[JK341]

I've been seeing this floating around here and there in multiple art communities: the idea that using references for your art means you're somehow not a good artist or that it doesn't make it entirely "your drawing". I can't speak for everyone else but i personally feel that this is a load of bologna.

There's absolutely no shame in using a reference for something, heck for that matter i encourage it, you would be amazed at the difference that it can make for your art! Even the pros did it, heck, look at what Van Gogh did to his ear just to get a proper anatomy reference. x)

That being said, be sure that you are referencing from sources that you can absolutely make sure that they allow it, so that you avoid any possible copyright issues because that just ain't fun! So with that said i'll go ahead and drop in a few sources that i regularly use that have a "free to use" type of policy for their images. ^^


Pexels , Pixabay, unsplash , Reshot , And don't forget that there's also a stash of pictures that CS itself has provided for us to reference from. ^^

Of course, remembering to link back to what ever you referenced from. c:

Annnnnyway just wanted to get these thoughts out there.

[ZeroToInfinity]

Thank you so much for this. I had a friend say that references were bad and since then I've been hesitant to use them. Thank you!

[JK341]

References are great! I've taken many o art classes and even have a certification in graphic design;; as long as you have permission from whoever created the original reference or if its free to use, then you are all good! I've used references in the classes I took and lemme tell u it really does make art so much better because you can learn anatomy and patterns and poses and whatnot through reference photos!
Tracing over references to understand basic shapes in different things and then redrawing the basic shapes is a fantastic way to get how the anatomy works too! Obviously, don't do this for artwork you're posting or selling but its awesome practice to understand how to block out the shapes for animals and even humans!
Another thing I see on this site is that people are ashamed of how long art takes them to draw! I constantly see "oh ignore the timer" on posts but like everyone creates at their own speed :>

Aah yes, this! And I'm definitely not afraid to admit that im probably the slowest artist on this site ahaha! xD

Thank you so much for this. I had a friend say that references were bad and since then I've been hesitant to use them. Thank you!

So glad that this could help ya! ^^

[birdio]

yes!!! and thank you for the links :0

[Panda-Love-100]

Yes. So. Much. Yes. Just because we can’t create something perfectly from memory doesn’t mean it’s wrong!
Also, I love your style it’s so nice to look at <3

[heepheep]

well said! i also used to carry that mindset and my art never improved ^^'.. references are truly the best thing available to artists so it's sad to see people condemning it

[hypnowave]

oh, i wholeheartedly agree with this! i personally feel like artists should draw using whatever tools they feel most comfortable utilizing. for some artists, that's drawing from imagination, and for others it's referencing! in a lot of art communities, i feel like there's an elitist attitude that looks down upon the use of resources at your disposal (i.e. brushes specifically meant for grass blades/clouds/etc, using 3d models to achieve a desired pose, using references, and using free-to-use images as backgrounds). i personally struggle so much with visualization that i pretty much depend on refs, and i've been trying to do figure drawing practices more often to break free from that, but i don't think that depending on refs is a bad thing at all! it all comes down to preference :]

[SputnikSplash]

H U G E agree.

Also I wanna take a moment and thank the kind people who draw references for others and help simplify poses and such <3

[Exoclipse]

Preach it J!!! You always know what's up.

[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!!