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HOW TO MAKE YOUR ART LOOK NICE: Reference n Style
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Published: 2014-06-08 22:37:41 +0000 UTC; Views: 147524; Favourites: 6753; Downloads: 0
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Description
To all my fellow artblocked, stumped, and confused artists, here's a kinda long guide on how to work around your stumps! And it's also basically the answer to why some artists are good/awesome and how you can work your way to become as good/awesome/even better than them!Some works used in this aren't mine and are used for reference purposes and are credited as such.
Keep practicing yo! and excuse my writing
EDIT: Holy man, thanks so much EeNii and Elandria !
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My HOW TO MAKE YOUR ART LOOK NICE Series:
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Comments: 455
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Good one, but speedpaintings are not being done without reference because they have a good visual library. It's because they usually record only a small proportion of screen so you don't see the lots of images open, or they record the full screen, but the second monitor is open with lots of reference images. There are not many artists out there who can do good pieces without reference, simply because they should not. There is no reason to draw/paint from your head, that's the number one mistake if you are not a super professional yet. Also about 70% of speedpaints are fake. I like this image though, good information that should have been pushed in the face to every beginner.
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Thanks! i've been on artblock and now your encouraging me~
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This is so true! Thank you for doing this! Do you mind me using this for an art lesson with 15-16yr olds with credits?
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Thank you for this! It's nice to see this because it reassures me that references are the way to go. Especially in high school, I was often told by my peers that referencing was akin to copying (even if I changed almost everything about a drawing!) and so I wouldn't get better. Seriously, thank you!
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Glad to hear it! Yeah many consider that referencing is copying unless it is *heavily* referenced. But usually heavily referencing something is for learning purposes anyway.Β
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"Magical Drawing powers"
"Demonic sacrifice"
Trust me, I tried it before, and it didn't work. The demon said he needed my soul.
I already sold my soul a long, long time ago.
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Thanks for doing this! I'll start my own reference library from now on
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This is great! Gave me more motivationfor my own art, also reminded me of some of the things some of my art teachers would say. I always look up posing references. 
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OK I MADE THIS >>Β Girl
thank you so much !! your tutorial is really amazing !
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Wow thanks for sharing your application! Hope you get to use references more often. They indeed do wonders!
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Hey there~ !Β
I just wanted to say thank you for all the tutorials you've made. Though I've only just found them, they seem to be incredibly useful and I'll definitely be applying some of the techniques you introduced in them! Like many others here, I avoided referencing like crazy, however now I'll definitely try it!Β
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AGggg you're too kind! I'm glad you found these tuts useful
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it really helps me, thank you for posting this. Your advices are really helpful!Β
But I why a stupid question: how can someone "steal" from other artists without actually cheating or copying them ?
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a lot of people tend to misinterpret the definition of Picasso's word "steal". There is blatant stealing, and smart stealing. The blatant kind is taking an idea and barely even changing it (copying). The smart kind, however, is taking an idea (or multiple ideas) and then making a new/different one. That is how i interpret Picasso's quote based on my experience as an artist
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afdgsdfgsdha great tutorial! This was actually really helpful... I used to hate using references... I always thought it was like cheating... but not now Β freeeedom!!!
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Omg do you have a list of Artists that inspire you? Because I love your taste.
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Thank you! Β Just got through them all, awesome inspirations.
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great tutorial, thank u so much
do u have perhaps a nice site when I can find real life references?Β
thank u!Β
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Google is your good friend, try "art reference" or "photographic reference". Here is good too, just check out the reference section!
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Brilliant advice. Thanks for putting this together.
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That was literally the most wonderful thing I have ever read thank you
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I always thought having to use references made me a bad artist... Thanks so much for this post!
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Quite the opposite! A great artist knows how to use references effectively by learning and adapting with it
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That answers one of my biggest questions when it comes to how good artists are without using refs.
This tutorial not only made me feel better so I could improve, it also helps me see things in a different perspective now!
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Ipod Photo Cache ! What a great artist !!! x)
Joke aside, that's a really good work !
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you have great tutorial!! thank you for making them !! you rock!! ( in the good way 
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Thank you too! C:
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I just wanted to say that I really appreciate your tutorials. They seem to finally explain me what is missing in my mindset to draw good. Yeah, I always knew there's a huge gap between me, who can't draw at all and my desired level of drawing, but after reading your tutorials (especially the later ones) I kinda figure out what I should fill it with.
Although, this road of artistic self-improving is so long for me that now I'm quite scared to even step on it... sigh, hope to overcome this as well one day
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I love this tutorial so much! Sometimes I think I need to draw from memory, or it means I'm not a real artist, but that doesn't make sense at all! I like the idea of taking different things from different refs. Thanks so much for the tutorial!!Β
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I'm actually afraid to use references cause i don't want tit to look to similar than be accused of theft ._.
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There is a difference between using a drawing to copy directly, and using a drawing to get an idea how something is drawn.
i can't blame you though. Theft is a very sensitive topic on this site. If you want, you can just make studies and you do not even have to post it online!
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i squeak like a little girl every time I notice somebody is a fan of Loish. hahaha anyway. great how-to. learned a lot. salamat!Β
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Everyone needs to be a fan of Loish. Walang anuman!Β
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hahaha. lupit talaga ng gallery niyo sir. gustong guto ko po ang style niyo. pano niyo po ba na-develop?
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haha salamat yo. Experiment lang ako ng iba't ibang style. You can see all of them in my Tumblr dumps
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Guh.
Things like this give me that ol' "THIS IS SO INSPIRING #and also overwhelming and discouraging and confusing and where do I start??# *sob*" feeling.
Reference has always been a hard subject for me. Same as life drawings. Or thumbnails.
I get perfectionistic super easy and lose my way, and I always get stuck on 'Where do I find X??' or 'What do I look for??' and whatnot. Like stupid simple things, but still.
Thoughts?
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I know that feeling oh so well. Take it easy and do it one step at a time! It gets overwhelming sometimes, relax and have fun with it C:
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Thank you for making this. I'm going to save this for inspiration. I get so down about my work not looking great that I stop. I've just recently started working on a reference a day after talking to another artist that I know in RL (she is really really good, and often draws from photos). Sometimes I don't finish in one day, but I can at least find time to do a little work on a reference piece each day.Β
Thanks for the inspiration & support that you have provided with this tutorial ^_^
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