When and how to use reference photos in Fine art and Illustration

Prevent unintentionally disrespecting another's creation and copyrights by understanding why you use a photograph.

Every artist uses a photo either for a derivative or a reference use.

Derivative use in:

Fine Art

Copyright free photographs generously provided by photographers are an excellent way to practice artistic interpretation and take some artistic license.  When I was learning to paint I tried to exactly copy a reference picture by using a grid.  However, as we grow as artists we move away from making a derivative and use our own interpretation and take some artistic license instead.



The photo drew my attention because it invoked emotions in me. It allows me to daydream and go back into my youth, growing up close to the beach.
The picture also made me wonder, what is distracting the dog, what broke his focus away from the ball? Emotions and questions are perfect ingredients for a painting.

Even though my watercolor painting "Distractions" on the right became my own independent artistic creation and I used my own artistic interpretation of the photo, I still used the major elements of the photo on the left which are protected under copyright law. As you can see I added a background but deleted other details. Yet, despite my adaptations and changes, my painting is still considered derivative work and I therefore needed permission of the copyright owner of the photograph.

My thanks to JuneartZ Free reference photo's for artists for granting me permission to use the photo and for generously sharing copyright free pictures to use for other artists.

Commissions

In the beginning it is perfectly okay to base your painting on photographs (or from pictures  you were granted permission by the copyright owner) or other references because that is how we learn. But as I developed as an artist, I explored my own individual talents and my artistic voice.





 

I knew that painting animals was my strength but realism not. So, I approached clients who were willing to commission me to paint Pet Portraits that would bring out their nature or other more abstract things they would like to see immortalized. This is how I turned the pretty reference picture on the left of the Siamese cat Siro into a painting on the right that brought out his warm true exotic nature.  In this case I used the photograph more as a reference for the exact proportions, color markings, etc. so that the owner could recognize his cat while using my own artistic interpretation of his cat. In this painting I took much more artistic license but it is still a derivative work and I had to ask for permission to use the photo.

 

With thanks to Bas Verbruggen in the Netherlands for providing me with the beautiful reference picture on the left and for commissioning me to paint his cat Siro with acyrlics on canvas 2011.

 

Illustration

 



After a while I decided that I wanted to study children's book illustration because I needed a field where I really could set my imagination free.




During this course I was looking for projects to put my portfolio together and was looking for pictures where I could take some artistic license like turning this baby picture of my cousin and me into a picture book illustration on the right (watercolors and colored pencils on paper).

Concept and Character Design

After practicing some more paintings from my own reference pictures I was ready to push my imagination a little further.



In a ragdoll group I found this adorable picture on the left of a ragdoll named Axle. Immediately, a picture of a pastry chef came in my mind. The owner loved it and wanted to produce and sell products with the design. That was when the Chef Axle Enterprises was born. As an artist I felt very honored to have been the Chef Axle designer and artist since 2013.

My thanks to Chef Axle Enterprises LLC for commissioning me to design Chef Axle since 2013 till now.

Reference use

When you only have words as your reference you will need some reference pictures.

This watercolor painting was drawn from many reference pictures, especially photos taken from the sky or high towers. The dog, boy and cat are painted from memory and experience since I painted cartoons as long as I can remember. The dragon is created by studying many photos of lizards and birds to understand wings, skin texture etc. Since I used only minor elements from many pictures I didn't have to ask for copy right permission because I only used the information as reference. Once I knew what a pea pod looked like, I could create my own version as you can see in the black and white illustration on the right.

These examples are the watercolor promotion image and one of the black and white illustrations from the wonderful Marvellous Creatures: A Children's Poems Bundle  by Mark Kerger.

Your own and other references

Nature, life, and city scenes are all great source for references. I made this water color sketch years ago in the car on a cold winter day. I always carry a snap shot camera and/or a small watercolor set with me so that I can make my own studies or references for bigger paintings or other projects .

Artistic interpretation is total freedom and the reason why I am grateful to be an artist.

Difference between Fine Art and illustration Part 2

Art contest for illustrators or Fine Artists?

For the “Make Ugly Contest”, I needed to quickly grab the audience and show them what smoking and second hand smoke does to the smokers and their loved ones. Following the instructions to the letter  (a.k.a brief) and carefully planning a composition (or design) is the very nature of illustration.  

Fine artists would find this way of working very restricting but to illustrators this is exact the opposite. The illustrator, like an actor, has total freedom to create a believable character or design that interprets the idea/story.  In this case I was completely free to create characters that would play the advocacy role regarding anti-smoking education.

Smoker's Bane. Pen and ink 2013

 The Make Ugly Contest 2013

For this piece, I tried to go within and remember how smoking changed my father’s body into an aggressive self destructive monster.  Memories of several X-rays, that not only showed how badly his lungs were affected (after 40 years of smoking) but also how the lung cancer ate away at his liver and brains as well, motivated me to illustrate this terrible transforming process. Reliving the pain when he left my mother and my siblings behind gave me an idea of how this loss looks like on paper. The fact that after 20 years we still miss him and that we are suffering from bronchitis and asthma because of the second hand smoke helped me to express that not only the smokers are affected, but their loved ones as well. 

I feel very honored that this piece made it into the semi-finals.

List of Semi-Finalists

Difference between Fine Art and Illustration Part 1

The quest to find the difference will be continued. 

If you entered an art competition, what skills did you use? Do you consider yourself a Fine Artist or Illustrator?

Creating a fantasy story book illustration

How do I come up with a fantasy scene that I can't draw from life?



First, I find a subject that does exist in our human realm and study it for accuracy.

Horses are my favorite subjects. Growing up on Curacao I learned to appreciate and respect the Colombian Paso Fino horse breed and their trainers.
These gaited Paso Fino horses are graceful and natural dancers and carry their tail proudly. The rider in my picture wears zamarros, chaps which give the rider an elegant appearance. 

This quick study drawing/sketch is created from my own reference pictures and from cherished memories. Horses were the first subjects I started drawing 35 years ago and they are still inspiring me. The more I draw a subject the easier it becomes to draw from memory. To create the right mood I listen to the kind of music that I remember from those Paso Fino horse competitions (Gloria Esefan album Abriendo Puertas). Listening to this kind of music while drawing brings me back to the images of the beautiful horses and I can almost hear their hooves dancing on the beat.

Second, from study to illustration. 

It all depends on what the story is about. This quick sketch could work for a book about Paso Finos. But in this case I needed to create a fantasy illustration. Asking myself questions such as, who are the characters, where are they and what are they doing help me to get an idea.  
Again, I use music (in this case more dreamy music like Enya, Era, classical music) to create the fairy tale atmosphere. But without drawing skills they remain just ideas and daydreams in my head. Only by daily observing and practicing drawing from life can I make my imagination come to life on paper.

For the fairy I used my own pictures of childhood and made my ears just a touch bigger and gave myself a pair of wings as well.  I always carry a sketch book with me and over the years I have not only tried to capture the wings of our own chickens but also the wings of swans and raptors in the wild and captivity. 
These observations from wildlife enabled me to create a horse with wings or Pegasus. Once I have designed the characters, the background naturally unfolded. 
.

No worries about copy right issues 


By working from my own studies and creating my own reference pictures I never have to worry about infringing someone's copy right. Nature provides enough references and my imagination does the rest!


In this self portrait below I illustrated my own happy memories of my beloved first Paso Fino friend and the beautiful beaches of Curacao.
Imagination, observations and memories can be powerful tools for creating illustrations.

What is your favorite tool? Feel free to add a link to your illustration work.
Tweet

Restricting the imagination can be freeing

After my last post I realized that I missed the necessary skills to continue illustrating my children's book and  enrolled in the Illustrating Children's Books Diploma course at the London Art College.

The most valuable lesson I learned from this course is that restriction can be freeing...

Having to follow the instructions of the assignments or sample briefs to the letter sounds very restrictive but it is also very freeing.

The course unleashed my imagination in a contained area, in the same way a wild mustang is put into a round pen to get used to becoming comfortable, responsive and in tune with its rider.
Thanks to these restrictions I was able to create pictures on paper that otherwise would just have been ideas floating aimlessly in my head.

The school didn't teach me how to become imaginative just like the Mustang can't be taught how to be a horse. As a young girl I had a vivid imagination and I could just never draw a normal horse. I had to turn it into a ballerina, add wings or clothes because I always was a dreamer. This course brought out my strengths and helped me improve my weaknesses, enabling to use my imagination in an effective way.

In a couple of months I will be graduating and feel that I have finally have found my artistic path.

This feeling of finding my way has been one of the most joyful experiences in my life.

Holiday Joy Watercolors on paper by Ursula "Ariannah" Brozovich

Therefore, I wish that 2013 will be the year for you to do what you love or find out what you want to do.

Merry Christmas!

You can follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalKingdomArt

Difference between Fine Art and Illustration

Fine Art is the expression of the inner world of the artist and an interpretation of the outer world.

The ego of the artist sits in the driving seat. The art work shows something about the artist, how the artist feels, thinks and perceives the world. Since the ego plays an important role in creating Fine Art, this could explain the famous artistic temperaments and flamboyant behaviors of modern artists and artists from the past.  Fine artists (and I am not an exception) usually take critique very personally. This is because their sense of self is attached to their artwork. Every suggestion is seen as an invitation to defend or argue their art background, skills, mediums, style etc.

Himalayan Cat, Pastel on paper 2012

This portrait of our cat is an example of my Fine Art.
My intention was to paint her the way I see and know her, emphasizing her mysterious nature.
This work also says something
about my passion for revealing
what is unseen or taken for granted.
For example, the blue color of her
eyes is only visible in sunlight and
is very difficult to capture with a camera.

   

Illustration is the expression and translation of an idea or story.
 
The artist’s ego takes a back seat and the story is more important. The illustrator doesn’t express their own perception but converts the words of the writer, or an idea, into pictures. It requires humbleness and selflessness from the artist. An illustrator can be seen as a translator for the writer and he or she must produce accurate representations of the story.

Watercolor study of the characters

 

Here is our cat again, now playing a
role in my children’s book.
The main character cannot be
revealed yet until the book is published. 

This picture shows the visual
power of perspective. Yet, it is neither
helping the story moving forward
nor urging the viewer to turn the page,
to see what happens next.
Therefore it is not a good
illustration for this particular book.

As both the writer and illustrator, the biggest challenge for me is to solely focus on the story, letting it unfold by itself and leaving my ego out. It is tempting to use this book for showcasing my (fine) art or skills instead of telling a visual story with my illustrations.  But I am reminding myself that the story is my employer; children and their parents or care takers are my customers. The story is daily telling me what illustrations I need to create in order for the kids to understand and enjoy the picture book.
In the past I lacked the patience to paint the same character over and over again. That is because I approached illustrating as a fine artist. My mindset had to change first. It is no longer about me, my preferences, ideas or expectations. But, it is about allowing lovable creatures having their own feelings, thoughts, habits, struggles and dreams.

In a future post, I will reveal a couple of the real illustrations of my book. 

If you are a Fine Artist or Illustrator, feel free to leave a comment and share your art experiences. Tweet