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silverraven0
Dec '18
1

I can't explain it properly but here's an example :

You're commissioned to draw your client dog like the picture they gave you (real life dog), and they tell you to draw them like that, the pose, everything, so did you trace it or making it without tracing?

I know it is unethical to trace drawing if you're doing commission, not to mention you might get copy strike(?) if it is no some trademark drawings or pics, but I'm just wondering if it was like the case above, do anyone of you simply trace it or making it a new and just using the pictures as examples? I got curious so I thought of asking this. And I mainly asking this for the digital artist, but if a traditional artist can answer it from their perspective please do share your thought.

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    Dec '18

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Nachi
Dec '18

I wouldn't trace. They want my art, so even if I miss the proportions a little, it will then be done in my style which they supposedly commissioned me to. But I am the kind of person who really hates recreating other people's work. So I don't do fan-art, I don't draw photos or animals from a single photo, I tend to change the angle just a little, or most of the time use multiple photos as references to create the pose I wanted. It helps me to improve, too, and I would feel bad if I haven't done that :slight_smile:

LortiaMJB
Dec '18

Way back in the day I'd have traced the basic shapes at least, nowadays I prefer to eyeball it. There's nothing wrong with tracing as long as it saves you time and doesn't take away from your art itself, a lot of people trace. Hell, you could argue inking a sketch isn't more than tracing your own piece so it's clearer and cleaner.

It's a matter of using something properly, if you have trouble with anatomy, tracing can be your saving grace and it'll actually help you get better at it as long as you don't let yourself rely on it completely. :slight_smile:

skicoak
Dec '18

Nothing wrong with tracing for your most basic underlayer. It's just a time saver step versus you sketching over and over to get the basic set up correct. But every layer after that needs to have your choices, your style and your fingerprints.

Azifri
Dec '18
1

Years ago I would have traced to get the general shape. Now I find it distracting, because I've gotten better at recreating the forms myself. It also helps display your own style.

If it serves as an example, I drew my sister and her husband from a photo. From what family members have said, they look like them without being an exact copy of the photo. No tracing used.

Final, lineart, and original photo here93

kip
Dec '18

absolutely not.
it wouldn’t be my art if i were tracing the picture? not to mention, it’s completely unethical and boredering scamming someone out of their money

even the idea of tracing just the basic shapes rubs me entirely the wrong way. if i knew someone was doing this, i would avoid buying commissions from them / supporting their art if they were doing it on a regular basis

tracing is okay when it’s done as a learning tool and not presented as the person’s actual artwork. that’s a far, far cry from tracing a picture to send in as a commission.

craftymarten
Dec '18

I tend to trace the initial shapes for pet portraits and then edit it to look better, people don't pay me enough for complicated poses and most want a photo recreated anyway. I could spend a few hours getting the proportions exact but I'd have to double or triple my prices.
If people think it's a scam then that's fine but it's not like I'm hiding I do it, the listing photo I have on Etsy is posted beside the reference photo I used for the pet. Most traditional pet portrait and wildlife artists I follow on IG use light boxes and trace photos exactly to for their work. If your customers know about it then it's up to them whether they buy it or not.

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Draconic
Dec '18

I support those messages!

Is it's still a scam when 90% of the artwork was purely their skills?
It's not like they trace other artwork. They trace a photo with full permission.

btw... I M A L R E A D Y T R A C E R ! ♪ :ok_hand:

kip
Dec '18

full permission isn't what's in question here though?

that said, yeah, i still don't see tracing as right as a regular part of artwork. at least not if you're doing art in the traditional sense (if you're upfront and vocal about it, that's something else, thedanemen style, but that's a personal and extremely rare artstyle)
also.... I'm sorry but i don't see how it's 90% if the image is traced.
stylizing is Heavily built on an understanding of anatomy, shapes, and a sense of space- tracing completely takes away the artist's ability to control that.

SheiDraws
Dec '18

I think it depends on how you utilize it. I used to condemn tracing because of all the hate I've seen online towards it. But then I've witnessed different kinds of processes from different artists. I've seen some tracing the lines from a photo then 90% of the work goes into painting. I've also seen some just blatantly tracing the lineart and slap one or two colors then that's it.

In the example you've given, what I would do is determine the basic shapes of the pose. If I can't eyeball it, then I'd draw over the photo, trace some parts if I have to. I'd open up another canvas and reference both that sketch and the photo.

Draconic
Dec '18
2

Because after thousands hour of practice, anyone will understands that efficiency and time saving are more important than spending time to show off your artistic skills for nobody.

When we are in elementary school, using calculator is cheating. When we are older, calculator is a must.
If anyone want to calculate their spreadsheets by hand, then it's their life choice.

The Disney Animation use the tracing method to produce their animations.
The Clip Studio Paint has the 3d model features purely for the tracing purposes.
The concept artists use the photo manipulation method to create concept arts.
The manga artists use real photo, real location to create their backgrounds.
The 3D artists would recreate any object or character by tracing if there is any stock image.
...

Just because the tracing method can be used for plagiarism, doesn't mean that method is a bad thing.

MK_Wizard
Dec '18

If it was me, I would also do it by hand and practice again and again, until it looked just right. I would ask the client for the time to practice in order to get it right because in order to get it right, I need to practice the ethical way. It's just not in me to trace. I feel bad doing it and I see the chance to draw something like what you said as a learning opportunity. Taking the short cut is shooting yourself in the foot as an artist.

beta1042
Dec '18

If they really are dead set on the exact pose and proportions and that I'd probably end up pulling a basic skeleton from the picture and draw the rest. I don't consider that tracing tho.

Draconic
Dec '18
2
MK_Wizard

Taking the short cut is shooting yourself in the foot as a beginner.
Fixed that for you.

Tracing is not a shortcut, you can't create anything for your own by tracing if you have no idea what you're doing with the source. There's no shortcut, knowledge still need to be learned properly with this method.

Take a look at this:

Draw difficult poses accurately with the 3D design figure.|CLIP STUDIO PAINT
MK_Wizard
Dec '18

I stand corrected and I'm sorry if it came out wrong. The tracing I had in mind was not this though. I meant taking a picture and drawing over it. Not this thing here.

Menbung
Dec '18

I'm just going to leave this here, it may give some insight as to how pros work in that field of portraits (human or pets). I encourage people to read it all since this type of question always lead to this debate:

skicoak
Dec '18
kip

Good thing I have a bag of fake passports and disguises buried in the backyard for when my happy clients contact the Feds and I have to flee the country.

Menbung
Dec '18

That's weird, try googling the article. Use this in the search bar: Is tracing cheating?. Should be the first search result, Is Tracing Cheating? - Carrie L. Lewis, Artist