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PureRef
Lightweight reference board application used by concept artists and 3D modelers worldwide. Create infinite canvas mood boards from dragged images, screenshots, and web content. Stays as an always-on-top overlay while you work in Blender, ZBrush, or Photoshop. Supports opacity control, crop, annotation, and hierarchical grouping. The fastest way to keep visual references visible during game art production.
Best For
Organizing visual reference boards directly on your desktop — keeping inspiration and technical references visible alongside your 3D software without switching windows.
Primary Use Cases
- - Assembling anatomy and costume reference moodboards alongside ZBrush for character sculpting sessions
- - Collecting material and surface reference photos for matching PBR values in Substance Painter
- - Creating color palette and lighting reference boards for environment art visual development
- - Comparing multiple ArtStation portfolio examples side by side for stylistic analysis and study
- - Maintaining a proportions and silhouette reference sheet visible while modeling a character in Blender
Pros & Cons for Game Art
Pros
- + Completely free with a pay-what-you-want model — zero cost for a tool used daily by professional artists
- + Accepts drag-and-drop from any browser, file explorer, or application — the fastest reference collection workflow available
- + Extremely lightweight — launches instantly and uses negligible system resources even with hundreds of images loaded
- + Always-on-top and opacity modes allow genuine side-by-side reference viewing without a second monitor
- + Saves complete reference sessions as compact .pur files for project archive and team sharing
Cons
- − No cloud sync or mobile companion — references are local only, requiring manual file transfer between machines
- − Search and tagging system is minimal — large reference boards with 100+ images become hard to navigate
- − No built-in web scraping or ArtStation integration — images must be manually saved or dragged from a browser
- − Canvas organization is freeform only — no automatic grid or album system without manual arrangement
Suggested Learning Path
- 1.Download and open PureRef — drag any image from your desktop, browser, or ArtStation directly into the canvas
- 2.Organize references into groups using PureRef's color-coded border feature for different asset aspects
- 3.Learn the pinch-to-zoom and right-click navigation model — PureRef navigation is unique and takes a few minutes to internalize
- 4.Set up an "Always on Top" workflow where PureRef floats over your 3D application in a corner of a secondary monitor
- 5.Create and save .pur project files per asset so you can reload the exact reference set when returning to a project
Quick Tip
Assign PureRef to "Always on Top" mode (right-click title bar > Always on Top) and set canvas opacity to 85% — this lets you see your reference through a semi-transparent overlay while working in your 3D app without constantly alt-tabbing.
Setup Notes
- - Map the opacity slider to a keyboard shortcut or your tablet's express key so you can quickly toggle visibility without interrupting your sculpting flow
- - Save .pur files alongside your project asset files — reference boards are as important as the asset itself for maintaining consistency across a long production
- - Use the "Snap to Grid" mode when building structured mood boards for client presentations — it creates a tidy grid layout automatically
- - PureRef runs portably from a folder with no installation — store it on a USB drive to use the same reference setup across studio workstations
How N-hance Uses It
PureRef is a recommended daily-use tool for all N-hance School students — instructors teach students to build per-assignment reference boards before touching any 3D software, establishing the professional habit of grounding creative work in strong visual research.