We all know the furry fandom is very vocal about pose referencing as a form of “Cheating”. I’d like to say a few things about this.

Professional artists not only References but some very popular comic artist actually paint or trace over photographs they take of friends and family members. Leonardo DaVinci used live models for everything he did, he did not trust his own mind so did the pre-Raphealites and so on. Additionally some professional artist actually get on the backs of other artists they respect for NOT referencing. They consider it lazy to simply draw everything like you think it is. Basically most of your favorite artists not only use pose references sometimes, but all the time. That’s what makes them good. So get over it.

This is my argument whenever someone tries to convince me that referencing is not good\non artistic\cheating etc… Have 2 amateur non artist draw a bicycle. Give one of them a reference to a bicycle and give the other nothing. At the end of the drawing session chances are VERY GOOD that the one with the reference will have not only drawn a more accurate bicycle but one that is more pleasing to look at artistically. Repeat the test except neither person is allowed references. I can almost guarantee the residual memory of the reference used in the first test will allow the same person to draw a superior illustration in almost every regard. Point is Referencing is always far superior then not referencing.

Of course the argument often lies in what way, what source or how often the reference is used. Used too much and you art may get stiff and overly realistic. Used too little and you may have some serious anatomy flaws but strong stylistic form.

Use any source you want on your own time when not making art that you do not intend to show and if you do intend to show make it explicit that it is straight ass copied and referenced to acquire knowledge (Here is a sheet of bodies I copied)

When creating professional works, copying\referencing a general pose or hands and etcc… is always good idea if you can find the one you want, and heavily suggested for amateur artists. Make sure you find reference that fits your image and try not shape your image around the source pose.

Really try not to use other peoples art as pose reference. Not only will it kick up a shit storm it just harms your own stylistic growth. Use other peoples art to figure out how they interpreted the human form. How they build and shape a face, how they simplify hair strands and use SEVERAL sources not just one. (I’m a bit of a hypocrite on this one lol). Look at the process they take not the end result. Trying to learn anatomy and heavily referencing them is like trying to build a Car from a photograph. You’ll get a nice metal shell but I doubt you’ll have the guts, the framework or the nice leather interior.

If you are doing a direct reference or copy of something like a face or an object try to make sure it’s not something someone can sue you for. Copyright\trademark photographs have successfully sued artists for referencing heavily even if it was a painted rendition.

Tracing is bad. It does nothing. and wont teach you shit. It’s like listening to German tapes expecting to learn German through repetition.

Personally I rarely use sources I spent my early life as an artist copying a lot of references and anatomy I also try very hard to remember to draw things when I notice them in life. I have about maybe 4 – 5 Images in total of about 300+ images that are referenced and even then don’t really match up. But that said I shouldn’t feel afraid to use pose reference and nor should anyone else. It’s your right as an artist to use it, don’t deny your progress.

You owe it to yourself to learn and evolve.