[Silver Pandorica]

thank you for saying this!! I always feel kind of worried that people will look down on me for using them, and I can't help but feel ashamed for using them just because of the bad stigma around doing so, like i'm not a real artist or something. But how can I get better with nothing to reference and practice with, y'know?? anyway, i really appreciate this post!!

[No one]

Ya I use references all the time for my art. Thanks for saying it out loud for other’s to hear.

[.Kira Nightblade.]

"heck, look at what Van Gogh did to his ear just to get a proper anatomy reference"

That's amazing XD

(also Preach!!)

[zapdos122]

This is why youtubers make funny videos like "drawing iconic characters from memory" because without a reference you're bound to forget exactly what something looks like. When I took painting my freshman year of high school we always started with a reference. Even using those reference photos I was able to make the painting my own. It's fine to free hand things when you want, but if you're going for accuracy it's nice to use a reference. Thanks for the post and awesome art :>

[JK341]

This is why youtubers make funny videos like "drawing iconic characters from memory" because without a reference you're bound to forget exactly what something looks like. When I took painting my freshman year of high school we always started with a reference. Even using those reference photos I was able to make the painting my own. It's fine to free hand things when you want, but if you're going for accuracy it's nice to use a reference. Thanks for the post and awesome art :>

Oh goodness i felt that! We had an ice storm a few days ago that knocked out the electricity for a bit so i did some traditional drawing to pass time, and was gonna draw one of my characters, but without her ref page i completely forgot what her markings looked like sglsjf! xD

[Skiller]

Ah, I can relate to this a lot ;-;
I almost always feel guilty posting art I made using a reference. (I feel like it's cheating, I guess? Like "Oh yeah I put the time and effort into drawing this, BUT I did use a reference, so it's not worth as much.") I'll definitely be coming back to this if I ever need a reference. Thanks for the links! ^^

[bark]

THIS. So much. Using drawing references is like cooking. Does it mean a master chef is bad at cooking for following a recipe?

Thank you so much for posting this, and for showing some really cool reference sites!!

[dwarjam]

I completely agree with this!
People have been using references for art throughout the entire history. It cannot possibly be a bad thing now if it was never a bad thing to begin with.

[rainfall.]

hehe the facial expression is so on point! <3