Fanlore:Featured Article Archives/2023: Week 21

from the Star Wars zine Never Say Die #1 by Kristin Brown (1999), referencing the famous Life magazine photograph V-J Day in Times Square

Photo-referencing is a common artistic technique wherein an artist bases their art on a photograph.

Like other artists, fanartists use any and all types of photographic images for reference. Publicity stills and screenshots are useful when drawing television and film characters (or settings or objects). But fanartists also use nonfannish photos for reference as well.

Although a common practice in the creation of both professional and fannish art, the use of photo-referencing sometimes results in a great deal of discussion within fandom about the nature of originality, the legitimacy of copying, and the degree to which pieces of fanart are transformative.