snowmanne reblogged your photo: joannaestep: escargod: ugh, exactly. that’s…
But What do the people who draw the references use?
Why should references have to be existing artwork?
If I had to put it into numbers, I’d say around 85% of the references I use are photographic, some of which I take myself, and another 10% is observational (actually drawing something from life). In fact, leaving 5% for working from existing artwork may be overly generous, as I am generally inspired by existing artwork, but don’t use it for direct reference.
This isn’t to say I use a lot of references. In fact, I’d say I don’t use them enough. I could really benefit from doing more studies and using real life references in my work, especially when environments and man-made artifacts are involved. I draw from my head a lot, but my ability to do so is very strongly influenced from years of life studies as well as the accumulated use of references in the past.
