Calendars are one of those projects where they seem like a no-brainer. After all, you just make twelve pages, one for each month of the year, and have each page list the dates for that month. No big deal, right? However, calendars are one of those areas where the devil is in the details. What holidays do you list? What about other events, such as the phases of the moon? Perhaps the biggest detail, however, is what theme will your calendar have?
In the case of Stainless Steel Dragon’s 2012 Fantasy Female Calendar & Print Set, the theme is beautiful, scantily-clad women.
At twenty-eight pages long, this calendar’s basic construction is pretty much what you’d expect. Given in PDF format, there are twelve sets of calendar listings and an equal number of photos; the array listed is in the standard one photo followed by one month arrangement.
The file opens with an introduction which is the product page information, telling us how these pictures were configured and giving us the default methods of printing out this calendar should we want a hard-copy. It’s fairly boilerplate, but it was nice to have the information listed just to be on the safe side; I doubt I’ll be printing out this calendar, but for those who are interested in doing so, there’s some good, albeit basic, advice here in that regard.
The pictures are, as mentioned, all of beautiful girls in skimpy outfits. The pictures all have a fantasy theme to them, with the outfits having a fantasy-medieval theme, and many of the pictures feature the girls wielding various medieval weapons (e.g. mace, crossbow, etc.). The artwork here is all tasteful, and while titillating doesn’t ever rise to the level of softcore porn – a few pictures are slightly risqué though, such as how Ms. February has most of her ass uncovered, and Ms. August seems to be naked (though positioned in such a way that nothing naughty can be seen).
I should note that full bookmarks are given for this PDF, which makes it very easy if you’re using the file as a calendar for your computer. Interestingly, the bookmark for each month has a nested entry to that month’s picture; it’s here and only here that you’ll find the name of the picture, something I thought was a very fun easter egg.
Likewise, my mention of using this file as your computer calendar was no off-hand remark. As the introduction notes, each day’s entry has been formatted to allow you to post a sticky note there, giving this product an edge of practicality. The calendar days also note the phases of the moon, the solstices and equinoxes, and most major holidays as well.
A few extras are here that should be noted. Each calendar page has small, abbreviated listings for the previous and next month at the top, which is convenient. A fun addition is that, while the days of the week are listed along the top of each calendar’s dates table, it also lists the corresponding deities each day of the week is named for along the bottom.
Overall, I quite liked the 2012 Fantasy Female Calendar. Beyond the delicious cheesecake, the ways in which this product took advantage of the digital format, rather than being held hostage by it, were quite refreshing. From the picture titles in the bookmarks to the sticky notes when you right-click a day, there was comparatively a lot here to enjoy. From sexy images to functionality, this calendar makes 2012 look like it’s going to be a great year.
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