AK Interactive's Figure F.A.Q by Kirill Kanaev

[gazer]

Hello fellow planeteers,

Has anyone purchased the above title? Would like to hear your opinion before ordering this tempting but pricey book...

Thank you,

Benny

 

[grasshopper]

There is more on Michigan toy soldier site. Kirill needs no introduction..AK is pumping out stuff ..I’d look at some of the mich toy screen shots of pages..not many of these self help books are more than pricey paint by numbers things..but there is always fomo ...might just be something new

 

[gazer]

There is more on Michigan toy soldier site. Kirill needs no introduction..AK is pumping out stuff ..I’d look at some of the mich toy screen shots of pages..not many of these self help books are more than pricey paint by numbers things..but there is always fomo ...might just be something new

I Totally agree. Most of the figure painting books I own are really glorified portfolios causing more frustration than helping in training (exceptions to that IMO would include Shep Paine's and Danillo Cartacci's books), and this is the exact reason I don't jump into buying this one before asking around...

Cheers,

Benny

 

[grasshopper]

They are impulse items... I like his work...probably will get it...but less keen to rush into on ak product than in past after their bone head book launch earlier this year..and some issues I encountered trying to have questions answered on some of their new offerings. That’s just me tho..

 

[Nap]

Hi Benny

I agree with grasshopper and you , these are great to look at and browse through , true masters at figure painting for sure , no doubt AK products are involved somewhere having names like Kirill and Bonehead can only raise the AK and Artidts profile

Nice to have on the shelves but IMO is it a must buy ...no

Just my thoughts !

Nap

 

[gazer]

Hi Benny

I agree with grasshopper and you , these are great to look at and browse through , true masters at figure painting for sure , no doubt AK products are involved somewhere having names like Kirill and Bonehead can only raise the AK and Artidts profile

Nice to have on the shelves but IMO is it a must buy ...no

Just my thoughts !

Nap

Thanks Nap

Anyway, looking through the whole thing again, I realized that this title is fairly new on the market. No hurry, I'll just wait for reviews and make up my mind later...

Best,

Benny

 

[Mirofsoft]

You can see some pages
https://ak-interactive.com/product/...the-complete-guide-for-figure-scale-modelers/

 

[Ferris]

I saw some of the input pics for this book during a workshop with Kanaev and for me this is a must have. Clear step by steps at the highest possible level of skill. It doesn’t get better than Kanaev.
Thanks for the headsup on this, I will get it.

Adrian

 

[Nap]

Just seen these on social media

Nap

 

[Babelfish]

I think most of us would agree that Kirill Kanaev is one of the finest figure painters in the world today (he has to be in anyone's Top Ten surely), and I for one always find his amazing work very inspirational.

I do like the look of this book, so I'll probably add it to my collection. It looks a cut above many, I think that a lot of these books are little more than (borrowing gazer's description above) "glorified portfolios" and/or 100-page ads for a particular product range (Mig's recent "How To Paint With Oils" being one of the worst offenders in the latter regard).

In the end there's no substitute for practice, practice and more practice. If there were such a thing as a magic how-to book, we would all be Kirill Kanaevs.

- Steve

 

[Forté]

Kirill...hell yes!

AK...nope. Still boycotting so still no.

 

[grasshopper]

Kirill...hell yes!

AK...nope. Still boycotting so still no.

Can’t argue. Was colossally stupid stunt. Btw: ammo by MIG has excellent series Encyclopoedia of Figure modelling. Jay Martin, Dmitry , Paolo

 

[Forté]

Can’t argue. Was colossally stupid stunt. Btw: ammo by MIG has excellent series Encyclopoedia of Figure modelling. Jay Martin, Dmitry , Paolo

Reviewing their Fantasy Figures book at the moment. AMMO that is.

 

[grasshopper]

It’s not as good..but as picture book a fun thing....still better than the earlier how to ..acryl is and then the oils ones..but no illusions here..it’s all glossy paint by numbers sprinkled with theory lite..less filling, not sure about the taste!

 

[yellowcat]

Thanks Nap for the posting. It is nice to see some current "Top" figure artist work. I know nothing about Kirill Kanaev. The non metallic effect does not work at all. For over $100 US to pre-order the book, I would rather read my Shep Paine book and buy something nice for my wife.

 

[Ferris]

I’m surprised at the level of skepticism towards this release. The pics shown are very clear step-by-steps, are they not? So much better than a lot of other publications, that just show a finished result photographed with a (clean) brush next to it. I can’t imagine the pages shown are the only ones with this quality.

And yes, fully agree with Steve’s point about the need for practice. Practice is everything, but the learning curve can be so much steeper with some master guidance.

But of course, it’s everyone’s personal decision to like or not like, buy or not buy. I made mine!

 

[Babelfish]

Can’t argue. Was colossally stupid stunt.

No idea what this is all about. Did I miss something??

- Steve

 

[grasshopper]

No idea what this is all about. Did I miss something??

- Steve

You don’t want to know..enough was said and done at the time..no need reopen the topic

 

[Airkid]

Kanaev is undoubtedly a very skilled artist. He's a bit too stylized for my taste. The book looks a cut above the run-of-the-mill "how-to's" with some nice pictures, but not something I would buy.

Phil

 

[grasshopper]

Kanaev is undoubtedly a very skilled artist. He's a bit too stylized for my taste. The book looks a cut above the run-of-the-mill "how-to's" with some nice pictures, but not something I would buy.

Phil

Indeed..lots of money outlay...I will offer this tho: with covid many who earned a living teaching at seminars are stuck...so books, YouTube, patreon...it’s near desperation I imagine. Plus the manufacturers are all trying to cut into one another’s business...so many lines of paint for example..so if Ammo by Mig does a book so does AK etc...at the end: get an old Shep Paine book, I have a book called My Way...I enjoy Gurneys Dinotopia...if there is any magic it’s personal in that we each learn in our own way, and great artists may not be great teachers...for me, I learn by doing, less if at all by reading or watching...so at best these books are perhaps seeds planted that my mind can chew over..those lessons about How to paint like an old master don’t make one an old master...