One Reference Library for Your Whole Art Team
In most studios, reference lives in many places: one artist's desktop, another's browser bookmarks, a chat thread from last year. Nobody knows where half of it came from, or whether the studio may use it. A shared reference library for game studios fixes that. Buy each pack once, under a license that covers the whole art team, and keep it where everyone can find it.
How the studio licenses work
Fotoref licenses are based on the size of your art team, counting both employees and independent contractors.
| License | Art team size | Typical buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Small Studio | 10 people or fewer | Indie teams, small outsourcing studios, agencies |
| Large Studio | More than 10 people | Mid-size and large studios, publishers, film and VFX houses |
Both studio licenses are for organisations, including companies, associations and government agencies. An Individual license is for one person only and cannot be used by a business, even one owned by that person. Individual purchases also cannot be stored on company servers or cloud storage. That is why a team library needs a studio license.
Every license includes the same terms: unlimited projects, no expiration, free updates to packs you own, and royalty-free use. No license allows reselling the packs.
As an example of pricing, the Vancouver Aerial Photography pack costs $19.99 for an Individual license, $49.99 for Small Studio and $79.99 for Large Studio. All 16 free packs stay free with studio licenses too, so your team can test the files before you buy.
Why one library beats every artist buying alone
- One purchase serves every project. Licenses cover unlimited projects and never expire. A pack bought for this game is still yours for the next one.
- Everyone works from the same source. When the environment artist, the prop artist and the lighting artist use the same set, their work matches.
- The source is on record. Every product page names the photographer and, in almost every case, the location and camera. When a lead or a publisher asks where a reference came from, you have an answer. See how each pack records its source.
- Contractors are covered. Independent contractors count toward your team size, so outsourced artists can work from the same library under the right license.
Packs that can carry a whole level
Studios get the most value from large sets of a single location. One pack can give a team enough material to block out, model, texture and light a full environment.
- Red Bricked Industrial Area: 939 drone and handheld photos of an old brick factory block, fitted with later power cables and ventilation. Shot in Russia by Grafit Studio.
- Huge Operational Steel Mill: 328 photos of a working iron smelting facility at 5472 × 3648.
- Semi-Abandoned Northern Port Town: 465 photos of an Arctic seaport in Russia that is slowly falling apart. Useful for map creation and matte painting.
- Abandoned Small Amusement Park: 516 photos from South Korea of rusted rides, peeling paint and overgrown structures.
- Post-Apocalyptic Industrial Plant: 274 photos of a large Soviet-era plant, shot by drone and by camera, including bird's-eye views.
Working artists already build environments this way. Matte painter and concept artist David Edwards used the Masada Ancient Fortress Ruins pack, 83 photos of eroded stone walls and interiors, for a "Lost Temple" 3D environment.
Setting up your library in four steps
- Count your art team. Include employees and independent contractors who will use the files. Ten or fewer means Small Studio. Eleven or more means Large Studio.
- Start with the biomes and settings on your roadmap. The catalog is organised into collections such as Industrial, Abandoned, Rocks and Cliffs and Military.
- Store packs in one shared place. Sort by setting or by project, and keep each pack's product link next to its folder.
- Brief your team on content types. Commercial photos can be used for nearly any purpose. Photos in Editorial content, or in a pack's Editorial folder, are fine as reference but cannot be reproduced in marketing or on merchandise. Our commercial use guide explains this in plain English.
Frequently asked questions
Our team grew from 8 to 14 artists. What changes?
Licenses follow team size, so new purchases should use the Large Studio license, which covers art teams of more than 10 people. For packs you already bought under Small Studio, contact Fotoref about moving them to Large Studio.
Can our artists build 3D assets from the photos?
Yes. The license allows creating your own 3D models, photogrammetry meshes and textures from the photos for your projects. The packs and photos themselves cannot be resold.
Do we pay again for each new game?
No. Every license covers unlimited projects and has no expiration.
Are the photos real, or could some be generated?
They are real photographs, uploaded by the 50+ contributors who shot them on location. Browse the real reference photos collection for examples.