Girl at Desk

This little one was inspired by an old school photo I saw online. I try to use my own, but if I use photos from the internet for the form and posture, am I infringing copywrite?

3 Likes

Illustrators use reference materials all the time. There’s no clear and definitive boundary between what’s OK and what might be a copyright infringement, but using images found on the internet or in magazines as reference material for things like form and posture is probably fine.

1 Like

The rip on her left knee is a nice touch.

As your style progresses, I might suggest the facial caricature be more evolved in keeping with the more realistic transformation overall.

Nice. Very nice.

Just B answered your question … so all I will say is she is adorable :heart:

Just-B is right on the mark! No worries! In my 50-year career, I used photo references all the time. In fact, when I began my career, I started cutting photos from magazines (yes, I’m that old!) and filing them according to subject matter. Us “Old Dudes” called it a “Photo Morgue.”

Dittos on RedKittie’s comment too, the subject is “adorable.”

Yes! :smiley: I sometimes find myself not using lots of the old terminology because so many people don’t know what we’re talking about anymore.

Years ago, when I worked at the newspaper here in town, we had about eight or nine on-staff illustrators (which would seem crazy today). Each had an extensive morgue of clipped photos from magazines and newspapers. When I say extensive, I mean extensive, as in thousands and tens of thousands of carefully filed clippings. Mrs. Just-B worked at the competing newspaper as an illustrator, and she still has her morgue. She no longer works as an illustrator, but she can’t bear to part with it; it too way to long to assemble.

3 Likes

Yes. Memories are slowing drifting back.

Thank You to All. And yes those photos/references are filed on the computer now days. :).

Don’t forget—my illustrations will always a “k” ( this one is meant to be carved into the desk -I might work on that a little )- and there is a little loose string somewhere!

Thank You again !

2 Likes

I always look for the loose string :smiley:

1 Like

I think you have a great style. I like the simplified faces. Overall they are whimsical and personable.

These are always fun illustrations! Sorry you lost all that work a bit ago.

I ran across one of my photo morgues the other day. Half of it was photographed examples of extreme angle perspective on a number of various things. I was noticing the other day that it is sometimes very hard to find high shot or low shot angles on stock sites. There was a fad for a while on high shots, but everything seems boringly straight on these days. I needed a high angle back shot of someone lying in a bed for an illo I was doing and ended up having my sister shoot me with her phone camera while I was lying on the living room floor, LOL!

1 Like