BEHIND-THE-SCENES: References & Props
Added 2022-01-28 03:42:22 +0000 UTCOscar Wilde once wrote, "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life". And in this case, it may be true! I wanted to share some stuff that goes on behind-the-scenes when it comes to creating art (and writing). Here's a selection of my real-life references. By virtue of my interests in military history and of course Farewell My Homeland, I’ve acquired a collection of both fun and serious things over the years. I guess some will come in handy during the apocalypse? Anyway, I’m sure you'll recognize a few of these items in my art.
I find it really helpful to handle real references in addition to looking up a bunch of image references or reading about them in books. For one, you get a better sense of the physics. For example, the mosin nagant (actually an antique weapon.. should be operational but I haven't tried firing it yet!) is a bit heavy for me, and likewise, would be so for a small female character like Tanya (before training a bunch anyways). Because a lot of my storytelling is more realistic than stylized, I like to try to reflect that in my art and writing. (Unless, of course, I'm drawing an exaggerated game character with a giant sword or something). Additionally, you might find details that would otherwise be missed, especially for textiles or mechanical things ("so that’s how you fix a bayonet onto a rifle!").
Some of these other things are more like “placeholders”, such as the training sword. I’ve seen artists make their own weapons out of paper tubes and whatnot. You might not get the full picture but it’s still helpful for photo refs. I'll use these placeholders to get a basic understanding of what they look like from different angles, and fill in the details using other references. If I ever do draw more characters with swords, I would probably invest in a real antique one, but for now, this will suffice. (And of course some of these items are more for personal style than anything else--for instance, the pants are mostly because wearing them reminds me of my characters and story lol!)
So there you go, some stuff I’ve collected in the name of research!
