Art Models 6: The Female Figure in Shadow and Light

Art Models Series #6

by Maureen Johnson, Douglas Johnson

Whether trying a new technique, getting in some practice time, or working on a finished piece, this figure study enables artists to create their choice of model, pose, and view whenever and wherever they’d like. The latest addition to the series will help artists become proficient in incorporating chiaroscuro or light and dark lighting—a technique used by the great masters to produce drama and depth in their paintings—to define the human form. The book incorporates a new layout featuring two primary views per pose as well as a section of close-up faces, while additional expressions and body details such as the face, hands, and feet are shown in even greater detail on the DVD-ROM. With the book, artists can study 95 poses in strong unidirectional lighting and observe the female form through more than 200 printed photos. Varieties of body types—ranging from thin to plus-size—and ethnicities are included. Poses have been carefully chosen to illustrate important effects such as foreshortening and perspective changes. With this guide, artists can achieve longer drawing sessions than they could when drawing from a model directly. While viewing from many angles and at their own pace is often impossible for artists in a studio session, it becomes as easy as putting in the disc and opening any photo. A judicious amount of photo retouching is done—not to make the models more glamorous or plastic but to remove distractions that detract from the models’ essence. The PC/Mac-compatible DVD-ROM included in the book features more than 2,500 high-resolution JPEG photos providing a number of viewing options—on a computer screen, printed out, projected for a group, or via a high-definition television. Each angle of every pose may also be enlarged, enabling artists to zoom in on specific body parts to achieve a higher level of detail.

Genres: Art

128 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2011

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Reviews

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beings as I'm not near naked women often, can't afford to pay models, and Playboy has a very limited set of poses, I'm frequently looking for good photo resources. I like the Art Models series because the women (men, couples) are varied along with the poses. It is especially nice that the images on the CD can be rotated. A good resource for art students and professionals.

[Ellison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collection of images of females lit from various light sources. Different dimensions and pigments. With occasional close-ups. Concludes with facial expressions. Some props. Includes a disk for additional material.

[Phoebe Sparrow Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a useful book for those who cannot get to a life drawing class. The CD with rotatable poses is particularly helpful to see angles that the book does not provide. Also, the dramatic lighting provides more interest in this volume than in others in this series. On the downside, i found many of the poses just that, posed, but not in positions that a person would naturally take in life, so many photos, while providing interesting shots to draw, were not in the end useful to me, except as pure practice models. I wish the series tried harder to have models pose in positions that were “lifelike” so to speak, using props that enabled a more believable positioning. That said, these books are nonentheless invaluable additions to any student artist shelves.