Reference poses allow artists to recreate positions of various characters by leveraging the key illustration points of an original image. The reference points include the torso positioning along with the placement, bending, and twisting of limbs and the head. Moreover, finer details include slight tilts of each part, which count in creating a pose. A single pose can be used to create thousands of images, as this is a matter of how well an artist can draw new characters at a particular pose.

Example of a Reference Pose

An example of a pose is the Superman pose that has been used repeatedly to create the pose of numerous other characters. Standing with their hands on their hips with the feet apart and their head held up, this pose is perhaps the best known of all.

New concepts are always in the process of creation daily, but it is quite apparent that there is probably only a limited number of concepts that a person can form with a fixed amount of body positions of people or other creatures. Yet, creativity does not seem to stop, as people come up with something new and intriguing regularly.

The Purpose of a Reference Pose

A reference pose is a big help to people who sketch and draw in a professional or private capacity. These are drawings that may be traced to create new images. A lot of artists are against the idea of tracing these images because it ruins creativity. Some also argue that it is uncreative to trace pictures. However, the purpose of tracing reference images allows you to get an idea of a pose. This practice is for mimicking an angle or posture of a character.

Maintaining Originality within a Single Pose

When using a reference pose, the idea is not to copy the image of the character. There are numerous examples of this available online, and those use these poses intelligently can create an endless number of characters who all look different but share the same pose.

You can find tones of poses online for you to create your images. With thousands of them available for you to use, you can remain fully absorbed in sketching for many hours each day. The art of sketching new characters while using a single pose is quite a challenge. However, reference poses are the thing that captures human attention and will continue to do so as long as creative art is appreciated.