Photo-referencing

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Photo-referencing in visual art is the practice of creating art based on a photograph. Art produced through this technique is said to be photo-referenced. The method is widely used by artists, either in their daily work, as part of their training, or to improve their artistic eye.

Photo-referencing, rather than working with live models, is useful for cases in which an artist seeks to realistically produce a work of art based on some subject that is not readily available, such as a specific person who is not available or a structure in another country.

Artists may use a lightbox as an aid in photo-referencing.

In the comic book industry, photo-referencing is criticized by some as a technique used to disguise the weakness of the artist's technical capability. However, others argue that photo-referencing is a legitimate technique. Artists who have been accused of excessive photo-referencing by their critics include Greg Land and Alex Ross, though others defend the quality of their work. Award-winning comic creator Alison Bechdel also uses extensive photo reference, frequently photographing herself in the poses of the characters she draws in order to convey body language accurately.^[1][2]

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