Let's have a thread to discuss how important is to use reference.

>>2815998
During the making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves:
>To ensure the animation was as realistic as possible, Disney sent his animators on courses at the Chouinard Art Institute; he brought animals into the studio and hired actors so that the animators could study realistic movement.

"I definitely feel that we cannot do the fantastic things, based on the real, unless we first know the real. This point should be brought out very clearly to all new men, and even the older men."
- Walt Disney

>>2816033
Disney did the same when producing bambi. He brought a deer and animators were studying its movement and anatomy. In both cases, this isn't an example of using references, but rather doing studies.

>>2816038
It's the same thing. Using reference doesn't mean setting up the exact image you want to draw and copying it one for one, unless you're doing a still life, which IS a study. Referencing means both studying and understanding the subject you're about to draw and then having material on hand to help add detail or double check anatomy or other aspects of the subject.
I used to be so dead set against reference and it's probably the stupidest thing I ever had in my head. Lately I've been using reference more and more and my drawings have been much more solid as a result. Reference always helps, always.

>>2815998

One of the most efficient ways to improve your imagination drawing is first drawing to your best ability from imagination and then find reference and see where you lack.

Making errors, recognizing them and fixing them with reference when you draw from imagination is the key to improving

>>2816083
I wouldn't go as far to say that it is the same thing, but it is similar. I thought about what you wrote, and reference is just like another tool in your bag.

Photo reference and life studies are by no means the same thing, due to how we perceive them. But they serve the same purpose, they provide us with information. Your work is dependent on how powerful your observation and understanding is of the form you are drawing.

Photo reference is useful in providing us information that is easy to access. However, a single photo reference does not provide as much information as observing from life dose. If a photo is a thousand words, having something in front of you is a million. When you have your subject physically in front of you, you have access to all visual information on that subject. Both have their pros and cons. But It all comes down to choosing the right tool for the job.

Everything ever drawn comes from a reference of some kind. So it is good to use reference to study, observe, mimic and transform our reference into our work. But it is also good to draw from memory, this will show you how well you actually understand your subject.

>>2816145
I didn't mean all the processes are the same I just meant to me it's all the same category. Doing a direct copy from life or photos, drawing freely while having a selection of references on hand, or doing a bunch of research and then drawing without looking at anything, are all ways of using reference, so I disagreed with the statement that studying the live deer "isn't an example of using references". And like I said I believe all those aspects are necessary to use reference effectively; that means having an understanding of the subject through research and 1:1 studies that without reference you can still draw a reasonable representation, and then consulting reference to enhance what you've drawn.

>>2815998
It's extremely hard for our minds to remember every minute detail which makes it extremely important for us to use reference whenever were doing finished pieces like oil paintings. With that being said, it's important to draw from imagination to reinforce what you know and to see what you don't know.

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>>2816248

So, I guess we agree. It was fun writing my thoughts out like that, I need to do that more.