Tips: Using Photo Reference for Illustration

Using Photo Reference for Illustration

I find that using photo reference can be a great help for creating strong illustrations. It also can distract from a quality final image by restricting the illustrator to photographic “reality”. The illustrator’s job is to be able to pick our what is important or not in their photos to put into the illustration. Think of your camera as another sketching tool.

HEre are some extra tips:


1. Do your initial sketches purely from your imagination and develop those sketches as much as you can before going after reference. Even if those sketches don’t look that great, trust your mental image and let it guide you later. Use the photos as information upon which to build.

2. Try using the photos only for the comprehensive and sketch stage, and put them away for the final painting. Refer back to them for detail.

3. Print your photos in black and white to avoid being influenced by the color when drawing. This will give you a better idea of tonal arrangements that might look good in your final artwork. You can use the color for the final painting, but often this color will not be harmonious and will keep you from having control of the color.

Take lots of photos, and use more than one model or more than one costume. Try different angles from what you had in your sketches..sometimes you will see something in the camera that didn’t occur to you.

After looking through your reference, retouch your sketches to reflect the changes and elements you didn’t have in your sketches