How to search and use references

Hello everyone!
I have a question, that bothers me everytime I start new project. We all know that life is easier with references, but sometimes the topic I am working on is kind of hard to get references of. For example lets take recent CG Boost topic "Skyship". OK I have some references that look great, but they don't reflect my idea which sits inside my head. The thing is I could modify a reference artwork by overpainting some stuff over it so that it meets my requirements, for example change the design a bit, but unfortunately I am not good at 2D. So do you know any effective way of searching references, and then modify it to your likings, so that it could be implemented in my 3D artwork without high 2D skills?