How to Paint and Draw from Photographs and Where to Find Free Reference Photos

Photos are a great way of capturing ideas and setting up good compositions before you start to create a drawing or painting. Your camera or smart phone can be your sketchbook. Keep one with you and take shots whenever you see something that inspires you. Your reference photo doesn't have to be perfect. If the subject is interesting, you can easily edit it with Photoshop or any of dozens of online editing services. You can adjust the skew or angle of the shot, crop it, add vibrancy and contrast, change the background and such. Or, just do your editing with your pencil or brush while you work on the finished piece.

I'm collecting tutorials from talented artists and photographers that are helping me learn how to take good reference photos and how to use them in my dabblings. You're very welcome to use them too.

On the same list, you'll also find sources of free reference photos from all around the Internet. They are great for inspiration and ideas. If you'd like, you can also use any of them as references for your own art and craft projects.

Reference Photo Tutorials and Free Reference Photo Sources >>>

Enjoy!

 

Don

How to Use Your Camera as a Painting Tool

Richard McKinley on Using Cameras for Painting

For more than six years, Richard McKinley has been creating wonderful pastel paintings and lessons about them for his Pastel Pointers blog at ArtistsNetwork.com. He prefers to capture his stunning landscapes on site, but he also uses photo references when that’s not possible.

He has developed ways to use photos and digital cameras as tools for better paintings. All Plein Air artists, and all of the rest of us can learn from his methods.

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Learn the Basic Lessons of Painting in any Medium

Free, Downloadable eBooks from Artist Daily

Learn the Basics of How to Paint - Download four free eBooks from ArtistDaily.com and teach yourself how to paint with watercolors, acrylics, oils or pastels. The books include thirty different lessons, tips and techniques by expert instructors. 

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