(In part one I’m going to talk about Reference in general.  In part two I’ll get specific on how to use it as a step in the process of creating a painting.)

It seems most artists are ashamed of it.  They keep it hidden away afraid the viewer will pull back the curtain and realize that the Wizard is just a homely little guy with a paintbrush.  Let me start by saying loudly and without restraint.

REFERENCE IS OUR FRIEND!

Let me tell you a little story about my beginnings with reference.  I didn’t begin to draw until I was 18 and was heavily influenced by a really good artist (and personal friend) at my local comic book shop who held the mindset that any type of reference was blatant cheating and a crutch for a lack of drawing skills.  That stuck with me for a long time and sadly delayed my progress as an artist for many, many, many, many, many years.  Yes, it was at least a five many stretch.  You don’t know what you don’t know.  Reference fills in what you don’t know.

Even the great and powerful Wizard had a few tools behind the curtain.

Use reference with abandonment.  I would strongly advise tracing too.

Whoa! Hold up!  Did I just say it was ok to trace.  Well, yes but there is a caveat.  You are allowed to do it if you learn something from doing it.  Trace to understand what you’re drawing and to memorize it.  Do it with a goal of being able to draw it if the reference disappeared.  I recently listened to an interview with Greg Manchess over at Sidebar.com (fantastic site by the way) and Greg said that while working at a design company in his youth he begrudgingly begin using an overhead projector in his work.  He said that he learned more on how to draw from that machine than any teacher he ever had.

You’re also allowed to trace if you already know how to draw and it helps you reach your goal.  I’m working on a 20″ x 30″ inch painting right now and I’ve used a lot of reference.  I have the ability to draw if freehand but it’s going to take much too long to get the drawing to the level that I want.  I’m using a grid transfer method to aid me in getting my drawing done faster and to keep the details that my mind would omit if I tried drawing it out of my head.

But, Bryan, why don’t you just trace it?  Because there are some pretty big pitfalls in doing that even when you do know how to draw.   From inherent distortion problems with photography to the fact that I’m not trying to just reproduce the photograph. I’m using the reference to hit a degree of realism  that my mind is not able to achieve on it’s on.  To supplement what I already know.  It’s a balance.  Reality is filled with so many subtle details that your mind can never remember them all.    And that’s a good thing.  It’s the mistakes or choices we make that go against reality that make our drawings so unique.  It’s what makes up the vision of an artist.

It’s a fine and sometimes confusing line, I know.  It’s very easy and common to see an artist just trace a picture with no skill to base it on.  To let the tracing substitute for his creation.  Reference has to be an aid to your creation not the creation itself.  It should be the means to an end not the end itself.   People and especially artists get so bent out of shape over this subject because they think reference is a substitute for skill.  That if f Joe Blow off the street with no drawing skill what-so-ever traces a picture and people are impressed that it’s like spitting in the face of an artist who has put in long hours of practice and dedication.  What they fell to realize is that no matter how well Joe copies it won’t equal or come close to what the trained artist can do.   It like comparing a memo from your boss on recycling to a great American novel. Here’s a great clip from the movie “Chasing Amy” that illustrates my point.

Reference is a tool.   It’s when it’s your only tool that it’s a problem.   So, go out today and trace a picture, than draw if out of your head.  While you’re at it draw from life too.  That’s better than anything.