I rarely sketch from photos, but the wonderfully encyclopaedic People of the Twenty-First Century by Hans Eijkelboom is a treasure trove of reference images for the urban sketcher. It’s a beautiful catalogue of real people going about their lives, and copying the pictures has helped to sharpen up my eye for figure drawing. The photos are presented in ‘types’ of people, so here are New York men in trench coats, Russian mothers carrying toddlers, Moroccan men on bikes, and Dutch men in leather jackets. (More details about the book are on my ‘Current Inspiration’ page).
Lexington grey in ink-brush and fountain-pen, watercolour, A5 – about 2-5 mins per person
Mostly drawing 
This book sounds like exactly what I’ve been looking for to get me through the rainy winter! But are the photos kind of small? Difficult to see details? His other book on cities looks fascinating, too. Wish he had one with all animals — that’s my favorite subject, but I don’t get much practice outside of the zoo. Thanks for all your ideas and inspiration!
Tina
Thanks Tina, the pictures are mostly big enough, certainly to capture the main shapes and lines. I’ve ordered the other book too so I’ll let you know how I get on with it… Ed
Thanks, Ed — I’ll look forward to your review of the cities book! In the meantime, I’m going to look for a copy of People of the 21st Century.
– Tina