Reference Images for Artists

http://tutorialsforartists.tumblr.com/post/20702957634/golgothassterror-art-post

tutorialsforartists:

I just went back through over 900 liked posts and dug out all the art tutorials so i can keep track of them. I guess this might be helpful to some of you guys, so here you go.

Here we go then!

Freeware

Alchemy - this is a really fun program. You play around making abstract shapes until you start to see something in them, kind of like a Rorschach test. Then you use the shapes as a base to draw it from.
MyPaint - a pretty decent painting program that also has the benefit of working on Unix systems.
openCanvas 1.1 - I haven’t used openCanvas in years but it was a nice program with a pretty unique feel to it.
ArtRage - Only used this a couple of times donkey’s years ago just before I got oC, but I’ve heard good things about it.
The GIMP - In a similar vein to Photoshop, but free. I couldn’t get on with it when I tried it out a few years ago, but it’s pretty popular and is available on Unix systems and Macs.

Sketchbook copic: a bit different program

Not-free-ware

Photoshop - Standard painting fare. Probably the most flexible program (particularly the latest versions) but not designed to act in a “natural” way. If you’ve used it for painting versus something like Painter you know what I mean. Who the fuck pays for it though? Google “Photoshop tumblr masterpost” and take your pick.
Paint Tool Sai - Far more affordable and definitely worth paying for if you can. The brushes are very decent (especially when they’ve been tweaked a little), the gui is simple and intuitive, and I dare you to find a program with which making smooth lineart is easier.
Corel Painter - My program of choice for most things. More tools than you could ever possibly use and pretty cheap on a student license, providing that you can prove you’re a student! It’s got a few bugs but if you want realism or a more natural feel than PS or SAI this is the program for you.

Anatomy

heads from different angles

anatomy and rotation of the head

human anatomy for artists

speed drawing studies

nude references

hands

arm and wing movement

beer bellies

body types

noses

box and egg/run of the stroke

a trick for arm proportions

body diversity

anatomy of the waist

feet

hands and forearms

Expressions

emotions and facial expressions

expressions from different angles (love this site)

body language

Poses

figure drawing examples

posemaniacs

gesture drawing

flexiblity

hand poses

Skin tones

handy pallet

painting skin

paint some life into your skin tones

ethnic skintones

Colouring

gamut mask tool (very nice!)

colour does not have to suck

5 easy ways to improve your colouring

fucking gradients, how do they work

light and shadow

painting crystals

achieving a painterly look in SAI

painting forests

colour scheme designer

kuler (more colour schemes)

portrait lighting cheatsheet

Brushes

a very nice setting for the sai acrylic brush

photoshop fur brushes (and tutorial)

lots of photoshop brushes

Other peoples masterposts

handy art link megapost

art references

stock artists

cocks and how to draw them

love your fellow artist (anything from prompt generators to animation background here, very nice)

e-books

art e-books (mediafire download)

even more e-books (including human anatomy, animal anatomy, cartoons, animation, composition, design, scenery, perspective…)

Andrew Loomis’s books

the art of drawing

cutting edge anatomy

Tutorials

drawing 101

how to paint realistic hair

how to paint realistic eyes

conceptart.org tutorials

creature design

folds

glasses

a pretty extensive general art tutorial

tumblrs

fucking art, how does it work

wannabe animator

anatomical art

artist problems

criminallyincompetent (check out their #reference and #tutorial tags, they’re gold)

i think i’m gonna put a link to this on my about page for easier access dudes