Top Reference Sites For Artists

More and more artists are turning to online platforms for their reference needs. After all, why not take advantage of the internet, where you can find thousands of models in the exact positions required? However, it can be hard to find references for your photos as an artist, especially in real life.

In this article, you’ll find the top reference sites for artists to use online. Before that, let’s talk about some additional tools and factors you might consider when choosing a reference site!

What is a reference?

When an artist uses a “reference”, it means they are basing their art off of another image. It’s what they can refer back to when trying to reference something. The digital market for photo references is huge. Let’s go over some of the smaller niches that artists frequently like to use for reference.

Things to look for in a reference site

As a visual artist, you have your unique style of doing things, and you want to make sure that you have the tools you need to succeed with your style. Here is a list of things to consider when thinking about sources for your references:

• Image quality—If you do any kind of online art or graphic design, you know firsthand how important it is to have a high-definition image. Luckily, AI upscale imagetechnology is getting better and better.
• Type of photos for reference—While many artists looking for references want human figure models, this isn’t always the case. Some want animals, inanimate objects, or other things.
• A variety of poses—One of the main advantages of using a photo references site is that you can find photo references and models with an infinite number of shapes and poses. But not every site is equal. You might notice that some collections feature a huge number of options and features, while others might have the same bland posts.
• Price—Finding a great reference photo can come with a cost, depending on how picky you are. Some of the options have great opportunities for low (or no) budgets, but others can get expensive.

By keeping these ideas in mind, you can find a reference site that fits the concept you’re looking for. The following is a collection of some amazing photo reference sites for artists wanting human figure models, animals, or any other objects!

Key resources

There are several key resources visual artists can use for references. Some like to use photos they’ve taken, or images volunteered from other artists. The internet is by far the largest resource and allows creators to find exactly what they’re looking for. Keep reading for some common tropes in visual references.

Human anatomy

Mastering the human figure is the cornerstone of any artist’s work. It’s hard to do, which makes it a highly demanded reference. Many models pose in forms that allow artists to capture their physical shape.

What’s the best reference site for this niche?—ArtStation

Full of 3D modeling and detailed graphics of the human form, this reference site will give you anatomical accuracy like no other. Plus, it even has other niches like game art and comic art. We’ll talk more about animation references later, but this is a great option for that too.

Portraits

Not every artist can find someone to hold still for the duration of their creative process. For this reason, a huge market for reference photos revolves around portraits.

What’s the best reference site for this niche?—Instagram

If you want photos for reference that pop, use Instagram! For drawing portraits, an artist can search by hashtag to find exactly the kind of portrait they want. It’s a really neat way to get collections of people’s selfies and other portraits.

Photo references are really easy to find on this platform because people are constantly snapping pictures of themselves. If you’re an artist, you probably have a good idea of just how much photo inspiration you can find here. Pretty much everyone’s account has at least one good pose reference photo.

Clothing and fashion

Clothing can be notoriously intricate to draw or paint, especially if it’s baggy or decorative. The sites offer a wide range of references for your clothing and fashion needs!

What’s the best reference site for this niche?—Pinterest

For many, Pinterest is where they get their ideas for everything. It’s especially trendy for creating boards about outfits and fashion designs. For this reason, it’s an excellent reference site for clothing and fashion. There are thousands of clothing models and designs to choose from!

Referencing comes naturally on Pinterest. Just find a board about the topic you’re looking for and you’ll have an endless list of photos for reference.

Props and environment

If you think references are only for human models, you’re mistaken. References exist for everything imaginable, from household objects like brooms to natural settings like mountains or rivers!

What’s the best reference site for this niche?—Unsplash

Commonly used for royalty-free images, Unsplash lets amateur photographers share their creations with the world for free. You frequently see Unsplash photos as the cover images for online articles, but they make some amazing reference photos.

This is because the Unsplash community is based on high-quality images of just about everything. Although it isn’t focused on human models, it’s a great place to get photos by artists that care about high definition, as well as awesome environments and props.

Technique and weapons

There’s also a subgenre of references for certain actions. From dancing to fighting, you can find loads of content of people in motion. A lot of these can be violent, and there are certainly detailed weapon references made so artists can create epic fight scenes.

What’s the best reference site for this niche?—Google Images

There are plenty of awesome sites where an artist can get a photo reference for technique and weapons. However, this is one of the best because there’s so much customization. Usually, artists in this niche are looking for a very specific technique or object.

On Google Images, you can find the exact weapon or object you’re looking for. Plus, it serves as a directory to help you find even more sites with photo references!

Animals

Not every artist wants a human model for their pictures! Images of animals are a major part of the reference photo world. Many artists want to depict the beauty of wild nature, which makes it important for there to be images that let them work in a safe, slow environment.

What’s the best reference site for this niche?—Wildlife Reference Photos

This family-run database is an incredible resource for any artist that wants to find high-quality pictures of animals (in their natural habitat) for their work.

Textures

We live in a world of texture, and creating accurate visual art requires a deep understanding of it. Many reference photo sites focus on intricate patterns and materials.

What’s the best reference site for this niche?—Flickr

This is an incredible website because of how many photos it has—almost 500 million! You could spend all day looking for the perfect texture reference and you’d still have more to look through. Although, be careful, because this website has a mix of free and paid options for using photographs.

Animation

When it comes to visual art, animated styles are completely different from realism. If you’re new to animation, many references can serve as guides for finding your animation style.

What’s the best reference site for this niche?—Character Design References

With a visual library of thousands of characters, you’ll be in animation heaven. Not only is there a huge artist catalog, but each design is unique and intricate.

Virtual expositions of museums

You can’t spell “museum” without “muse”! Artists have been using displays at museums for quite some time, and the internet allows them to do it from the comfort of their own homes.

What’s the best reference site for this niche?—Smithsonian

Smithsonia is world-renowned for their incredible museum exhibitions, and they’re also pioneers in online exhibitions. At any given time, you can find dozens of online exhibitions to base your art on. From art exhibitions to pictures of historical sites, you’ll find a lot of inspiration here.

Conclusion

There are a lot of great photos for reference available on the internet. As an artist, the world is at your fingertips. From photorealistic figures generated by AI to freelance models and photographers, you’ll never be out of reference material using the sites mentioned in this list!