sref studies

Style Reference Studies

When curating style references, some style references jump out as ones that bear further study. I’ve set myself a goal of doing one deep dive style reference study per week, but have not followed through well on that goal. The page will provide access to those style reference studies as I work through them.

Style References embody a number of different elements. Among these are:

• color palette
• era/setting sometimes is a factor
• painting style
• level of detail
• sometimes a specific race is prevalent, oftentimes Japanese (based on the amount of Anime art out there)
• lifelikeness vs cartoon vs conceptual/geographic

There’s not a set formula for doing a style reference study (but there might be if done long enough). I try to explore and show common themes, unique elements, which elements shine through when combined with other srefs, best uses for the style, and provide a number of examples.