Comic & Fantasy Artist's Photo Reference: Colossal Collection of Action Poses

This book is great for pose reference. I found it in the store, I loved the information provided in it as well as the photographs of different poses/emotions/actions however I was disappointed when I downloaded it for my kindle app. I tried it on my galaxy tablet as well as my samsung phone and both devices did not have the beautiful HD pictures found in the book. I was really excited to have it on my tablet instead of the bound book because 1) the weight of the book is colossal in itself and 2) I'd figure my tablet would make it easier to actually look at the pictures... Unfortunately when you flip through the book the pictures are small and double tapping them brings up a pixelated version of what looked lovely in the store.Rating 4 out of 5 stars because this IS a great book... I will re-purchase the physical copy but the sheer weight of it is something that will make me keep it at home. I refunded my digital copy because the details an artist may look for in this book do not transfer well in to a digital copy. I HIGHLY SUGGEST purchasing the physical copy although it is slightly more expensive and weighs a ton.Happy arting! :)

On the whole, as a an artist's reference, this serves it's purpose. Either I've got an approximation of a pose in my mind, I'm looking for inspiration, or I just pick a pose out to practice with, I can usually find something in this book. There is a good variety of action poses here, which is divided by gender, and further by pose category. These categories include different fighting poses, divided by weapon type, hand-to-hand poses, flying, running, jumping, landing etc. as well as more mundane activities like lighting a cigarette or putting on clothes. In addition there is a section for poses involving more than one person, that includes grappling and couples poses, but this section leaves more to be desired.The lighting is static, diffused light, but any competent artist can gather the contours by looking at the pictures. The models are clothed, the guys usually wear just pants, and the amount of clothing on the women varies, from just underwear, to underwear and a tank top, to capris and tank tops. Your mileage may vary on how you'll feel about this, as some people are purists about this, but I like the modesty for the most part, makes it less awkward I guess.My only real complaint is in regards to the running poses. From what I've found, poses references usually take a static running photograph, and it's usually pretty obvious they just took a picture of a guy standing on one foot, the picture just lacks a certain dynamism. I can see they tried to counteract this problem by taking one of the models out into a park and taking pictures of her running around, climbing on slides and what have you. However, while I admire and appreciate the effort, many of these photographs are blurry and just look unprofessional. Many of the running pictures are taken at odd angles, and since they were taken outside the lighting is a bit off. While you can get the gist of the pose from the running pictures, I just can't shake the feeling that I'm looking at a junior high yearbook (yes, the kind made by junior high kids). There are a few other poses with these same issues, but on the whole most of the poses are in the studio setting with proper lighting and composition. Another issue, but slightly more trivial is the facial expressions, some just look silly.However, if you didn't buy the book just for the running poses, and are willing to overlook some other minor faults, then I would recommend it to anyone who is in need of action pose references.

If you need reference material for your sketches or paintings and can't get you family or friends to assme action poses or wear capes this book might help you some what- it's a bit larger format than more pictorial references for artists and contains poses that the more classical books on the subject don't; of course one draw back is someone else has chosen the angle type and lighting and costuming of the poses for you- which ideally as an artist you'll eventually want to be able to do for yourself as your work and ideas evolve- but this book might help if you're just starting out and don't have access to the type of live models you need for your project.

My high school art students LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book because as they are readying their portfolios, they need to see the human figure in all different positions so that they can draw and paint their projects in the way that they visualize them in their heads but since they lack the experience of the human form in all positions, they need to see these photos. And as a public school high school art teacher, I can't give my students Life Drawing Books because of the nudity - this is the perfect solution for my students because the actors are covering up a bit.I'm buying more of these books because mine are always being used and I just don't have enough!

I love this book. this is the second one i own. i bought the first then i ordered this one as a present for a friend it is an awesome book. i recemend it to any one who needs with poses and lighting. as well as an idea of how to use reference an stock photos in an art piece.

Great book. Lots of pages with various poses. Good variety of male and female models from diverse ethnic groups. Faces are not so much important for what this book is trying to accomplish, but it does help the budding artist such as myself. There are other books that focus on facial expressions, I suggest getting one of those to compliment this book.

This book has many useful poses both action and otherwise, just what you need if you want someone to pose for free....well,cheap anyway. I haven't done much with it as yet, but it's close by when I need it. If you are an artist, this is a good reference for you.

It's the absolute most helpful and important art book for drawing figures in poses I've ever bought! I would recomend this book to any artist who deals with the human figure in many poses, not just cartoon artists. It's way more than I expected! I hope they come out with another volume although this is very complete. I'm buying another for my artist daughter......

I figured seeing as the last review about this issue was in 2012 I'd be ok to purchase it, and it should have perhaps been fixed. Don't make the same mistake I did. It's great for basic reference etc but as soon as you zoom in it gets blurry. In conclusion...get the paperback. Your eyes will thank you.

Great resource as a book, though the digital copy is really kind of pointless since you can't zoom in on the photos to get a sense of the form, and the image resolution is really poor. I used to have a physical version years ago and that would get 5 starts if I could find another copy.

Grazie a questo libro sto facendo numerosi progressi nei miei fumetti perché le foto di rifermento sono chiare, pulite e colgono essenzialmente le pose che ricorrono per la maggiore in ambito fumettistico, pose in prospettiva (e di volo per gli amanti dei comics americani) molto utili e con le armi.

This book is full of great quality useful poses that also includes some instructional pages. For me it was worth the price. It arrived very quickly!

Una herramienta muy útil para todos aquellos que les guste el dibujo, ya sea tanto como profesional o aficionado. Recomendable