ref.hunt

Hunt forreferences,find connections.

A new place to research. Search engines give you thousands of similar images. ref.hunt gives you one, and the way back to where it comes from.

Research, differently. Not a feed, not a moodboard. One reference at a time, followed from the work to its source, and from that source to the next.

Mission. Change the way we look for references: from endless scrolling to real, verified connections.

Vision. A place where every image has a source, and every source opens new ones.

Sign up here. The website is coming soon.

Waitlist open

How it works

One search.
Four sources.

An example from our Behind Gorillaz Art hunt. You search a work, ref.hunt shows you where each piece of it comes from.

  1. 01 Search a work
  2. 02 Follow the connection
  3. 03 Reach the source

00 The work

Gorillaz

Virtual band by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. Four characters, four trails back to their sources.

Hunt Behind Gorillaz Art

01 Early drawing

2-D × The 16s

Earl Monkey, an early Jamie Hewlett character, already has the hair and the face of 2-D.

Source The 16s, unpublished comic by Jamie Hewlett

02 Look

Murdoc × Keith Richards

The Rolling Stones guitarist inspired the hair, the attitude and the look of Murdoc.

Source Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones

03 Culture

Russel × Ice Cube

Hip-hop culture, and Ice Cube in particular, helped shape Russel.

Source Ice Cube, 1990s hip-hop

04 Concept

Paula Cracker → Noodle

An early guitarist concept, reimagined into an entirely new character.

Source Paula Cracker, early Gorillaz concept

00 / 04Hover an image to see the other side