Update: My total flip on reference images for digital painting

I thought it was CHEATING, but now it's my BEST tool for learning.

4 comments

4 Comments

The thing is, calling it a tool for learning makes it sound like you'll outgrow it. You won't. Every working artist uses them constantly, not because they can't draw, but because it's how you get things right. It's not a learning crutch, it's the foundation of the whole process.

paulw533mo ago

Well, tell that to my ego that still wants to pretend I'm too good for tools, @shane_hayes. Guess I'll go back to using them like a normal person.

cole5493mo ago

Seriously! Calling tools a crutch is like saying a tape measure is for beginners. Pros use them every single day because they work. Framing it as an ego thing totally misses the point.

pat7812mo ago

Shane's point about it being the foundation is where I push back. For me, the foundation is still the sketch, the basic shapes from my head. References are more like a fact checker. I'll rough out a car from memory, then pull up photos to fix the wheel arches or the headlight shape. It's not the start of the process, it's the middle. Paulw53 has the right idea, sometimes you just have to draw the thing wrong first to see what you actually need to look up.