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Forums » Smalltalk » tips on how to get good references for characters?

hey! so im currently in the process of trying to make a character, and i want to make how she looks before i do anything else, but im having a hard time via google finding stuff that i wanna use for my characters, does anyone have any suggestions on where good sites are to get a wide variety of anime/real life reference pictures?

if youd like some refs as to what specifically im looking for, heres some photos that i found were close, but not really close enough or doesnt have the full face

1353dc18cb5d7727ae8a2a2d1d0dbc85_by_leafii_0n-dbbpk9u.jpg
b1cba51685244f2233244c7a316a8751_by_leafii_0n-dbbpk9l.jpg
paranoid_party

I would definitely check out pinterest, though you've probably already considered that. Another thing is making use of Googles "Find similiar images" search, it'll help you find similiar photos to the one you liked.

Personally, when making a character, I used to like using character makers and doll makers online, before I (sort of?) learned how to draw. It gave me room to experiment with different styles and such.
http://www.anime-planet.com/characters/all?hair_color_id=13&gender_id=2&sort=dislikes&order=desc

Just found ^ above site which helped find a fitting character to go along with what was in my head. Female, Pink Hair brings up 87 pages, you could try scouring that. Finding good cosplayers might be a good idea once you find a character too, though I haven't a clue where to find those easily without just typing into google.
Just now seeing this, but I like making ref collages to explain how my character looks, usually with the intent of an artist using it to draw them. Even if it's not for getting art, a simple sheet still lets you have more freedom than just finding a picture to be your character, since you can do Face ref, Hair Ref, Eyes, Bodytype, then maybe like, squares for colors of skin, or markings or whatever, and just paste it all together with MS paint or a simple art program.

If you aren't finding a face you like, you can use http://www.morphthing.com/morph this to morph two faces together and get a more unique face.

Some characters that have both ref collage sheets, and art that was commished.
http://www.rprepository.com/c/aev
http://www.rprepository.com/c/jabriel
http://www.rprepository.com/c/seadragon
http://www.rprepository.com/c/naz

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