Art Models 4: Life Nude Photos for the Visual Arts CD-ROM – September 1, 2009

This is a great tool and money saver for artists. The book contains pictures of the models, but in the DVD which comes with it each pose can be rotated to give the artist at least several views of the same figure. They are royalty free, so you can use them as your model and, if you like, make whatever facial or figurative changes in features or other details on your own. It is like having a set of genii models. Some of the poses, are unfortunately rather stiff looking, but the majority are quite useful. Although you can go to the website and download individual poses, some of which are free, others of which you must purchase, it is far cheaper to buy an entire book of poses than to buy them individually. However, keep this in mind, on a rush job, on a week-end or holiday, with no live models available, the download idea can be a commission saver. You have the fall back that you can always look for a pose that works on their website and download. Before buying any of the books, however, you might want to check out the contents and see if the poses are appropriate for your work before buying.Art Models 3: Life Nude Photos for the Visual Arts (Art Models series) (No. 3)Art Models: Life Nudes for Drawing Painting and SculptingArt Models 4: Life Nude Photos for the Visual Arts (Art Models series)I would say, all in all, if you are an artist, it is a boon to have this book, and although I do prefer live models, in a pinch and for very little money, you can be secure in the knowledge that numerous models are right in your studio, virtually sitting on your bookshelf, and those photos within can be expanded or contracted to a variety of sizes and with very solid, clear resolution. I often use a Projector for enlarging to life size or larger, after I make the initial drawing from the Model.I own books 3, & 4 and will soon order 5 and I highly recommend this system. I give them 4.5 stars.

Good book of nude models to draw and/or paint. The wide variety of poses is great, with both male and female models.

Having worked with live models (both nude and clothed) for over thirty years, the Art Model series 2, 3, and 4 (along with its DVDs), which are the ones I recently own, are the best I have seen of its kind. The authors have bent over backwards to create a reference book on models for artists and I was pleased to find the following:In Art Models 2, the authors focus on classically inspired poses and cite their reference (i.e., "The Implorer" Rodin, 1900, On Disk: mandy017; and "Torso with a Twist," A Red Ink study by Michelangelo, circa 1510 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, On Disk: jim013. Etc.).In Art Models 3 and 4, the authors: include props (invaluable when an artist has to be sensitive to and understand the dynamics of the slightest muscle shift and its effect on the fulcrum; one grid page and one non-grid page with the same pose (an important aid when something about the image just doesn't look right); 24 angles of the same pose for 360 degree views; and two-model poses which aids in spatial relationships.The series serves exactly what the authors intended; that is, a reference to work from, independently creating (drawing, painting, sculpting) from the suggested poses in the books/CDs. My first choice will always be to work from a live model because cameras lie and distort by reinterpreting what our eyes see. Photographers reinterpret what the camera sees. And the inks necessary for printed publications, again, reinterpret the image tones. As an example, in terms of inches, our feet are larger than our heads. The camera doesn't see this and the feet look suspiciously too small; all the figures are imbued with a luscious warm body tone which in reality our shadow areas, at the turning point, shifts into a slightly cool range. To have everything in a warm tone tends to flatten the image. These are camera and printer's ink issues; but, this knowledge is important when planning to please a client.

A basically good book, not on par with eight but still has some good poses of men and women. Mostly alone. One of my complaints is, when they are posing as a couple, then the models should be looking at each other. There is one male model in particular who had a completely bored look on his face and looking away while posing as a couple. No one is asking him to have sex with the woman, but its important that the turn of the head, the way the eyes go...this is important to artist who buy these books. Yes, we can put a different head on the model, but after paying for the book why should we have to?

Art Models 4 joins the winning collection of Art Models 1-3, adding more diversity of models and poses to an already great collection. I paint, and I compose my paintings with Photoshop Elements Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 [OLD VERSION], so I greatly appreciate the high resolution jpg files from multiple angles, and with no retouching. I also appreciate that the producers of Art Models series invite artists to recommend new poses, and to help select the poses that will grace the next disc.

I haven't bought any of the previous editions, but I am very satisfied with this one. The included CD is terrific! Because I work alone in my studio most of the time and I live way out in the suburbs, I don't have a lot of opportunities for live figure drawing, so this book will be very helpful! I will probably buy the earlier versions now, and next years' too!