Guilty of using reference to draw?

Augustus Sarria: Artist reference materials only show what occurs naturally. It's not "cheating" in any way. Artists used to strike the pose themselves in mirrors (and some probably still do) or hire models to strike poses for them. A reference is just a photo of a model striking a particular pose. Lots of artists use references - in fact most of them I know use at least a photo reference when they draw or when they sketch their paintings. The "art" is in the interpretation, in the composition and in the application of the media not in the pose....Show more

Benny Stehno: Most art instructors stress drawing from models over drawing purely from imagination, because helping your mind "see" things greatly improves artistic techniques. All great artists (aside from purely abstract ones) draw regularly from references, so you shouldn't get too worked up over it.

Edwina Fu: I agree with James. A girl in my sister's class learned to draw from stick figure cats to! really good cartoon cats using references. I say references are great for improvement and you shouldn't feel bad for using them at all.

Ira Porietis: Using reference isn't a bad thing at at! Most artists have to use ref, because we don't all know how to draw from our minds. Of course, you apply your own art style to it, and that's what makes it yours. What is bad though, is tracing. I used to trace and I actually learned that I draw a lot better without tracing. I don't consider tracing art, since you're literally just copying someone else's picture. Reference is completely different. It's okay! c: