Helpful Sites and Resources for Artists
No artist is born with the talent to create–only the passion to make art. However, practicing with helpful tools can improve your skills and help you to grow as an artist. Here are some free websites that can help you learn important skills such as lighting, anatomy, and perspective, along with guided video tutorials on how to use them. At the end of each section, there are also exercises to help you start your practice!
1. Shading Reference
Shading Reference is a site that helps build understanding of how light and shadow interact with various objects, including 3D models such as sphere, cube, cylinder, cone, ramp, pyramid, doughnut, and head, with adjustable lighting. It can be helpful when you’re not following the lighting of a particular reference, but instead looking to create original scenes and environments.
Video Demonstration
You can change the shape to practice different forms. After you click on a shape, you can drag it around to see different angles of the object.
How you can use different parts of the tool:
Shape: Choose the desired 3D shape
Roughness: Controls surface texture (higher = dull, lower = shiny)
Color: Base color of the object
Spin/Orbit: Lets you rotate the object to see it from different angles
Intensity: Adjust the brightness of the light
Color: Adjust the color of the light
Shadow: Turns the shadows on or off
Spin/Orbit: Adjust the angle of the light source
Type: Makes shading transition more gradual or sharp
Suggested Exercise:
- Practice Portraits/Still Lifes
- Set lights from a different angle (Spin/Orbit).
- Observe lights from different angles.
- For example, for the head, observe the lights from under the cheekbones, dark area under the chin, etc.
- Start practicing and sketch out these observations!
2. FilmGrab
Film Grab is a website that provides stills from movies. You can use it as a reference for lighting, color, composition, and as practice for capturing mood.
Video demonstration
You can browse through all sorts of movies including different genres, years, countries, or aspect ratios by clicking the Browse By Category tab at the top. In addition, you can also browse through different kinds of artists: Directors of Photography, Production Designers, or Costume Designers by clicking the Browse By Artist tab at the top.
Suggested Exercise:
- Pick a film still and recreate it using different mediums.
- Try to capture the primary values and colors of the scene, identifying the light sources, main colors, and the mood. (Ex: a cozy scene with warm colors, high contrast colors that portray drama, etc.)
- Great practice for making your art look more cinematic and for gaining inspiration from film artists and cinematographers who use different lighting, contrast, and composition to create an emotion.
3. Line of Action
Line of Action is a website that helps artists practice drawing using reference images along with different timers. You can practice drawing figures, animals, hands and feet, faces and expressions, shapes and still lives, and scenes and environments with a customizable timer. After the time is up, you’ll get a random photo in the selected category so you can keep practicing under a time limit.
Video demonstration
Suggested Exercise:
- Practice drawing an object using large forms rather than small details.
- Choose any category to practice with.
- Set the timer for 30 minutes.
- Start drawing!
- Break down the photo into simple shapes similar to what’s demonstrated on the right image.
- After time runs out, move on to the next reference photo and follow the same process.
4. Just Sketch Me
In Just Sketch Me, you can add 3D human models of various ages and genders and pose them in any way you want. You can move the joints (arm, legs, hands…) to create any pose while the figure remains proportionate. This tool allows you to practice and gain an understanding of anatomy, proportion, and form.
You can also add props by clicking on the Cube icon on the top left (indicated by the red arrow).
After you have adjusted the figure to your liking, you can save the pose by clicking on the “save” icon indicated by the blue arrow in the bottom right corner.
Video demonstration
Suggested Exercise:
- Draw a dynamic pose.
- Play around with the joints and make a dynamic pose (running, jumping, etc.)
- Sketch out the figure in 3-5 different perspectives.
- Try sketching a pose using different figures (kid, baby, dog, cat, etc.)
5. Coolors
Coolors is a website that can help you generate color palettes quickly and easily. You can use it as a tool for color harmony, mood building, branding, and looking at how different colors work together.
Video demonstration
You can generate random color palettes instantly by pressing the spacebar. After seeing a color you like, you can lock it while continuing to explore more combinations. In addition, you can adjust hue, saturation, brightness, and explore gradients or export palettes for use in your projects. This site also lets you browse trending palettes or create your own from imported images.
Below is how to use the tools for the colors:
Suggested Exercise:
- Pick a randomly generated color palette you like and create an artwork only using those colors.
- Try to understand how the colors interact and identify the dominant color and colors, as well as the mood created by the palette (for example, soft pastels for calmer feeling, or bold contrasting colors for energy).
- This can help you practice choosing colors to make your designs feel more intentional and visually appealing.
6. Random Street View
Random Street View is a website that shows randomly generated Google Street View images from locations all around the world. You can use it as a reference for environments, perspectives, and architecture by observing real-life locations.
Video demonstration
You can explore new locations by clicking the “Next” button, which transports you to a new place somewhere in the world. You can drag your mouse around the screen to look at different views, or click to move forward in any direction. In addition, using the box in the top left, you can drop the yellow figure into any area you’d like to go there, or select a specific country by clicking the box above the “Next” button.
Suggested Exercise:
- Pick a random location and sketch the scene.
- Focus on the perspective, proportions, and main figures such as buildings, roads, or natural/environmental elements.
- Try to identify the horizon line and how objects change in size with distance.
- This exercise can help you improve your observational skills, allowing you to draw more accurate landscapes.
7. Dimensions
Dimensions is a website that provides reference images of objects with life-size measurements and proportions. There are references of furniture, animals, vehicles, buildings, and more. You can use it as a reference to practice drawing objects proportionally, understand scale, and improve your observational skills.
Video demonstration:
You can browse categories by clicking on ”Categories” in the middle of the blue tabs on the top. After clicking on an object, it has photos from multiple angles. If you scroll down more, there’s also a 3D model that you can drag around to check out an object in 360 degrees.
Suggested Exercise:
- Pick an object and sketch it while keeping the proportions as accurate as possible.
- Focus on capturing the proportions and angles.
- Try drawing the object at different scales and from different perspectives.
- Level up: Put an object with the correct proportion into a setting from Random Street View.
8. Posemaniacs
Posemaniacs is a website that provides a huge library of 3D human poses which can be viewed from any angle. It's an excellent source for studying human anatomy, gestures, and muscles which are laid out. It’s also great for improving figure drawing and understanding dynamic poses.
Video demonstration:
You can use it daily to practice drawing figures and muscles, as once you enter the website, there’s a daily pose that you can practice with. In addition, you can also practice drawing figures with a timer to practice efficiency (demonstrated in the video above).
By clicking on the search bar at the top, you can find the entire collection of poses to practice from!
Suggested Exercise:
- Practice sketching the human figure while focusing on the muscles.
- Start with a basic standing pose, or for more advanced artists, choose a dynamic pose (like a flexed arm, a running figure, or a twisting torso).
- Trace the outline of the figure, then identify major muscles to begin drawing.
- Pay attention to how they wrap around bones and change shape with the movement shown.
- Level up: Sketch the figure from multiple perspectives using the 3D model.
9. Google Arts & Culture
In Google Arts & Culture, you can explore artworks, museums, and cultural stories from around the world. You can use it to study art history, as well as use famous pieces to study colors and composition. The site allows you to gain inspiration from real masterpieces and cultural artifacts.
Video demonstration:
Here’s how you can tour a museum online:
You can browse through thousands of artworks by artist, time period, color, or style, and even take virtual tours of various museums using street view-like navigation. You can also discover art through different color palettes and learn their stories and timelines.
Suggested Exercise:
- Go through the website and choose an artwork.
- Pick an artwork and study it closely by zooming in, identifying the focal point, how the art guides your eye, and what techniques/mediums are used.
- You can also compare two artworks from different time periods or cultures and note the differences in style, technique, and mood.
- Use these observations to incorporate new styles and techniques into your own art.
10. Dialed
Dialed is a fun game that tests your ability to remember and recreate colors. You can use it as a tool to practice color accuracy, visual memory, and understanding subtle differences between hues, which are skills that are very useful in art and design.
Video demonstration:
On Dialed, you can also challenge yourself with increasing the difficulty level or competing with others in multiplayer modes!
Suggested Exercise:
- Recreate your palette.
- After playing, take the colors you tried to match and recreate them in your sketchbook with your preferred medium or digital art program. This helps transfer color perception into actual art practice.
Getting better at art takes time, but these tools can make practice simpler and more manageable. They help build understanding of how different art techniques work, allowing you to put them into practice in your own art. Don’t be afraid to experiment and start drawing!
References
Zhang, A. (2022). Breaking Down An Image With Basic Shapes (A. Zhang, Ed.) [Review of Breaking Down An Image With Basic Shapes].
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