What about a beautiful sunset, or unique building, or a funny-looking tree? Take a picture. Maybe you see storm clouds in the distance that look like they’d look fabulous in a painting if so take a picture. If you see something that interests you, then snap a picture of it. There’s absolutely no reason you shouldn’t be taking reference photos all the time. The beauty of modern cell phones is that they have high-resolution cameras, and you can store hundreds of photos on them. But, you shouldn’t restrict your photo reference gathering to only times when you are planning a drawing or painting. When you are planning a drawing or painting, you probably have a good idea of what reference you are going to need. In short, it gives you complete control over the photo, which will make your job when you are drawing or painting it later easier. It lets you get the lighting and shadows perfect as well. Making your own photo reference gives you the ability to get the angle of the photo exactly the way that you want it. After all, if you need a reference photo of an iconic location, and you don’t’ live anywhere near that location, then using a stock photo is your best option.īut, whenever you have a chance to take your own photo reference, you are going to be much better off.
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Sure, you could go online and download stock photos as reference, and there are times that this will be your best option. Technology has undoubtedly made our lives better in many ways, and as an artist, you would be foolish to not take advantage of what it can do for your artwork. Using A Cell Phone To Collect Reference Images
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Or, you could branch out a bit and use some artistic license to change your drawing or painting into something that reflects your vision as an artist. You can either spend a great deal of time painstakingly recreating what you see while paying close attention to detail. If you are going to use photo reference heavily in your artwork, then you have two choices. The main problem with using photo reference and then trying to recreate what you see accurately is that any mistakes you make will be magnified. Being influenced by an artist, and learning to copy their technique is a highly effective way to learn and grow as an artist.Īrtwork the relies heavily on photo reference can be stunning, or it can look terrible. History is filled with artists who were heavily influenced by their peers. It helps you to learn, and it develops the skills that you’ll need to one day take your art in a new direction. Why would you want to learn to draw and paint by copying the work of others? You do it so that you can learn the techniques that they used, then you can branch out and expand upon it.Ĭopying the work of another artist to learn how they achieved what they did is perfectly fine.
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Many young artists are taught in school how to recreate the styles of famous artists, and it’s also common for students to actually recreate entire paintings.
If copying the work of other artists helps you to gain a better understanding of how they drew something, or how they created a specific type of effect, then it’s not a bad thing at all. Is learning to draw and paint by copying other artwork a lousy way to learn how to create art of your own? Not necessarily. Is Learning To Draw And Paint From Copying Bad? Why not take a photo of a person, then change it? Or distort it? Or throw in some abstract elements? Or add colors that aren’t present in the photo? The point here is that drawing or painting using photo reference can be a great thing, but you shouldn’t restrict yourself to trying to simply recreate what you see. Wouldn’t it be much more rewarding to take your photo reference, then create a drawing or painting that uses it as a foundation, then expands on it? While a drawing or painting that is photo-realistic is an impressive accomplishment, it’s not going to prove as rewarding to you as an artist, as it would be to create something that fulfills your vision.