Sorceress: The Mike Hoffman Sketchbook (Volume 1)

Rating:
Summary: "better to be a first rate you than a second rate Frazetta."
Review: From the moment you open this book you'll see this guy is truly a second rate Frank Frazetta. Everything from his short, wonderfully shaped women to his lush, organic backgrounds to his primate like creature design just screams " i wanna be Frazetta."
I do however, somewhat agree with one of the other reviews that this book makes for a reasonable figure study. Although I have to say that i find some of his proportions to be a bit off. (particularly with his men)
All in all though, it still is worth a look.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning! Hoffman creates voluptuous powerful women.
Review: Hoffman is the best Fantasy artist I have found. His sketch books are the best anatomy books I have found. You can see the movement in the body and the developed muscles, but not more than is necessary. His figures seem not too tall like the average superhero proportion, rather they seem to be voluptuous shapely petite women with a lot of courage. You can just admire his drawings, but if you are an artist, it is best if you try to draw his figures and study them while looking at a good figure drawing book. Newbie painters copy master paintings so they could learn more, the same should figure drawing artists.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Beautiful!
Review: Hoffman's figure drawings are full of beautiful curves and soft muscles in a fantasy setting. This sketch book of drawings is especially good for the artist who wants to learn to draw women. This is not a how to book, but is a good book to study the female form. This book is a good supplement to Dynamic Figure Drawing. The drawings in Dynamic Figure Drawing are mainly of men and the women take on a masculine quality because of the emphasis on muscles. Hoffman does the same with his drawings, but with a different result, he uses just the right lines to emphasis the characteristics of a healthy formed female.

Rating:
Summary: Weak imitations of Frank Frazetta.
Review: I bought this book realizing that Mr. Hoffman was imitating Frank Frazetta. Such imitation is not a bad thing in and of itself; some fine illustrators began their careers by putting their personal spin on Frazetta. Jeff Jones to name one. Mr. Hoffman has no personal spin; he's just a copyist. Again, not necassarily a bad thing if the imitator has sufficient talent to bring it off. Hoffman doesn't possess such talent. To call these drawings derivative enobles them because they are blatant, pale simulacra of Frazetta. I compared Hoffman's drawings to those in "Illustrations Arcanum" a book of Frazetta's drawings and here's how Hoffman stands up: Mr. Frazetta's drawings of buxom women, brawny men, battle scenes and monstrous creatures are sure handed, confident, dynamic and well rendered; Hoffman's drawings of similar subjects are anemic, hesitant, dull and mediocre. Where Frazetta's line work is vigorous and varied, Hoffman's is limp and monotonous; where Frazetta employs a large range of values and punches the darks effectively in his modeling to give a high contrast effect, Hoffman's value range is limited and lacks any darks and possesses negligible contrast; Frazetta's figures look as if they've been caught in movement, Hoffman's figures are stiff as mannequins; finally, Frazetta's depictions of women exude sensuality, Hoffman's women are, at best, timid and completely devoid of any erotic appeal. Hoffman may be well schooled in Frazetta's subject, but he sadly misses the master's skill and spirit. An illustrator at the beginning of his career might be forgiven for this, but Hoffman has been working in the this field for a long time. He's not a second rate Frazetta, he's tenth rate joke. His biographical sketch boasts that he has many commissions for his work, proving H. L. Mencken's opinion that no one ever went broke underestimating the intellegence (or taste) of the American public. Purchasing this book makes me wonder if I'm not as smart as I thought. Don't repeat my mistake by buying this book. If you appreciate Frank Frazetta's work, this book will be a disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: B&W Pencil Sketches in a Poor Imitation of Frazetta
Review: I have just a couple of quick notes to add to the criticisms below. Under no circumstances buy the work of Hoffman unless you are fully equipped with the work of Frank Frazetta. The price differential between this collection of mostly black and white pencil studies and the stunning pen and ink, watercolor, and oil work of Frazetta is insignificant compared to the vastness of the talent differential!

Hoffman captures Frazetta's anatomy (including the occasional mistakes!) without capturing the spirit of the work - but it's more than that. Frazetta himself was influenced by other artists, including Al Capp. Some of Frazetta's equipment and vehicles have a silver-age corniness to them. Hoffman's weapons, terrain, even monsters! - are cheesy fill-ins - just enough to act as props for his bare-naked ladies.

After seeing Frazetta, I found it hard to accept even 'imitators' like Jeff Jones, Boris Vallejo, Barry Winsor-Smith et al. However those artists may have started with Frazetta - but they found their own way forward. Once you've exhausted their work, and classic illustrators like Allen St John, Virgil Finlay, and Joseph Clement Coll, try Hoffman - for contrast!