How I Work With References

Using references can be hard without straight up copying the reference image. Whether you’re a new or experienced artist, inspiration doesn’t always come easy. Reference images are a great way to inspire yourself, but be cautious about copying work. It is fine to do photos studies, but if you are posting work online or using it in your portfolio, try not to simply trace images, only use tracing as a method of practicing form. You won’t refine your art style but imitation, it comes from within. I use Pinterest for art inspiration, and create boards for different art styles or reference types.

How I go about doing using reference photos is opening up my art programme (I use Procreate, available on the AppStore for $9.99), and inserting my reference image(s) that I want to use. I like to use a canvas which is the size of the screen, which on my setup is 2,732 x 2,048 px.

I then move it to the side, open a new layer on top of the image and try and sketch something out whilst referring to the image. It’s way easier than having to switch between apps to see your reference photo, and though iOS12 now offers split screen, I don’t like my Procreate tab space to be limited when I am drawing.

After I have created my sketch, I select the layer below which my reference image is on and either hide or delete the layer depending on whether I will need to use it again in the future of that piece.

I then go about my art process as normal, I open a new laher, outline, open a new layer, detail etc. This is how I like to use reference images in conjunction with procreate, sometimes we all need a bit of inspiration.