Some people think that reference images are used by beginner artists, but reference photos are used by creatives of all different skill levels right up to professionals, and across all mediums, including paintings, and sculpture.
You may have seen your favorite artists draw something from memory, but it requires years of practice to just use your imagination alone. But to be able to do so, you must use reference images first, a reference picture is an important guide for artists and there is a need for guidance for everyone. And I’ll show you some tips to get a photo reference that helps you get creative.
Collect Your References in One Place
you need to do to create a reference for your art. Then organize them in one place. This could be a folder on your pc or a Pinterest board. Make sure the photos you use are royalty-free and are free for commercial use.
look up references!
After I’ve finished developing my concept, I look up references that may be useful when creating my illustration.
Another part most beginners don’t pay attention to is the quality of photo references they choose to use for their work. Many sites have reference photos for artists, such as
Pexels
Pexels is a site that provides free stock photos and videos, all licensed under the Pexels license. These images are high quality and easy to search through.
Pixabay
Pixabay is a site that shares copyright-free images, videos, music, and illustrations. All of the content is released under the Pixabay License. This means the content is safe to use without permission or credit to the artist.
unsplash
All photos are under the Unsplash license and the photographers who upload images to Unsplash grant users a free copyright license to their work.
It can be easy to just search ‘reference images for drawing’ or look at your favorite pictures on Pinterest for inspiration
When looking for inspiration: look through a few photographs and try to recreate them by painting or drawing exactly as you see them.
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