Philippe Faraut, a phenomenal sculptor, has just released a new book called Mastering Portraiture. He has released a video showing the process of sculpting one of the pieces used in the book:

Click to watch in full size
I'm lucky enough to have had Philippe as a teacher and also consider him my friend. As a result I was given an early look at the new book being advertised by that video.

Now, I was already quite a big fan of Philippe's first book. I read it regularly and often recommend it to others. But, I was a little nervous when Philippe asked me to give him my honest opinion on his new book. As an author, I understand the value of that kind of feedback, however, so I was determined to be critical and give him the harsh feedback he wanted.

I completely and utterly failed to find any flaw in the book other than a few easily corrected typos. Mastering Portraiture, completely and absolutely floored me. I stayed up into the early morning hours reading it on the day it came in the mail because I just couldn't put it down. Philippe has pulled together and distilled down the most important things that he's learned from his years of sculpting experience, his extensive research into the anatomy and psychology of facial expression, and his keen observations on the affects of aging and the characteristics of race. The result is just unbelievably good.

It's a book that would be worth buying just for the privilege of looking at the pictures. The sculptures that Philippe created for the book are phenomenal and the photography and printing are gorgeous. But all those lovely pictures are accompanied by words, and those words tell a story that will both help you and inspire you to take your sculpting to a new level.

You should know that this is not a beginner's book, however. If you don't have some experience and haven't ever touched hands to clay, then buy Philippe's first book and put some time in sculpting first, But if you've got some experience and want to become better, then you absolutely should check Mastering Portraiture out. It covers things I've never seen covered in a sculpting book and the information is easy to digest and understand. There's no unnecessary jargon, it just reads like the words of a patient teacher. Despite having sculpted for years and having taken several classes with Philippe, every chapter held new information and inspired me to want to try new things.

I don't often gush over products, even those created by people I like, but this is a book that's really worth checking out. It's truly extraordinary; a beautiful book that I will cherish for years and recommend without reservation.