REFERENCE CONTENT for ARTISTS

This page is for artists interested in practicing or creating from my (Avid's) likeness and poses in still image or video form. This can include specific poses an artist might use to derive a detailed work, get inspiration or content to use in a mixed-media project, or simply to help drawing/painting practice with figure/portrait poses and anatomy. Reference material is considered a work product for art models. While I sometimes offer such content for free, fees and donations help support models and compensate us for the time, effort, ability, and likeness we contribute to the creative process.

I'm always a bit conflicted about offering reference images, and some artists insist it's a bad idea to work from two dimensional photos or even videos. It can never truly substitute for working in-person with a live model. And from the modeling side, one might wonder if it's a bit self-defeating to put cheaper static images of ourselves out on the web! We have to wonder if it diminishes our value as in-person models, provides fodder for content-hungry AI generators, and risks outright theft of our likenesses in an era when few seem to respect copyrights and creative etiquette.

On the other hand, many artists from beginner to master seem to effectively integrate use of reference photos/videos into their practice and art instruction. Also, many artists and students around the world simply have no access to classes or open sessions with life models or cannot afford them! So there are definitely a "good" sides to offering reference content on the web.

The sections below offer curated "catalogs" of reference content based on my modeling work. It's an open-ended project, so I hope to add content from time to time. In some cases the images were created by photographers during commissioned sessions. In others, content was extracted during online life modeling sessions. In all cases, I own the content and/or have full permission to use it for this purpose. In turn, I am able to offer it for use by artists -- including permission for them to hold and create from it -- in one of these "modes":

  • Non-exclusive: the specific pose or content remains available for others' use, or,
  • Semi-exclusive: the specific pose or content is removed from the web and reference catalog ASAP after the artist purchases it (I call this semi-exclusive because it is impossible to guarantee another artist has not already viewed or used the content; but this 'best effort' to remove the specific content greatly improves the odds that only the purchasing artist will have access to it for a work)

    In the reference "stores" you may notice purchase availability reflecting those modes and priced accordingly.

    Please read the description for each section carefully before entering. Additionally, please feel free to contact me if you need something specific but don't find it here yet, or have technical or other issues getting what you're after.