There is a misconception often among beginners or non-artists that the use of reference photos for your art is somehow cheating. They assume that good artists draw exclusively from imagination. But that, as any high-level professional artist will tell you, is nonsense. Photo reference packs, and extensive Pinterest boards, are an artist’s best friend.
There are artists who can draw easily without reference, but only because they have studied their subject matter A LOT! It’s become a very detailed part of their visual memory that they can tap into easily. However, it took hours of studying and repeated use of reference material to get there.
Using reference does not imply copying the work exactly. What you’ll often find is that you need multiple images that help you to achieve the desired result in your artwork.
So with that out of the way, here are some great reference packs from Grafit Studio on Artstation.
Environments and structures
I am a complete sucker for abandoned environments (who isn’t though), so these particular packs jumped out at me.
Post apocalyptic industrial plant
North Port Town
Abandoned Railway Station
Figure Poses
Learning anatomy is crucial for most artists. This obviously takes time, but reference packs like these can really help. Photos of dynamic poses and 360 degree turn-arounds are really helpful to understand what the body is doing in different situations.
Female Warrior reference
Male Turnarounds
Facial expressions
If you want reference for painting fabric folds and texture in motion, they have a reference pack for that too.
Wrapping up…
These are just some of Grafit Studio’s packs of reference photos that you might find useful for your own art. They have plenty more on their Artstation storefront for different types of images.
If you are looking for a program to set up your reference to have visible while you draw, check out PureRef.
Need more learning resources? Then head over to our Learning section.
*Full Disclosure: This post does contain affiliate links. Should you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect your purchase at all but it does go a long way in helping me to keep making content here for you.
