This was the first piece I worked on that I did from a reference photograph that wasn’t my own. I’d been asked if I could draw a rhino, but I’d never photographed one before. That’s something that will hopefully change in the near future, but it definitely won’t be this particular species – the Indian Rhino. When I started drawing I said to myself that I’d only ever use my own reference photos to work from, but at this relatively early stage, I was going back on that. When I set that ‘rule’, I did so long before ever considering that other people might actually want my work, and might actually want to commission a piece of work. I will continue to use my own reference photography wherever possible.
