Why do artists refuse to use references why why why.
It’s not a contest to see who can get by without them. It’s not cheating to look at a thing in order to know what the thing looks like.
You don’t get stronger or better by pretending. Nobody is impressed by the awkward whatever-it-is you just drew. Use references.
I don’t think a lot of people know that it’s not cheating. I recall seeing so many piece of art called out because they referenced a pose, someone recognized it, and then proceeded to shame them for it. There’s this belief, both by creators and the audience, that artists should just be able to translate the ideas from their head to paper, and if they don’t, it’s plagiarism, or not true originality (spoiler alert: there’s no such thing).
I myself didn’t start using references until very recently, because even I was under the impression that it was frowned upon. And that belief has seriously crippled and stalled my ability to improve as an artist.
As a restarting artist, I can confirm. I just never knew. I thought you were just supposed to know how to draw the body correctly and if you didn’t you had no talent.
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There are people I have met that I wish I was closer with but I always feel like I’m just not interesting enough or that… Idk… or that I’m not good enough
I’m just not good at communication and I feel like I’m not good to talk to. And I barely talk anyway
I’m sorry to those that I haven’t talked to in a while. I still love you and I hope you’re all doing good
Being an artist and having no one to network/rub elbows with you is an absolutely horrible feeling. Artists want their artwork seen and appreciated, even if their art isn’t the best. It’s the primary reason many artists keep drawing and trying to improve in the first place.
If you see an artist getting no comments/likes/reblogs/etc., give them a little appreciation. Some of us work our butts off for just one good compliment. And “nice” or “good job” only goes so far. A couple full sentences can completely brighten an artist’s day. Seriously, I have had people practically jump up and down in their seats because I wrote them a constructive critique. Feedback means the world to people…
This goes threefold for OC pieces; fanart always gets so much attention but when someone compliments me on one of my own characters, it’s way more exciting