Tracing over the 3d model, is this harmful?

[G_yagura]

I have no problem using 3d models for reference, they are of great help, but if I trace over the model will my skills be impaired? Like will I have trouble drawing freehand or am I being paranoid?
I know it is a dumb question, but I will be grateful if you help me with that question.

[Kelheor]

I think it should be pretty easy to check. Retrace a pose, then draw it freehand. You will see how good/bad you are without it. In a long run you should be better when you know how to draw a pose (not complicated one) without a model, of course.

[Menbung]

Wouldn't say is harmful per se. It is good and helpful when you're learning anatomy, proportions or even perspective for your figures. But what could be harmful and may hinder you in the long run is, if you develop a habit of using 3d models for everything you do (even sketches). What I mean is that you feel you can't draw without tracing a 3d model, you become afraid or think a drawing wont look good if you don't trace.

This can be true to a lot of things, peeps that can't draw without copying a reference, tracing, photobashing, because they develop a habit of always using them for everything. Just dont let it become something you depend on to do your art.

[Rhonder]

I don't think there's much harm in that, especially if you're still learning I think the one thing you do want to be careful about is just blindly tracing a bunch of poses without trying to understand how to do it on your own though. In the short term that will help you get poses done faster, but will hurt in the long term when you realize you still don't have a very good understanding of how to use anatomy without fiddling with the model every time. Be sure to spend time practicing how to do it free hand/by just referencing the model/photos too

[rajillustration]

If you are learning, that is fine, but the camera will distort images, especially if some parts of them are very close to the camera. This is just something that all cameras do, whether it's a photograph or a rendering. (so when you take a selfie--your nose isn't actually that big--that's just not just a you thing--that's the camera) so just make sure that in your own personal studies you study from life and study proportions from famous artists who know what they're doing.

To avoid distortion with cameras, make sure that you are at least 4 feet away to make it better. In digital terms, it's the same idea--just back up, zoom in for details after you render the shot.

[ninjashira]

I think it depends on how you're tracing it, honestly.

If you're tracing the 3D model's contour lines exactly, like this...

...then you aren't teaching yourself anything except how to trace.

But if you trace deliberately, with purpose, to understand the shape of the figure, to then draw the contours and details yourself, like this...

...then you're teaching yourself to understand the human figure and how it all works and how to interpret it on your own. And as you do more and more of this, you will start to pick up how certain body parts and shapes work together and interact enough to start being more confident in doing it on your own.

That's my hot take on it, anyway.

[jjfresh]

I can't give you a definite what's right. Everyone's experience is different on this. When I was first learning to draw a full body, I was tracing random anime poses and putting my character's heads on them. After awhile, I did stop doing that and I had (somehow) a basis for drawing a body. Before I just didn't know where to begin. It was not a good habit to learn but it actually got me somewhere from actively observing the lines and why they behave, curve, bend the way they do. If one relies on them too much, they become very limited in what they can do and that can sometimes be hard to break out of too.

Now with using 3d models, I see it as one of those shortcuts that make it easier to draw something but hinders my personal style. Same as the paint tool sai Stabilizer or any sort of 'stabilizer.' Using a model helps with learning the body (like my experience) and how it should look in a given pose. But using models takes away from your personal style.
When I tried copy a pose line by line, it looked wrong. The body didn't fit my style or the character the body or body part was being attached to. (In fact, every time I got lazy and tried to trace a reference, it fucking looked like shit and I had to start again)

What I would recommend is using a 3d pose as a reference, not for tracing.

If you use the model ninjashira posted above, what I would recommend is to copy it, not trace over it. Actively observe the form of the lines around the armpit, around the abdomen, the legs, etc. If you're more rigorously studying the figure, then you can try drawing the basics like he did in the pink draft. Doesn't have to be anatomical unless you are looking to study the figure.

---

In sum, everyone picks up things differently but I would never recommend relying on 3d models (or stabilizers) because it hurts your original style and acts as a shortcut leaving you limited in your ability. Again, that's more preference because there are people who can create pretty amazing work relying on 3d components or using 3d backgrounds and such. It really depends on what you are going for but for pure hand drawn art style, you got to rely on yourself.

[JRHoch]

I briefly used 3D models, hoping it would make my work faster, but in the end my drawing was more dynamic and fresh when I didn't us a model. So....I gave it up.

If you're a beginning artist, I'd avoid tracing models until your skills are developed and you understand anatomy, foreshortening, shading, line work, etc. Practice really does develop art muscles. Many people who haven't been drawing long and use models end up with art that is very generic looking and often stiff.

But you have to do what works better for your growth!

[jcmraz]

Depends on how strong your fundamentals are. It will be very noticeable that it's traced if you don't understand the form as well. My suggestion would be if you're worried about that then practice by using the 3d model as a reference and freehanding it.

[HGohwell]

I think as long as you have a decent grasp of the basic and you don't rely on them for everything, it's not harmful. I use 3d models for angles or poses I'm struggling with, but honestly the amount of time it takes to pose them and set the proportions to your characters and then get the angles, it's not actually that time saving. And if it's that much above your normal style, it's pretty noticeable too, so I only really use them for individual illustrations/cover pages rather than for normal panels.

So not exactly harmful any more than any other shortcut but if you rely on it too much, it can become a crutch.

[jjfresh]

Yeah, that describes how I felt about it. I did try it once when I didn't know how to draw this pose years ago and it felt wrong.

The problem with tracing 3d models when you're learning is that you get stuck with that limited method and don't learn. By the time you do study, you don't need such a thing. Hell, you might as well learn how to make a 3d model of your characters and experiment with using them than tracing a model you already know how to do on your own. -- And yes, loss of your original style when you copy a model. So I personally hate when I see programs bragging about having models for your comics (csp ahem)

[JRHoch]

I really wanted the models to work for me, but I didn't find it any more helpful than using photo reference, which I also can't trace without my work suffering in the same way.

[jjfresh]

I will be fair to say that a model could be helpful as a reference. Say you want to do some weird pose you can't find online or in any nearby books. You can take a 3d model and move it into your desired pose. I don't do that either but that could be quite useful.

Just a virtual version of those wooden figures

[JRHoch]

Also hand poses. They are good for that!

[ionkozokar21]

That's what skills are for, to keep them in your brain. You may not draw for five years, but your hands still remember how to draw. It's the same as installing doors. I work as an installer and no matter how long breaks I take, my hands still do everything myself, including the modern doors to the rooms. Isn't that a talent we develop over the course of our lives? Believe in what you do and only then will you succeed.

[joannekwan]

[joannekwan]