety of models and there is an adequate number of poses. The color printing is not always great but having the photos on CD is awesome. I thought there was a good mix of natural and 'artsty' poses and you can adapt them to make your own compositions See the drawing above.

It works for drawing practice or just as a figure study/reference pose book. Could also be helpful for illustrators.

Check out the preview on the book's website before you buy it so you will know if it has enough of the kind of stuff you're looking for.

I am extremely disappointed with this book. The poses look very awkward, tattoos and piercings detract from the form, and there are too few poses depicted for the cost. The models are certainly more 'real', however, I would suggest the authors seek professional models in the future or at least select those with less 'body adornment'. I would not recommend this book for any artist!