Reference Photos for Concept Artists

Design from the world, not from other concept art

When every artist collects the same finished concept art, designs start to look alike. A real place breaks that loop. It has construction logic that nobody invented: why a wall leans, where the water runs, how someone added a new floor on top of an old one. Each Fotoref pack gives you one place in depth, shot by a photographer who stood there. You take the logic, and you design something new on top of it.

Four things to take from a pack

Shape language. The Four Large Pagoda Temple pack has 437 photos from Ayutthaya, Thailand, from the ground and from a drone. Four giant stupas stand in the middle of a large site, with smaller ruins in every stage of decay. Thumbnail the silhouettes, and you have a set of shapes that few other artists are using.

Building logic. In Under The Bridge Epic Slum (149 photos, Cebu, Philippines), residents of an informal settlement have built their homes into a road underpass with modern materials. It shows how people solve structure, access and space with limited means. That is useful study for any dense city design. For a different mix of old and new, the Kathmandu Medieval Cyberpunk Market Streets pack (188 photos) shows 12th to 15th century buildings next to concrete housing, tangled cables and active street temples.

How things fall apart. The Rusty Abandoned Vehicle Ferry Ship (173 photos) lies on a shore in Cebu while it is slowly taken apart. The open decks and missing hull plates show how a ship is built. That helps when you design a wreck, a salvage yard or a ship that people now live in.

Mood. The Abandoned Small Amusement Park pack (516 photos, South Korea) has rusted Ferris wheels, broken carousels, peeling paint and plants growing through the rides. It is one location, with enough frames for a full set of mood paintings.

What each product page tells you

Before you buy, each product page lists the photo count and download size, the resolution, the camera, the location and the photographer. Many packs are 6000 × 4000 pixels, so you can crop deep into a detail without losing it. Some packs also include short video clips or 3D scan samples. When you buy a pack, you also get any later updates to it for free.

Used in real projects

3D educator Anton Tenitsky built his scene "Mudworld: Patrol" with the Bubbling Bursting Mud Pools pack: 848 photos of geothermal mud in Rotorua, New Zealand, shot over 3 days in different light. He has also worked from the Angkor Temple pack. For a full production pipeline, see reference photos for game development. For settings that already look invented, see real places that look like fantasy worlds.

Frequently asked questions

I freelance for studios. Is an Individual license enough?

The Individual license covers one person, including freelancers, for unlimited projects. It does not cover a business, even one that you own, and the files can't be stored on a company server or shared cloud drive. If the studio's team will also use the pack, the studio needs a Small Studio license (an art team of 10 people or fewer) or a Large Studio license.

Can I photobash these photos into a finished concept?

Yes. Photobashing is allowed with every pack. Some photos are Editorial, for example photos with identifiable people, vehicles or buildings. In Mixed packs they sit in a separate Editorial folder. You can use them in concept art and photobashing, but you can't reproduce them in advertising, promotion or products for sale. See our photobashing packs for more.

How is a pack different from a Pinterest board?

Pinterest and image search usually show compressed previews of photos from many sources, often with no name or place attached. A pack is a set of full-resolution originals from one photographer, with the location and camera listed. Read more in our guide to a Pinterest alternative for artists.

Can I start without paying?

Yes. Download a few of our free reference photo packs to check the quality and the folder structure before you buy.