https://www.furaffinity.net/view/31776537/

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/31785761/

I had the same issue. This was the best I could come up with so I hope this sorta helps!

I tried not to make it boring and hard to see or too fancy and hard to find colors.

These look great!
The texture is subtle and makes the flat colours stand out real nice~ The additional portraits are a nice addition too.
Thanks for showing me :3

I like to see a front view, back view, and a color palette with no shading on any of it.

Maw shots, genitals, headshots, etc, are good but make sure it's not cluttering the ref too much.

I've got some SFW and NSFW examples here.

Clear and simple!
Thanks for your input <3

Honestly, I think that useful can be arrows. I added them to my ref so artist could see what is important in my character (something like pointing that character have always 5 fingers or always wear something).

Arrows are a good idea! I sometimes miss little details.
Thank you!

Always glad to help

I haven't done colour palettes often on my own references as I tend to have hard time making them fit in nicely on mine, but I do my best to make sure everything is easy to colourpick from, I also go for a main image which shows the character in a suitable pose to get across a nice natural stance for them and get across some personality (and show some things at an angle), then I have a front and back in a more static pose to show what they look like in more detail, I do extra things for clients at an extra cost if needed (like things that need their own section to show off properly, side views if really desired etc), but I usually find my standard is enough to pick up the details from.

If the characters have a rather complicated outfit to draw or the outfits have details that need to be shown on the back, I'll do both a clothed and "nude" version (nothing naughty shown, just enough to see everything needed) so that way people have a reliable reference for both things.

I also got inspired by  scpkid's approach to references and started including chibi's on my refs to show alternative outfits, but my own spin also has a miscellaneous section to show zoom-ins of details that would be hard to make out or pick colours from (like eyes and such) but also showing closeups of items they carry on their person /-3-\

I also personally can't stand when references are shaded, and especially if there's no palette, so I avoid doing that on mine entirely unless a client really wants it (in which case I would provide a palette)

Samples below

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/32497783/ http://www.furaffinity.net/view/32497840/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/30452597/

Ooh chibi outfits are a fun addition! I love all the extra little bits of info and close-ups.
Thank you for the examples and insightful comment! <3

You're very welcome! \owo/

poses that clearly show all the markers, a full and clear colour pallete (UNSHADED PLEASE....)

and personally for me i LOVE to see these things added. They seem like small details but theyre things i often have to ask about because they just arent included:
Species (this is my least favorite thing to have to ask about but with the way some people draw its just... so hard to tell.)
mouth and pawpad colour
HEIGHT, esp if you get art with other people

those kind of things seem obvious when its your own character, but when i've never seen them before i have no fucking idea :'D

It is easy to overlook the obvious :'3
Thanks for the tips!

front, back, inside mouth color, paw pad colors

My personal advice would be:
-Don't overload with text, keep it simple, one word at a time when describing traits. A little graphic or icon is always better than a word.

-Make the pose as dynamic as you can, showing the character's personality. If because of this you absolutely need to create a closeup to show off markings ot other details, then reconsider the pose.
The more views and closeups you add, the more places one needs to look at when referencing, being easier to make a mistake with the details imo.
At least a headshot is nice tho, the head is the most important part usually.

-Simple background, geometric or simple shapes/patterns work nice, use it to create contrast with the character but dont let the background be too strong as to catch the attention first!

-Never hard shade if there isn't a clear ref of flats. I find it can easily create misconceptions with markings or colours.

-The species that the character s based on, at least if you want people to respect the species' anatomy/proportions. I mean I personally search and study all the species I draw, so this is a must for me, but other artists prefer to draw without this kind of reference, that's okay too!!

-Always, no matter what, always keep the colour palette!

---

In my refs I always add a flesh+blood/bones/mouth colour ref in the form of little coloured icons, I think it's important for future use: wounds and open mouths are common in any situation, not only in the fetishes/fandoms that focus on them!

Hope this is somehow useful :_!!

Lots of interesting points!
Thank you for your advice <3

notes on personality help me a ton when trying to think of compositions and honestly, cues on how to draw the character! I struggle working with base/fill refs a little since most people leave this info off.

Cues on how to draw the character is something I haven't thought of actually. It's not on many refs I've seen either but would certainly be useful when a ref/character is heavily stylised :'3
Thank you!

I really like it when the ref has some kind of personnality traits, likes/dislikes, "what's in my bag", or other little things that help get a better idea of who the character IS, rather than just what they look like! It helps me come up with poses and stuff

Yes! I love those bag content thingies too!