Supporting Reference Imagery for Digital Drawing

Abstract

There is little understanding in the challenges artists face when using reference imagery while creating drawings digitally. How can this part of the creative process be better supported during the act of drawing? We conduct formative interviews with artists and reveal many adopt ad hoc strategies when integrating reference into their workflows. Interview results inform the design of a novel sketching interface in form of a technology probe to capture how artists use and access reference imagery, while also addressing opportunities to better support the use of reference, such as just-in-time presentation of imagery, automatic transparency to assist tracing, and features to mitigate design fixation. To capture how reference is used, we tasked artists to complete a series of digital drawings using our probe, with each task having particular reference needs. Artists were quick to adopt and appreciate the novel solutions provided by our probe, and we identified common strategies that can be exploited to support reference imagery in future creative tools.