Find your way around DA #1: Pose References

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Deviation Actions

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Coming up with interesting, accurate poses for your characters can be difficult. Either they all end up looking the same, or the poses just don't look right. Drawing from a reference is a great way to practice this. Luckily, there are lots of amazing resources available to help you out, both here on DeviantArt and one the big bad WWW. I've listed the ones I know here, so you don't have to do the digging.

- I've picked resources that focus on poses, not on anatomy. This means that the drawn pose references listed here are not necessarily anatomically correct. Though the two are definitely related, to me they're not necessarily the same thing. Your anatomy might be great, but a good pose can really bring your image to life. 
- This journal focuses on humans, not animals. Animal references will be listed in the next journal.

A little guide to the list
Real Life Poses: Stock photographs of real people in various poses, generally against a white backdrop.
Drawn pose stock: Poses drawn by an artist, based on real life references, or from memory. Not always anatomically correct.

Nude: Obvious things are obvious. Nude is always marked as mature and/or in a separate folder, so mixed galleries should still be 'safe' for all deviants.
Non-nude: Underwear/bathing clothes/form fitting clothing. Is officially deemed appropriate for all ages, but I've set it apart because I've noticed that some people still prefer not to use this stock because of age/religious considerations. 
Clothed: Model is wearing clothes. This can make it more difficult to see the entire pose properly, but helps with understanding how fabric works with clothing, and is appropriate for all ages, or artists who prefer not to use nude / semi-nude references for other reasons.
Detail: Hands, feet, heads, etc.

When you use stock, always make sure you follow the Rules for Use set by the stock provider!


Real Life Pose Stock on DA

Some of these are stock-only accounts, some galleries include artwork.
AdorkaStock (non-nude)
MostlyGuyStock (nude, non-nude)
AimeeStock (nude, clothed)
mjranum-stock (nude, clothed)
ImperialStarletStock (non-nude)
faestock (clothed)
Skemmerbjorn (nude) 
MikaSorano (non-nude)
szuzi (non-nude, clothed)
DaeStock (nude, clothed)
Null-Entity (nude, non-nude, clothed)
LaLunatique (clothed)
RobynRose (non-nude, clothed)
TheMaleNudeStock (nude) (m-m couples)
PirateLotus-Stock (clothed)
skydancer-stock (nude, clothed)
Ahrum-Stock (non-nude, clothed)
HumanAnatomy4Artist (nude, non-nude)
justmeina (nude) (male, f-m couples)
TaCDLunaria91 (non-nude)
kirilee (non-nude, clothed)
Stockingbird (nude, detail)
pascha89 (clothed)
IcecreamWithJam (clothed, detail)
Sitara-LeotaStock (clothed)
DiamonEyes (non-nude, clothed)
Tasastock (clothed, detail)
vishstudio (nude, non-nude, clothed)
Unlocked-Stock (clothed)
almudena-stock (nude, clothed)
ShiStock (clothed, detail)
HiddenYume-stock (clothed)
IQuitCountingStock (clothed) (children)
DamselStock (clothed) (children)
RachgracehStock (clothed)
RavienneArt (clothed)
FrancescaAmyMaria (clothed)
Panopticon-Stock (clothed)
hyuugahinata-stock (clothed)
Cassy-Blue (clothed)
Danika-Stock (nude, clothed)
CelticStrm-Stock (clothed)
MajesticStock (clothed)
tsubasacompany-stock (clothed)
deswitath (clothed)
Liancary-art (clothed)
MyladyTane (clothed)
Lady-Skygge (nude, clothed)
elenartphotography (clothed)
Bellastanyer-STOCK  (clothed)
Elandria (clothed)
TheGhostSiren (clothed)
Jeni-Sue (clothed) (children)
Ita-Its-art (clothed)
QueenWerandRa (clothed)
NyxNaiaStock (clothed)
PhelanDavion (clothed)
ArtReferenceSource (nude, clothed)
jagged-eye (nude, clothed)
PoetTear (clothed)
CathleenTarawhiti (clothed)
Saphiriacat (clothed)
LovizZ (clothed)
VirnaLamour-Stock (clothed) 
Celtica-Harmony (clothed)
tacostock (clothed)
ateliermoira (clothed)
mizzd-stock (clothed)
boyspose  (clothed)
comicReference (clothed)
epiphany-poses (clothed) [formerly pyjama-cake]

Drawn / 3D Pose Stock on DA

This is only a handful of all the artists that have good pose references in their gallery. Sometimes you'll have to do a bit of digging in their gallery, but they're all great artists, so that shouldn't be a problem ^^
If you're lazy, just type 'pose' in the search box.

Kate-FoX 
Kibbitzer 
Precia-T 
Nsio 
CourtneysConcepts 
AonikaArt 
Galeka-EkaGOo
Sellenin 
KiyuMiyu
GlassLotuses
rika-dono 
DamaiMikaz 
GoldenTar
iayetta83
DerSketchie
Ninjatic (hands and feet)
fidjera (hands)
CatPlus
ElementJax
Seiorai 
irysching (hands and feet)
LatteaChatte
Washu-M 
Vixenkiba
posevault (3D)
gimei
Sakuseii
Vision-Stock 
Vibrantes 
jinx-star 
cgartiste (3D)
pyerflystock (3D)
kira793 (3D)
ReferencePoses (3D)
xghostwheelx
MissMikopete
the-evil-legacy
inkartluis 
ShadowInkWarrior

Poses on the www:

www.posemaniacs.com/ (3d images) 
www.quickposes.com/
artists.pixelovely.com/
terawell.net/terawell/ (3D software program)
www.human-anatomy-for-artist.c…
www.freshdesigner.com/figure-d…
characterdesigns.com/index.php… (clothed, nude)
www.posespace.com/ (nude)
reference.sketchdaily.net/en/ (clothed)
www.artmodeltips.com/ (nude)
www.posevault.com/ (360 degree poses)
terawell.net/terawell/?lang=en (free program to create poses in 3D)
doll-a.net/terawell/ (same as previous,  pre-made poses)
www.mixamo.com/ (3D animation program, not free!)
Croquis Cafe

Timed Challenges:

www.senshistock.com/sketch/
www.posemaniacs.com/
www.quickposes.com/
artists.pixelovely.com/
reference.sketchdaily.net/en/

Other Pose Lessons and Challenges:

www.quickposes.com/
artists.pixelovely.com/
www.freshdesigner.com/good-fig…

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- This is a continuous W.I.P. If you know of any other websites/deviants, please let me know and I'll add them to the list. 
- On the other hand, if you see any websites/deviants on the list that are posting stock that does not belong to them, please let me know, and the link will be removed.



Comments192
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Saphiriacat's avatar

Thank you for including me to this list !<3