The Female Nude I: A Pose Book For Artists

Rating:
Summary: I bought it and loved it.
Review: The overall quality of the book is awesome. The model is top-notch. Yiu will find that most of the pose books have rather less than shapely models (cough-Pose File-cough) but Hanna has an awesome figure and great definitions in muscles. One small problem is with the quality of the printing, still is much better than other posebooks. There's also a plan for Male Nude pose book, too.

Rating:
Summary: Not so good, here's why
Review: All of the photos are black and white. Several are out of focus or suffer some motion blurring where either the model or photographer moved. Edges are poorly defined, the model often fades into the background on the edges. Detail is lacking, for example, it is impossible to distinguish the iris from the pupil in the eye. The lighting can sometimes be poor- throwing important features into deep shadow.

There's only one model. And, while she is a good choice for a representative of the female form, the photography and printing do not do her justice. Generally, all you get are basic shapes and outlines- made me think of stick figures or those basic shapes people sketch before adding details to a figure. An exception to this is the small handful of photos toward the end with close-ups of face and shoulder detail. Those are quite nice but there are not enough.

On the positive side the book has many different poses, so it has good variety provided all you need are basic outlines and one model.

Alternatives:
Live Model Book- multiple models, color printing for every single photo, better lighting and photography(usually) and all the photos are on a CD with the book. Each pose is shot from multiple angles so there are fewer poses than Female Nude. Some of the photos in the book are small but the photos on CD are huge so if you like a particular pose and angle you can print just that one as big as you want. With photo printers getting really cheap, this is a great feature. Click on its cover to see sample pages, check out the livemodelbook site.

Virtual Pose 3 (not VP2 or 1)- more models, the photos are included on CD. This also has poses from multiple angles. There are more angles and more poses than Live Model but the photos are quite small and suffer the same resolution problems as Female Nude I. Photos on CD are small as well, so printing a large version might not work. Lighting can be poor at times. Read some of the negative reviews of VP2 for more info'. Despite the negatives, it's still a viable alternative.

Recommendation: Consider if you want color, if detail is important, if seeing a pose from multiple angles would be useful to you, and if the ability to print would be nice. If yes to any of these, the other two books mentioned above might be better.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Yet
Review: As a working artist I have dozens of reference books and shelves of materials relating to the human form and anatomy. The Female Nude I, published by Associates In Art is far and away the best photographic pose book of the female nude I have ever encountered. This sounds like praise and it is. The model is exquisite, perfectly proportioned and posed. The background is black so there is no conflicting light on the figure other than what is intended for the eye of the artist. The model is lit in a variety of classic angles. This book is a must for anyone serious about the study of the human figure. A great tool for Professionals, Students or Amateurs. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: The best pose book out there!
Review: I am currently working on two large paintings based on poses from this book. The model is beautifully lit and perfect for anyone who wants to paint the figure and does not have a model available to them. Also, great for cartoonists and graphic novel artists.

Rating:
Summary: Saw This Fantastic Book At San Diego Comic Con
Review: I kept running into artists at the San Diego Comic Book Convention who had bought "THE FEMALE NUDE I" pose book from the publisher's representative at the gathering. Everyone was talking about it! So I immediately went to the Associates In Art table and sought out the book to see why. This is the best book I've found for drawing the female form. It's obviously designed by a professional who knows how to tranfer the art of modeling to the printed page. It uses LARGE photos (full page) of carefully crafted poses that are staged beautifully against a black background. This is a "keeper" for those needing a reference book on the female form and who are disappointed in most of the "dull" pose books on the market.

This is also a perfect gift for those artist friends who are so hard to buy for. You'll be remembered for giving this item because they'll use it for years to come. I know because the artist friends that I gave it to are asking me where to get it to give out to their friends.

Rating:
Summary: MUST MUST HAVE! I LOVE IT
Review: I use this book for daily figure studies. It's just perfect!! I love this book. A remarkable collection!! This book is THE BEST exploration of the human figures.

Rating:
Summary: Easily the best
Review: Master artist Mark Westermoe has created the best pose book I've ever used. A stunning model beautifully photographed with special attention paid to lighting the form -- a vital element that all of the other pose books I've purchased have overlooked. A "must-have" tool for any artist. I love it!

Rating:
Summary: this one's the best!
Review: Of all the pose books I've seen and used, this is by far the best. the model, the poses, the staging and lighting is all inspiring and superb. I heartily recommend it for artists at any level of proficiency.

i took my copy to Kinkos and had a spiral-wire binding put on it for about 2 bucks...makes it easier to work from.

Rating:
Summary: Must Have for all serious Artists / Illustrators
Review: The best feature of this book is its reusability. The lighting, quality of photography, choice of model, and poses are ideal for ALL types of study. Rather than an outright review, here is a list of suggested methods of study from this book.

1) Buy a pad of tracing paper and some black Prismacolor pencils. Day by day, page by page, lay a sheet of tracing paper over the drawing and "artistically" trace the shadow patterns. Through this you will understand shapes, the rhythmic interplay between them, the importance of their design, the implications of soft and hard edges, etc. without being caught up on proportion and placement.

2) Get a kitchen timer. Set it for 5 or 10 minutes. Flip open the book and work on your quick sketch figure notation. The form lighting lends itself to strong, well designed 6" sketches

3) Do longer, fully rendered 18 x 24 figure studies. The detail and lighting in the book is also adequate for these.

4) Paint from the photographs. Either directly (alla prima) or preparedly (underpainted/ underdrawn). The lighting is perfect for full rendering and the shapes and rhythms are perfect for alla prima interpretation.

Try any or all of these. Or come up with your own variations on them. The point is that you can improve any and all aspects of your figurative work with this reference material. Of course, this requires motivated, systematic study. But, hey, if you're looking into books of this nature you must be at least halfway motivated to begin with, right?

A more poetic way of saying it would be that this book functions like a excellent piece of musical manuscript. with it you can learn how to accurately manipulate an instrument, study the underlying harmony and counterpoint, or express yourself within a given framework through accents, intonation and dynamics. What more could you ask for from a book?

The only negative--yeah, like another commentator has already written, a spiral binding might be more functional. But in the book's defense, spiral bindings look unprofessional. Rebinding it is one possibility. But even if you don't feel like rebinding it, the book photocopies very well (yes, that's still another sign that the photography is well-conceived)--go to kinko's for half an hour and you've overcome your obstacle.

Rating:
Summary: The one pose book to own!
Review: We sell art books and this is our number one top seller. If you need a pose book, Mark Westermoe has brought out the best.
The model is perfectly lit and for a fantasy artist, she is a dream come true.