Reference

First off, You want to find an image that sparks your interest. This will be the starting point that guides your art. While it’s not necessary, using a reference photo is a great way to start the creative process. Whether it’s taking aspects of it to create your piece, or redesigning it in your style.

For this tutorial, we recommend using a reference picture to give yourself a starting point, something to base your picture off of.

When picking a reference photo its important to evaluate your interests, goals, and style. Be sure to draw something similar to your style and skill level to avoid burnout. A good rule of thumb for if you are wanting to learn to draw better, do something that is 10 percent harder than what you are currently capable of.

If it’s too hard, you risk burnout, but if it’s too easy, you risk loosing motivation. Always evaluate your own capabilities and where you want to go with it.

Another Important factor when picking out a reference is to consider what your goals are. If your looking to make an in depth drawing, it may be nice to use a detailed picture with higher contrast. While if your looking to make are cartoon strip, you may be looking for something more simplified so it’s easier to make alterations.

Finally, be sure to consider your personal interests. If you like drawing landscapes, you probably don’t want to choose a dog. Or if you’re looking to person, don’t pic a picture where the person is tiny and its focused on landscape.

Reference pictures likely will take the most forethought. This is why you will be basing your line art off of, and thus will be the foundation for your work.

(Note; references pictures are not mandatory, they are intended to get the creative process started. If you have an idea, roll with is and see what you are capable of creating.)

For this book, we will be using a picture taken by Ben Weber, and posted on unsplash for free use. We will be focusing on the person for this demo, and not incorporate the background.