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Are the Freedom of Teach anatomical figures worth it?

Community
#1

I recently bought the Freedom of Teach anatomical modeling training DVD, and right when the movie starts, the instructor says how much having the figure there helped him in the modeling process. My somewhat irrational response to this was to shut down the window and go to browse their selection of figures.

Now, getting to my question, are these figures worth buying over the traditional wooden basic sort? And if so, are the added features in the V3 worth the extra money over the V1? Can I/Should I work with the reference planes for now and shell out for the figure later? I intend to eventually make a living modeling humans and antropomorphs, so I’ll take as much help as I can get, but is this a legitimately worthwhile buy, or just advertisement?

Thanks.

#2

Oops, I meant to put this in the community discussion. Can’t believe I messed that up. Can some kind mod please move it?

#3

Does anyone happen to own one of these figures? Anybody?

#4

what wooden anatomical figures are you talking about?
also i would think its a matter of opinion, would it help you to have a 3d object you can hold/spin around that has the anatomy laid out on it?
i know i would like one if i could afford it but they’re just too expensive for me.
i’m not sure what the main differences are between the versions besides being painted, i think one has removable parts?
how good is your anatomy knowledge? if its great than you probably wouldn’t need something like this. but otherwise every thing helps no? i guess its up to you to determine its worth.

also i’m guessing you meant the full anatomical figure, not this bust set that ryan is showing in his vids.

#5

When i said wooden figure I was referring to this:

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/31gFQkFlrXL.AA280.jpg

The main reasons I’d likely get the V3 is that it comes with a comprehensive anatomical poster listing the muscle name, origin, insertion, and primary muscle function and a test-your-knowledge section. The paint doesn’t really phase me one way or another as far as that is concerned, but the V2 also isn’t in stock last I checked, so it’s either the V1 or V3.

I suppose I should stop putting it off and just get it. My biggest concern was whether I needed it now or if it could be put off, but I suppose I’ll end up getting it eventually anyway.

I’d still appreciate any thoughts and reviews that are likely less biased than the guy whose DVD is sold by the same people that make the figure.

#6

Man I’d love to own some of those figures as they would help me so much… way too expensive though!

#7

The Freedom of Teach (FoT) figures and the wooden mannequins serve quite different purposes. The FoT ones are for anatomy reference and the wooden ones are for working on poses (though in my experience the latter don’t have a good range of motion).

I would love one of the FoT figures - there’s nothing like seeing the reference in the round - but can’t justify the expense at the moment. If I were to buy one, I’d go for version 1: I find the multi-colours of version 3 distracting (great if learning medical anatomy but for me not so good for understanding surface form); and the grey of version 2 seems to me to lack contrast and I’m not really interested in pulling parts off. Also, if I want to spin it easily, I’d make my own stand, and for the extra money I’m sure I could get a good anatomy book that shows what the charts show.

What I’m really hanging out for is the FoT instructional DVD that shows how to make your own ecorche figure - I think that would be a great learning experience. It seems like it has been ages though.

#8

I have the version 1 model and it is worth it. I teach Anatomy at a school in philadelphia and use it for that when students cant visualize what they’re seeing in life drawing classes. If you want to learn muscle anatomy its definitely worth it. The wooden pose figures are horribly bad. Not even worth the small price they cost.

#9

Yes, they certainly do serve different purposes, but it was the best parallel I could come up with at the moment.

I’ll certainly consider all of points made. I agree that the painted muscles may not be ideal for artistic purposes. The wallchart the V3 comes with would be a nice companion but perhaps something comparable could be bought for cheaper than the differance between the two, and the swivel stand is nice, but not exactly a neccesity. Decisions, decisions…

Well, thanks guys.

#10

I really can’t recommend the FoT figure enough. I have quite a few books on anatomy and I’d say that I use the figure for about 95% of my reference. Not only do I find it very helpful for deciding if I like the topology of whatever I’m making, if something just doesn’t look right in a particular view then I can rotate the figure to match and see what’s wrong much more quickly.

As for the poster, I bought it from them aswell. It’s on the wall directly behind the figure but I really almost never look at it. Your call I guess.

#11

just do the tutorial mate! dont need the model in my opinion… changed my way of modelling that vid! highly recomend it! :slight_smile:

#12

Well, I ordered the figure about 4 days ago I guess, so I should be able to start the DVD learning with the figure already in place soon enough.

Edit: Actually, seeing when my last post was here, it was probably more like 3 days ago.

#13

on a slightly different note, about those wooden figures, yes they are awful, if you want a figure to test out poses, i suggest a japanese doll figure or toy, they have ridiculous amounts of articulation. There are even a few US spiderman toys with lots of articulation that one could use.

#14

Thanks for the tip. Wooden figures definitely are not ideal for poses, but I thought they were the only option. They are very limited in their motion and they have a wooden skirt in place of a torso, so an alternative would be nice.

#15

Well, I got my V3 in. It’s a beautiful sculpture, to be sure. I have mixed feelings about the fact that it is realistically painted. On the one hand, it is realistic, like an actual human body, and it better illustrated which parts are tendon and bone and which are muscle, also it contains the posters which are absolutely fantastic. My only problem with it is that the painting can wash out some of the smaller muscles, so you sometimes have to take a second or third look to find where one muscle ends and the other begins. That being said, I can’t imagine going with a V2, as it seems like it loses some depth and any visual clues beyong their simple inclusion as to where the non-muscle forms lie. I think the V1 actually has a preferable color scheme in that respect, possibly preferable to the V3, but having the detachable head is so nice that if I had to choose one, I’d probably stay with what I’ve got. Hopefully that helps in the decision making process if any of you are in the market for one.