Beauty Standards - Quick PSA for artists

Short update/caveat to the stuff below: it's totally possible to find great references for anything you want on any platform, so long as you know where to look! Having a community of people to converse and explore with can help a lot, but you can also do diggin on your own with great success! And by the way, thank you for your comments and input on the project! Can't reply to everything atm but hearing many different voices is always enlightening.

In conclusion, if you don't want to read the whole thing -- I strongly recommend against using platforms like Pinterest and Instagram to find Art References because they often exclude certain body types, ages and people from a mainstream presentation -- and there's no telling how much these images have been manipulated.

The better thing would be to take and use your own pictures or pictures from family and friends that you know have not been doctored for your reference. Of course, people do not look exactly as they do in real life when they are in photos (which has to do with how cameras function and the use of different lenses on a camera)

The best thing (although difficult in present circumstances) would be to go sit out in a public area and draw everyone who comes along (known as reportage), or to sit with people in your private spaces and do observational drawings using your eyes in real space. You really will gain a lot from drawing a variety of people - bodies, skin colors, hair types, facial features - I promise you, and you will be helping them to feel special too!

Now go out there and have a good day!