Generate Custom Art Reference Photos for Free

Generate specific reference images for your art—poses, lighting, color palettes—using Ideogram's free tier: 25 prompts a day (about 100 images), no credit card. Free forever, no card.

Ideogram AI Verified 2024-04-05

The Walkthrough

Step 1: Create a Free Account

Go to ideogram.ai and sign up using a Google or Apple login. No payment method is asked for.

Step 2: Paste the Reference Prompt

In the prompt box, paste the template below and fill in the brackets with your specific needs:

Reference photo of a [subject], [pose], [lighting condition], [camera angle], plain background, realistic, high detail, shot on 35mm

Step 3: Set Aspect Ratio and Generate

Set the Aspect Ratio to match your intended canvas (e.g., 3:4 for a portrait painting). Click "Generate" to create 4 variations.

Step 4: Save and Draw

Review the 4 results. Save the best one to your drawing tablet, monitor, or reference board (like Pureref) and start drawing.

What Breaks

You are limited to 25 prompts per day (which yields 100 images). The AI struggles with exact spatial reasoning and complex hand interactions—you will still need to draw the hands yourself or composite references. It is a reference starting point, not a final illustration. Quota resets daily at midnight UTC.

Three Things This Teaches

Adding "plain background" or "studio lighting" strips away complex scene geometry that distracts from the pose you want to study.

AI struggles with conversational terms like "looking up at", so using photography terms like "low angle" or "worm's eye view" produces accurate foreshortening references.

Ideogram generates 4 images per prompt, so 25 prompts actually yields 100 chances to get a good pose per day.

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