Sep 2021
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Sep 2021
Nov 2021
migxmeg
Sep '21

All the time. OK, almost all the time - I skip it on the rare occasion when I have a panel that's cropped to a face and the sketch came close enough to the expression I want that I'm not going to get anything extra out of taking a photo.

I'm still learning proper anatomy so I think I'll learn more if I have a real human body to look at! Plus I will stylize the pose/expression - I'm not straight copying, but it's helpful to have something in front of me to pull details that are relevant to what I'm trying to achieve.

IndigoShirtProd
Sep '21
1

All the time. Often for clothes, but also for poses if I'm really struggling. My artwork is also highly stylized, but for it to come off as believable and polished, I think references are a must. There are some things that don't require them, and that can only suffice when you have a good visual library. That can come from the media you consume or from references.

BLTX
Sep '21

Well now I'm starting think I'm the ONLY one who doesn't use 'em. At least not most of the time.Usually just for strange camera angles and or chracter positions.

feuersichel
Sep '21

When I'm working on my comic, I rarely use references exept for some stuff I'm not familliar with. Because I love to draw from memory and I want to train it more. I do use alot of references for training though! My sketchbooks are full of poses and gestures :slight_smile:

Kaydreamer
Sep '21

I'm a huge advocate of using reference images as well. If you don't use them, you're training your mind, eye, and hand into repeating the same mistakes over and over - and it'll be much harder to untrain that later. Reference images are a must when you're a developing artist, as are gesture drawing exercises.

I use reference images in three ways:

  • They're great for inspiration; having a broad reference library means I'm rarely stuck trying to think of an interesting pose.
  • If I'm having a good art day, or I have the time to sketch and explore, I just eyeball the ref to give myself a better sense of anatomy as I draw.
  • If I'm time-starved, or everything I've been drawing that day has looks wonky, I'll quickly trace over the basic anatomy of a reference, then go back over that sketch a second time and stylise it further. (The second pass is a must, or the drawing looks stiff and over-realistic.)
  • I also use 3D models a lot, and I have a few basic poses for each character saved. This allows me to easily alter the camera angle for more dynamic panels. I've been going through some of my favourite photo refs and making 3d versions of them, so I can play with more camera angles.

Sometimes, for basic bust shots and the occasional full-body, I don't use reference. But that's often after I've spent a bunch of time practising gesture drawing, and I really have the human form 'in my fingers' that day, so to speak.

Scarlet_Cryptid
Sep '21

I don't use anatomy reference as much as I used to, but sometimes I still do, especially for complicated poses, expressions, or hand positions. I actually looked up several references for expressions today for the page I'm working on, and ended up taking a photo of my own fist for a reference at the angle I wanted. It helps.

I also use reference a lot for environments, objects, and animals, and I use it A LOT to get the color/lighting effects right. Because I use markers, and I get ONE SHOT at getting my colors down correctly. So I do a lot of research and a lot of practice.

Btw, if anyone wants the fist pic for reference, here you go:

BLTX
Sep '21

Thanks to everyone who responded. Funnily enough, I've now com across a situtaion where I DO need a referance image, and found this website where you manipulate a 3D figure to get the proper position you need. Here is what I'm doing with it.

image.png921x784 127 KB

To anyone who wants to check the site out, here's the link.

https://app.justsketch.me/6

By the way I do usually attempt to make positions before referring to reference images. As mentioned, I only really use them when I feel I really need to.

margodraws
Sep '21

All the time! Not really for poses, but often for design inspiration for costumes, buildings etc. Most of it is vaguely medieval european, since that's the flavour of my fantasy world, but I'll save anything that catches my eye. My Pinterest board overfloweth:

BLTX
Sep '21

That's kind of what I mostly use it for. just earlier I had used referance images to help design a Gym.

Lensing
Sep '21

I believe that everyone is always drawing from reference.
Sometimes the memory of the reference is some years old, sometimes the memory is one second old
when you are looking at it while you draw.
You draw your version of what you saw or combine it with something that you already know how
to draw which became your style or you drew it so often that it became muslce memory.

But I think your question is if we have the reference open while we draw. I usually do that for poses and things
I have never drawn. I just drew a wolf chilling in the forest. I used a reference picture for the sitting pose,
one for the head because I never drew a wolf, one for tree stump he was sitting on. I drew the clothes from
memory.
I could have tried to draw it all from my head and it would have also worked but it would have looked differently.
I also use style reference, I want it to look a bit like Asterix & Obelix and that´s why I always have Asterix comics
next to me and copy the way the artist draws trees

BLTX
Sep '21

That's a very interesting viewpoint. I like it.

KelheorRegular
Sep '21

Not much? :pumpkin: Reference usage frequently leaves me with a much less energetic picture, which I hate. I am trying to use them more now for a better anatomy and clothes depiction, because I almost never ever used any references until two years ago maybe.

BLTX
Sep '21

I often find a very similar thing.

KelheorRegular
Sep '21

I think it's mostly the inability to use them better, because we're not used to it :slight_smile: Definitely worth the try though :+1:

iHateFridays
Sep '21

Honestly I should use them more XD Most of the time I use them if I'm really struggling with a pose ig

Reveal
Sep '21

All time time, think when I don't use references my art tends to look a little to static and stale in my eyes so just seeing different references for poses and what not helps change things up a bit as well as making sure everything looks right antomically

BLTX
Sep '21

I personally find the exact opposite is true for me.

moystupido
Sep '21

Whenever there's a specific dynamic pose I'm trying to go for or if I just can't imagine the form someone would take for an action, that's when I use references the most. Or if there's a specific angle I want to achieve and I need to know how everything looks proportionally from said angle. If I can't find photos online, I usually just take photos of myself and base it off that. And if the character I'm drawing doesn't match my body type, I go to 3D models.

I plan on using them more because when I look back at my drawings, I see how stiff or unnatural some characters look when I don't use references.

Reveal
Sep '21
1
BLTX

I think what's good is using the reference for the pose itself, so not exactly copying the pose but just using it as a way to guide how you kind of want the pose or stance to look.

But yeah I have a friend who is a artist as well who has the same sentiments, that sometimes using references kind of restricts their art in a way, so it does for sure depends on what the artist feels comfortable with

TheDoublekey
Sep '21

I'd say very often! Drawing by memory is pretty hard, especially if you're trying to draw a specific pose or an object with a more complex shape.
Drawing references are an artist's best friend tbh and I wouldn't be able to do much without them. They should always be used as a way to improve and to analyze the shapes, to understand how that something is made.

Other times I use drawing references to get some inspiration for character design, it really depends.