The Nude Figure: A Visual Reference for the Artist: Amazon.ca: Mark Edward Smith: Books

Product Description

For thousands of artists lacking access to figure classes with live models, this portfolio of superbly photographed models provides a life-drawing studio right at home. An extensive compilation of traditional life drawing poses includes female and male figures in standing, seated, reclining, and action poses, each shown gracefully in circular movement, taking in all views: front, three-quarter-front, side, three-quarter back, and back. Each photograph is beautifully composed and lit, providing artists with all the nuances of muscle structure, line, and gesture to inspire fully developed figure drawings and paintings.

About the Author

Mark Edward Smith, formerly of the The New York Times, is a world-class photographer whose published works include The Figure in Motion and books featuring grand European sites. He lives in Venice, Italy.

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Customer Reviews

19 Reviews

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

Average Customer Review

3.2 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Do yourself a favor . . ., July 31 2002

By

ronaron (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Nude Figure: A Visual Reference for the Artist (Paperback)

I bought this book as a freshman in college, it being my first artist's manual on the human figure. And because it was my first, and I hadn't really shopped around for any other manual, I believed at the time that this was the best I could get.

And it turns out that this book IS the best I could get, if I'm ever in a pinch for bonfire fuel.

And why such a harsh (and admittedly cheap) shot, you ask? Well, this book is just all-around awful. The photos are dull and grainy, with practically no contrast. How am I supposed to read muscle definition or the interaction of skin and bone? The models look as if they would REALLY rather be somewhere else, with their tired mien and sagging, unoriginal poses. I don't know if that was the fault of the photographer or the models themselves, but in the figure classes I've been in, the most successful models were the ones that were motivated, molding themselves into their own dynamic poses without inch-by-inch direction from the instructor. This is a sad, sorry, artless book -- downright ugly. If you have to spend your money, please buy Sarah Simblet's 'Anatomy for the Artist.' Simblet's book is a work of photographic art in itself, as well as a thoroughly informative resource. Do yourself a favor, and leave 'The Nude Figure' on the shelf.

Or, you could always set it aside for those unexpected bonfires.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Not for artists looking for poses!, Oct 20 2003

By

Arwen Bush (Ruston, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Nude Figure: A Visual Reference for the Artist (Paperback)

The author of the book said he wanted to go for aesthetically pleasing, but figured artists wanted more on visibility. He would've done so much better going with his first choice! I wanted a good book of poses, and have yet to get one picture out of the book! Most of the poses in this book weren't pleasing to the eye at all. The models are all young, thin people in ridiculous, often painful looking poses. A little variety would've been great, too, and the two photos of pregnant women in there don't count for much. There are no old people, fat people, or even normal sized people! There are, however, an archive of the worst poses I've seen to date. Do yourself a favor and go get a good book like Anatomy for the Artist by Sarah Simblet or Virtual Pose 2 by Mario Henri Chakkour. You'll actually get some use out of them.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Good reference book, Sep 27 2006

By

Machushka (Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Nude Figure: A Visual Reference for the Artist (Paperback)

It shows poses from still to dynamic and they are certain ones that are pretty weird ( they can be good if you're drawing some drunk, crazy pixies). Some of them are in a complete shadow which shows the outline better, some of them are modeled in dramatic light and shade. I like the book overall yet I wish there was at least a section on figures carrying heavy objects.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Only ordinary
The one thing this book contributes is variety, at least a little. As pointed out elsewhere, the models are all young. Read more

Published on Jun 11 2004 by wiredweird

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for what it is
The photos could be a bit sharper, but if you're like me and don't have ready access to a live model it makes a decent resource for figure drawing practice. Read more

Published on Oct 12 2003 by S. F. Bell