bits and bobs
Ted went Christmas shopping in Dublin yesterday, where he says he did not find anything at all that he was looking for for me. On the other hand, he did find the man who sells honey-roasted pecans and cashews and cinnamon-and-sugar-soaked dried apple slices, and this is probably worth the price of admission. Except, of course, the danger of knowing ( Read more... )
Well, most artists, if they're doing anything representational at all, do not draw everything out of their own heads. I recal Michael Whelan arranging a photoshoot of a convention-goer who happened to have a look he needed for a project at one of the cons I attended... Not that he couldn't do most everything from his head at that point in his career, but he said he still shot reference in case he needed it.
Were you looking for refs of the human body? and what kind? (portrait shots, action?) Taking your own photos has long been one of the best ways for artists to get reference. You can get friends to pose and maybe try to get the lighting close to what you need. (Most people can be quite obliging in wanting to help out by posing--you'd be surprised! And people dressed in costumes at cons love it--although usually the lighting totally sucks, rendering most photos useless other than for the basics like the costume and pose.)
Magazines are good. If too expensive, you can try and see if anyone has some old ones they want to get rid of... Although, you know, you may have copyright probs with photos unless you are just creating pictures for yourself, or you can just be very careful that you change things enough and only take elements (in other words, truly only refer to them and not try to take entire compositions and likenesses. Nat Geo is almost a cliche for reference. James Gurney used a Nat Geo photo years ago and people can so bust you on it since everyone is looking at those already. Playboy and Victoria's Secret are also over-used, but still useful.).
There are rerence books that are created for artists to use to their heart's content. Some are pretty pricey, though, but maybe one or two could work if you get the right ones. You could have checked them out personally at the Bud Plant booth at ComicCon, if you'd had the time and inclination. But not all are that helpful (depends on what you're looking for, of course).
For Exmaple on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Models-Photos-Visual-CD-ROM/dp/0976457385/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227932376&sr=1-5
Check out the "Customers also Bought..." for similar artist model/pose books. And some may be found second-hand for some savings.
I've got a number of these, but usually I find that they won't have the poses I'm looking for-- Or the right angle, or the right lighting, or enough detail... or whatever. Although I've resorted to them once or twice.
You can also search Google Images for pictures of things. Most will be small and lack detail, however. But it can be useful for certain odd things and quick reference. It is possible to keep them on your screen to refer to if you don't want to print everything out--better actually, since printing at the typical resolution for the web would be almost useless.
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