The importance of self-portraits.
This was taken from my ko-fi blog.
Do you need a reference for a drawing? If so, why not practice with your camera, phone, or mirror?
I've always used myself for reference if I couldn't find what I was looking for on the internet. I know there are some resources like apps now that you can customize figures, but there's a lack of human softness (if you know what I mean).
I've always used myself to do studies, especially with facial expressions and lighting.
The reference next to the painting.
If you've ever seen a self-portrait of mine and wondered if there's a photo reference attached, there sure is—even the most funny expressions. If you ever wondered why most of my work, even character designs, resembles me, they were created with me as a reference.
You can learn a lot, and it helps bring your vision to life and removes the struggle of researching and asking questions like, “Does this arm look right?” or “I don’t think fingers bend that way.”
Using references isn’t a cop-out. It’s a practice.
Anatomy, perspectives, lighting, environment—use the world around you. Nature is the original artist, and we, too, are part of nature.
The one thing I love about art is that you can be creative. The trick is to keep it as close to the real image as possible while warping what you want in your style. This gives the brain the illusion of something familiar, so it makes sense to figure out what's being conveyed, but it also brings out the uniqueness of your work.
Photo references are really important to any artist's foundation. I highly recommend attending a figure drawing class, drawing from still-life/real life, and your photo references.
I hope this blog post encourages you to use your references and make art.
Below, I share art resources that might help.
Here are some resources:
Online References:
NYC Figure Drawing:
