Babes, Beasts, and Brawn: Sculpture of the Fantastic

by Steve Kiwus

Babes, Beasts, and Sculpture of the Fantastic is a definitive look into the creation of these powerhouse playthings, with hundreds of stunning color photographs and fascinating insights into Kiwus' creative process. Beyond the building of plastic toys, Kiwus has created some of the most stunning and in-demand limited-edition cast sculptures of comics and fantasy figures of all stripes, including three-dimensional representations of the paintings of Frank Frazetta and miniature renditions of the Queen of Pin-Ups, Bettie Page. Also included is an in-depth how-to section, where Kiwus chronicles his process step-by-step to aid aspiring professionals.

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 13, 2006

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A retrospective look at the works of sculptor Steve Kiwus (Eightball Studio http://www.eightball-studios.com/ ). Book contains nice closeup photos showing what the raw unpainted figures look like. There is not much text to support what is being shown. But when there is its rich with details on the toy industry and the craft of sculpture. Some figures are shown in the round with full 360 views. Reference gold being able to see the backs of a figure. Rarely do you get to see a figure's back. Most views in the media are of a sculpture work is the classic "money shot". In this book you get to see the entire figure. Enjoyed that. Some of the photos use deep shadows for artistic effect. While the image looks beautiful its difficult to make out what the sculptor did in the shadowed areas. Note: this is not a how to book. There is a 17 page section at the end where we get to see how the artist makes his work. Its a good section as it not only covers how the figure is sculpted we get to also see how the articulation (joint) mechanisms are made. Haven't seen that before. I enjoyed reading the book. Got to see the works of a talented sculptor. Learned a little about the craft. Happy to have it in my library.