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Every artist needs references, and while you can create your own or Google images, finding professional references that fit a project can take time. If, like me, you’re still wrestling with hands and lighting and whether that background looks weird, then finding exact references for those issues can be a trudge. That’s why I keep drifting back to art sites that act as tools, and it’s why I love working on Creative Bloq: we tick some of the boxes that inspiration needs, from our list of Procreate tutorials to a roundup of digital art to unspire.
I have a mix of sites I like to dip into for reference and inspiration. One such site is ShotDeck, a giant searchable archive of film stills, and it’s incredible for getting unstuck. Need references for green lighting in fog? Brutalist interiors? Lonely silhouettes? Neon reflections on wet streets because apparently every artist alive wants to make Blade Runner fan art eventually? It has it all, but the real joy is accidentally learning why images work as you start noticing framing, colour balance, and weird little lighting tricks that cinematographers love to use.
Another is Character Design References, which offers everything you need to sketch and paint imaginative figures. There are anatomy guides, costume references, expression sheets, creature designs, and visual libraries for everything imaginable. Artists can often act like collectors, hoarding shapes, moods and textures until needed, and this site is the perfect art-hoarder deep dive.
Obviously, Pinterest remains a go-to as well. It can feel a little chaotic and uneven, particularly compared to ShotDeck’s narrow focus. Still, if you let go a little and just see where things go, you’ll stumble across everything from medieval armour references to 1970s sci-fi paperback covers, and get inspired to mix the two.
And then there’s ArtStation, which can either motivate you enormously or psychologically destroy you, depending on the day. Still, probably the best place online to study how professional game and film artists build images, though, especially environment art and concept design.
The trick with inspiration now isn’t finding images; there are too many images out there to ever focus on. So the real trick is finding the stuff that makes you immediately open up the best digital art software, like Photoshop, ArtRage, and Rebelle, and make something messy and interesting before the feeling disappears. Try these sites, you won’t be disappointed.
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