How to find art references, create and use 3D models

Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get the work done. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you’re not going to make an awful lot of work, Chuck Close

If people only knew how hard I work to gain my mastery. It wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all, Michelangelo

Finding good references for drawing can be tough, challenging, and super time-consuming. Let's be sincere, nobody wants to waste their time scrolling through Pinterest or Google for hours without end. Let me suggest you some apps and websites for character posing and art reference.

• Figurosity is a cross-platform website that offers a huge catalogue of unique and expressive figure drawing poses available with just a few clicks. Besides, you can rotate the figure 360-degrees with your mouse or finger.  
• POSEMANIACS is a royalty free pose reference with tons of poses to chose and study from.
• Web-based apps to create poses for drawing reference: PoseMy.Art and JustSketch.Me.
• DEVIANT ART is the biggest online art community. AdorkaStock is a pose reference library by artists, for artists. It focuses on the “normal” human form as it exists in the real world, far from mainstream conceptions of what is normal, beautiful, and fashionable.  
• Other websites for drawing references: Pixabay, Unsplash, Pexels, rawpixel, Photo reference for comic artists, CHARACTERDESIGNS.com, Google Images, and Pinterest.
• MagicPoser is one of the best tools for character posing and art reference. However, this app is moving to a monthly subscription model, so you will never own the app, you just rent it which I strongly advise you against.

Select a model or character. Magic Poser’s Body Morphs menu (select a character in 3D Editor, tap the Customize menu, then switch to the Body Morphs tab) allows you to easily create the body type you want for any variety of characters, including muscular, fat, or skinny characters!

To pose a model using a preset (presets are pre-made poses you can choose from that will automatically change the model’s pose), tap the model’s body in a neutral area, then Presets, select a category (standing, sitting, everyday actions, walking, etc.), and a preset. You can also drag on or rotate the model’s control points to refine or adjust your pose.

• Easy Pose is a full-featured human body pose app for people who draw or is learning to draw. It is prepared with many models with different pre-designed poses, but many of its models, poses, and features are not free.  
• ArtPose is a fun, affordable, and artistic app for posing the male and female figure. It allows you to create fast and dynamic poses in minutes.
  A freemium app can be far more expensive than a one time purchase app.
   

The top left of the screen has lighting controls, hair icon (if you touch the hair icon, you will cycle through all available hair styles), and help. Touch the Picture icon to take a picture. It will be saved to your camera roll. The lower left of the screen has a camera or video camcorder icon which lets you manipulate the staging, rotate the camera around the model, toggle the visibility of the muscles, adjust the body build from the model, and zoom in and out.

Touch the Pose icon to activate the pose mode, then tap the body, hand or props icons to cycle through the preset, hand poses, or object props. Pick a pose and you will see the model with red small circles all around his or her body that allows you to adjust the pose.

• New Masters Academy, 3Dsk - Photo Reference for Artists, and Freedom Alive: these YouTube’s channels include drawing sessions with professional models. It is a good way to gain valuable drawing skills and confidence, and learn about basic anatomy, gesture, perspective, and movement.  
• Google’s 3d models: On your Android phone, open the Google app, search for an animal, object or place. If a 3D model is available, then tap on View in 3D.  
• Poseit describes itself as a natural evolution of the traditional drawing mannequin. It is designed to have minimal details and just some hints of anatomy, so it generalizes well with any kind of character you may want to draw.

Read our article How to create 3d characters to learn about Mixamo, Poser, Daz 3D, MakeHuman, and VRoid Studio.