Brian Lee
May 21 2025
Many photo references fail to capture the depth and dimensionality needed for strong figure drawing. This reflection explores why live models, sculptural thinking, carefully designed lighting, and thoughtfully chosen reference angles are essential for artists striving to understand the human form. Better resources — especially educational ones — are still needed, and building a library of instructive images remains a worthy goal.
Were you happy with the last photo reference you used? Did it help make your drawing look convincing?
Most photos aren’t great references.
That might sound dramatic, but when it comes to figure drawing, most photos fall short. The models might be stunning, the poses dynamic — but something crucial often goes missing: a sense of depth.
For me, the biggest challenge in figure drawing has always been internalizing the human form — not just the surface, but how the body lives in space. A live model teaches this instantly. You can walk around them, lean in, step back — it’s like circling a campfire, watching the flicker of light and the shift of shadow. But most online reference photos? They freeze that magic. You get one angle, maybe a dramatic close-up, but rarely those essential, evenly spaced views that let you “walk” around the figure with your eyes. This is why I became interested in sculpting.
Did you know sculptors often rotate the model about 45 degrees every 15 minutes? It gives them a fresh perspective and helps them grasp the full volume — like turning a gemstone in the light and watching every facet flash. It’s also great for working through tricky foreshortening, especially in three-quarter views. While constant turning isn’t necessary for drawing or painting, artists who deeply understand the human form consistently produce stronger, more moving work.
And why does that matter? Because in a powerful drawing, the technical details like anatomy and proportion seem to disappear — and what’s left is connection. But when small errors or awkward anatomy pop out, they pull me right out of the moment. That doesn’t mean mistakes ruin a piece, but they can break the spell.
Evenly spaced photo angles can mimic the sculptor’s approach. And with printers so accessible now, students can easily print high-quality references — and they should! Reference prints get smudged, creased, bent, and loved into usefulness, like a well-worn map guiding you through unfamiliar land. Reprinting keeps the learning process going, worry-free.
Take Scott Eaton’s Bodies in Motion — I admire the energy and athleticism in those Muybridge-style frames. They beautifully capture gesture and weight, but you still miss that full 360° sweep you’ll find on sites like posespace.com. I like Posespace for its multiple angles and wide variety of models. Still, even it falls short of offering references specifically designed to teach anatomy and form. It’s like having a beautiful travel album when what you really need is a trail guide with notes in the margins.
Some of my favorite references come from textbooks used at Russia’s Imperial Academy of Arts. I’ve learned so much from them. Every time I return, I notice how carefully the artists chose the lighting and poses to guide the student’s eye. It feels like a master whispering in your ear, showing you where to look. That’s what makes printed resources so valuable — they become lifelong teachers, always waiting for you to return and see with fresh eyes.
Lighting, to me, is everything. A flat, evenly lit photo is like a sandwich with no filling — technically complete, but bland. Good lighting sculpts the figure, carving out peaks and valleys, spotlighting landmarks like the clavicle or deltoid. It’s like a conductor leading an orchestra — deciding which notes should soar and which stay soft in the background. That’s why I encourage beginners to study lighting alongside experienced artists. It’s not just about showing forms well — it’s about making the important parts sing.
And the shadows — oh, the shadows! They’re the quiet heroes of figure drawing. They curl and creep across the form, carving shapes against the light. They whisper where highlights shout, and together they create a rich symphony of form. Shadows describe shapes and reveal how forms are connected. That makes them far more useful than photos meant only to be artistic, rather than instructional.
Some care has to be taken when designing the lighting — it depends on the relationship between the subject, the viewer, and the light source. In every setup, there’s likely a different “best” option. If we’re going to collect 360° reference photos, it would be wise to design the lighting for each view so that every image offers the clearest information possible — about anatomy, forms, and perspective.
Even after eight years of practice, I’m still searching for a reference library designed purely for instruction. A photo might highlight a few forms well, but if I want to study something specific — say, the armpit with a raised arm — top lighting just doesn’t cut it. I’d need side lighting, or maybe light from below, depending on the model’s build and the artistic goal. Creating a fully instructive, private library would be expensive unless a company steps in to invest in reference material made specifically for learning artists.
Photo references can be helpful, but they often fall short of what artists truly need. Understanding the figure in space — through live observation, sculptural thinking, well-designed lighting, and multiple angles — is essential for growth. We don’t just need pretty pictures; we need visual teachers. Until better tools are built, we can be mindful in how we choose, light, and use the references we already have. In doing so, we turn ordinary photos into extraordinary guides.