Why Reference is So Important for 3D Artist

Is it possible to create a great awesome result in 3D software without using any reference? Well maybe, but for me it won't work. To prove it, I've done some experiment to create a scene from scratch using blender without any reference.

And below is the result. 

I'm not satisfied with the result

Let's compare with something that I've make using reference.

For any level of 3D artist, reference is needed. I think it's also applied to 3D animator. Reference is like the guide lines, it help us to get understanding with the object that we'll transform into 3D.

Reference can come into any form like :

• photo from your phone or SLR
• Image from concept artist
• your sketch in notebook

To conclude, yes the reference is important for any level of 3D artist. It's good habit to always have reference before we start modeling. So, you have any opinion for this topic? let's discuss it in the comment below.

Thanks for reading.

Picture by Aditia A. Pratama