Using high-quality reference is a gamechanger. The process of creating art can be seen as a series of problems to solve, and reference contains the answers to those problems. But with all those answers presented to us so readily, we can fall into the trap of sticking too closely to our reference material, simply copying or making decisions dictated by what we were able to find and not what our creative instincts tell us. This can lead to stiff or dull paintings, devoid of the artistic potential we have to breathe life into our work.
So how do we use reference without becoming beholden to it? This tutorial shows you advanced reference techniques, allowing you more creative freedom and the opportunity to tap into your imaginative skills in a logical, informed way.
In this painting, I’ll be working from many different images to bring my character, Ava, to life. She is the protagonist in my work-in-progress novel, The Sum of Our Deeds, so the narrative is really important to me here. I want to clearly show her character and her world which, as neither are real, is a great opportunity to demonstrate how to get the most out of your references! I’ll be working from my own reference images, which you can find on my website.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 2022 من ImagineFX.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 2022 من ImagineFX.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Jan Wessbecher
Dominic Carter talks to the visual artist about creating his own comic and why sketchbooks are great for creative experiments
Kyounghwan Kim
The Korean character concept artist speaks to Dominic Carter about staying open to ideas and the value of drawing regularly
Slawek Fedorczuk
Dominic Carter talks to the concept artist about what keeps him motivated and the advantages of using physical sketchbooks.
Raquel M. Varela
Raquel is inspired by magic, fantasy and fairy tales. She loves designing female characters from distant worlds. \"My greatest reference is Loish's art, thanks to her I learned to draw the movement and fluidity I like to convey.\"
Estrela Lourenço
Estrela is a children's book author and illustrator. Her work is influenced by her background in character animation and storyboards for clients such as Cartoon Network, and she channels comic strips like Calvin and Hobbes.
Daria Widermanska
Daria, also known as Anako, has been drawing for as long as she can remember. Inspired by Disney and classic anime, she loves creating new characters and often finds that a single sketch can spark a unique story.
Allen Douglas
Allen has been painting professionally since 1994 for the publishing and gaming industries. Inspired by folklore, he distorts the size, relationships and environments of animals, and calls his paintings 'unusual wildlife'.
Thaddeus Robeck
Thaddeus has been drawing from the moment he could hold a pencil, but it was the 2020 lockdowns that gave him the time to focus on honing his skills.
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The artist talks about his journey into the mythological world