[Review] artbook: Billow by SHEL
Title: 瀛澜 (Billow )
ILLUSTRATOR: Shel
RELEASE DATE: 10/2009, 1st edition
PRICE: 38.8RMB (5.6 USD)
PAGES: 120 full color
FORMATE: A4 ; Softcover
ISBN: 9788753182334
SPECIAL: Poster of the cover, bookmarks
WEB: Shel Attic (Her official web site), DA (Deviant Art page)
Overall Rating: 2.5/5
art: 2/5
content: 3/5
layout/packaging: 3/5
This is the most disappointing artbook I own at the moment. This is the 3rd official book from SHEL, who I loved for her watercolors in her 1st book. Now, she comes out with this wannabe CG doujinshi artbook that just doesn’t do her justices. I do want to make clear that I am not a fan of CG, but there are exceptions and this is not one of them.
Half of this book is in CG. Half of the time as I flipped through this book, I thought to myself, “hey, where did I see this one before?” That’s because ¼ of the images are from her previous artbook, including the rare Naruto dj Artbook I paid 40 bucks for it. I was absolutely disgusted with the content of this book. Not to mention, a lot of images are already published somewhere on the web. But at the same time, it just shows that she doesn’t have much new work to show to the fans.
The quality of her CG is amateur at best. Most of the time, I thought it was just a bunch of colors put together with some lines through them. The lines were very sketchy, rough, something you see in a draft. There was hardly any refinement in her work, which you the impression that she almost rushed through them. Even the front cover was very sloppy if you look just a little closer. I felt like she was trying to color these CG pictures the same way she would do with watercolors. But the CG colors just didn’t blend together like the way watercolors do. So what you got at the end was just a bunch of lack lustering pictures that left a bitter taste to the viewers.
The book also included a 33 page full watercolor dj that didn’t impress again; plain grassy backgrounds with minimum details. I have seen much better work from Shel than this.
“What happened?” That was the question I had in mind the whole time as I flipped through this book again and again hoping I might find something to redeem her. But nothing, I’ve come to despise this book so much I just don’t want to open it ever again even though there are a few nice water colors works, but it’s just too painful to be reminded that one of your favorite artist come down like this.
In conclusion, this is one book I can do without in my collection. It’s almost an embarrassment.
Previews
Someone has already took detail photos of the book HERE
On the side note, I do own the second book you see from the link, I am planning to do a review on it soon.