If you would like to raise the quality of your drawings, you have got to use reference.
Photographs, other drawings, and nature, not particularly in that order, can be great sources of reference for your drawings.
Note: using reference should NOT be confused with tracing. Except when totally necessary (as in drawing a map, a logo or something that MUST look like a photocopy, or in cases when you are such in a hurry and don't have the time to draw a building or sports car from scratch), I do not recommend tracing because I believe this practice is detrimental to your ability to draw.
Using reference means to copy certain visual aspects or techniques found in photographs, drawings or nature, and apply that in your artwork.
Examples:
- use a photograph of a beautiful blonde in a sexy pose to draw a super heroine in that or a similar pose or to shape her female body accurately.
- sit in front of a tree and draw the branches and leaves and apply shades based on what you see.
- watch a drawing of your favorite artist and apply some of her or his techniques (layout, storytelling, shading, expressions, etc.) in your own drawings.
MAKE YOUR ARTWORK LOOK MORE BELIEVABLE
Reference is essential to make your drawings look believable.
If you want to draw a cool BMW, unless you've done it a dozen times and very recently, use a photograph, don't draw it "from memory".
Same thing if you want to draw a house, a boat, a frog, a horse, or a cellular phone. Unless you've done it many, many times, or you're drawing in a very cartoony style which does not need to be accurate, use reference. It's what professionals do.
DRAWING FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
Reference is essential for drawing peculiar facial expressions with a great sense of accuracy and a high level of quality.
Use a mirror or take digital photographs of yourself or someone else in that particular facial expression.
It's amazing how interesting expressions can be, and how different they look when drawn from memory than when drawn from reference. Accuracy is paramount.
DRAWING POSES
Reference is a good aid for drawing poses, maybe essential for some hard to imagine poses.
But you have to be careful that your drawings don't end up looking "stiff".
So, EXAGGERATE the pose a bit to make the drawing look dynamic and not a copy from a stiff pose.
Good sources for poses are photographs (of yourself or stock photos), and 3D programs like DAZ 3D where you apply poses to an avatar which you can then see from any angle by moving the camera.
TECHNIQUES
If you have trouble applying shades and shadows correctly, study the work of artists who excel at that like Frank Miller, Eduardo Risso, Mike Deodato Jr. or Steve Epting.
If you really need to enhance your storytelling techniques, study classic comics work like that of Sal Buscema, or John Buscema.
WHERE TO GET GREAT PHOTOGRAPHS
The Web is your best ally.
Use Google's or Yahoo's image search engine and browse 5 or 6 pages to find the photos that you need or want.
Stock photograph websites are also a good source; they include a search tool to help finding what you need.
Finally, cool photos can also appear anywhere: a friend's blog or a website you dislike.
Save those cool photos to your computer when you see them.
DIGITAL ARCHIVE
It's VERY important that you organize those photographs in a digital archive by categories and subcategories so you can find the right photos easily and quickly when you need them.
OTHER SOURCES FOR GREAT PHOTOS
Visual encyclopedias, certain books and magazines are great sources of photographs that may not be found on the web.
Look for used material to save money.
Cons of these traditional publications in comparison to digital media: take lots of space, not as practical to use, usually cost money.
EXERCISE
Draw the face of a man from memory, and then find a photograph of a similar man and use it as reference to draw it. Compare the two drawings and determine which one looks more professional. 9 out of 10, the second drawing will look better.
Happy drawing!
