#on tracing in creating art

[painterofhorizons]

Some incoherent rambling about tracing in art under the cut. And I'm not trying to start a fight on this, so depending on your own stand about this, just go ahead and don't read it.

I'm struggling a lot with seeing art that is clearly traced.

And I don't speak about the obvious "don't do that" thing of tracing someone else's art, which we hopefully can agree on that nope, don't be an asshole and don't trace someone else's art.

I mean seing art that is, let's say, fanart that is clearly traced from a photo. (And let's be hopeful and say it's a traced stock photo that was initially created for being used in any way, not like, some celebrity photo or picture from instagram or anything that was not created as a stock image.)

Don't get me wrong. I firmly want people to have fun with their hobbies. And my resentment about this topic definitely originates both in

a) my own frustrated relationship to drawing (aka used to draw a lot for 20 years, then fell out of it completely for 15 years, and now has a very difficult time getting back into it because of 15 years of lacking training) and

b) the fact that back in the day there still was a very clear mentality of "do not trace" that people strictly obeyed, or so it felt.

And yes, of course tracing is okay for practice - but the way I was artistically socialized is: you can totally trace - but do not post it, and IF you post it, do link the traced reference. STATE that it is traced. But best keep that to your sketchbook, it's something you did for practice, and you do not show it to anyone, because tracing is morally bad.

And now it feels like you see so much art that is clearly traced, because I know a thing or two about how hard it is to get proportions right, and it is very easy to tell if photographs are the traced basis of a drawing esp depending on the art skill.

It feels like you barely see art anymore where the proportions are off. And no one who is not a complete pro gets every proportion completely right, especially if going for a very realistic art style. Which, in itself, often is a sign for tracing.

And I think the reason it bothers me is that it feels like cheating, like, "back in the day" we had to learn proportions and all the hard way, by, like, looking at stuff and then just fucking up by drawing shit on our own freestyle. Or like drawing a grid on the reference picture and a grid on your own sheet of paper and trying to do it like a puzzle. But back in the just traditional day tracing was much harder anyways. (And yes, "we" means "I", but it also means a general "we".) And it feels like those folks who work the tracing way nowadays take the shortcut, they don't struggle the same we/I did, and it is unfair because of all the struggling you undergo when you do not take the shortcut.

And this sounds absolutely ridiculous, because basically it is saying "if I had to struggle, so do you" - or in a more gentle approach - "I wish I, too, didn't have to struggle so much".

Like, rationally, I would never say that to someone's face. Which is why I don't do it, like, I'm really trying to just ignore it and let folks do their thing. And I know not taking the shortcut gets you a much bigger learning outcome than taking shortcuts. You only learn shit by doing it, and getting proportions right ON YOUR OWN needs you to DO IT ON YOUR OWN.

And it bothers me so much that it bothers me!

But boy. It bothers me so much to see such art, especially when it is not stated that hey, this is a shortcut version of art, because it is traced.

It feels like, idk, betrayel towards art itself, as well as towards other artists. It feels dishonest.

Like, there's no such thing like this in writing! Because if you did that in writing, it is plagiarism, and that gets you shame, and shitstorms, and de-registrations.

And like, usually artists who use reference pictures but do it free hand usually even like/state the use of reference pictures, but those who *trace* don't even say they worked with references. And that feels so frigging wrong to me towards art.

And in the end, all of this is just my inner artist begging for me having fun with art the same way as all those other artists, and as much as those who trace but at least they draw and hopefully enjoy the process, right?

I just desperately want to draw and enjoy it again, just like my first two decades of life.

So yes, in the end, this is me being utterly jealous about folks who have such a relaxed and not-overthinking relationship with art that they see a nice photograph that inspires them and be like "I'm gonna trace this and make it my own and have fun".

This is me wishing I didn't have such high moral standards towards myself and others.

Just take it easy. Relax. Don't care so much.

But I can't. I see traced art that does not have the disclaimer of "oh yeah btw I did use a reference for this and I traced the general proportions" and my brain and my stomach go "wrongwrongwrongMORALFAILUREhowdareyou".

Yeah, this is a rant post that goes in different directions - but it is also an honest question to those of you who also used to feel strongly about the topic of tracing=bad and who learned to take it easier.

How did you do that?

Because no matter how much I try to rationally tell myself: relax, how others treat art is not your business - I still feel sick in my stomach about this matter when it occurs and I cannot help it - but I really wish I could help it.

[yuurionviktor]

Gonna finish Gideon one soon, but for now you can have this Harrow

[uncharted-constellations]

They’re disgustingly codependant, theyre travelers, theyre investigators, they’re playing footsie at 50,000 feet.

Also a full mockup of the arm because im proud of it

[savoredsins]

sorry let me just be delusional and pretend i know how elgarnan looks by zooming extra hard on those two screenshots

[colorful-horses]

hi! how do you feel about people taking inspiration from your drawings? your ube roll rarity made me think of making pony ocs based off of filipino desserts, but i'm not sure if you'd be alright with me using the idea 😅

Feel free to take as much inspiration as you want!

[mari-lair]

If I had a penny for everytime someone on TikTok wrote an analysis "heavily influenced" by the ones I made here with zero credit I would have 4 whole pennies.

[strawbubbysugar]

Bubby I must know your drawing and/or colouring process! Could you share a speed paint please?

I usually photobash to make references, and then draw on top of them so I can check the ref easier (I don’t like glancing back and forth, you can see in the beginning where I draw over top of the reference but I don’t follow the lines of it - it’s mostly to help me with visualization!)

My process (for stuff that’s more than just a doodle) goes:

loosely sketch out the general shape

More firmed up sketch/cleaning up

Outline in black on layer below & fill in, use that as my ref layer so I don’t have to worry about colour getting outside the lines (makes it faster for me)

Block In real colours

Block in textures

(Optional)

Add shading (I cell shade, with some airbrushing for details like shines where necessary, and soft gradients)

Add bg (I usually find a free use image off google since I’m not a fan of drawing bgs (take too long I move FAST), and I add a gradient on top of the final art that’s a blurry vers of the bg, to make all the colours harmonize (it makes it look like the character is really in the space!)

[ivansbadart]

Our Blue Hours - The Bulletin Board

In my inner eye I see the fic that I wrote so vividly, and I wish I had the time and artistic talent to draw literally every single "scene" in it, but alas I do not.

New chapter of my Ghost/König fic should be up now. (Read on ao3)

this was so fun to draw, especially considering I looked like the Pepe silvia meme while storyboarding the fic;

[rosetheocto]

alternate universe if the f bomb in Erica’s cutscene wasn’t censored

(if anyone has done this already I didn’t see it lmao)

[ilostmymojo]

I decided I like this one enough to post it publicly.

[queenmeriadoc]

When you try to make something for "Ancient" and this is where it leads you,

oops

@lady-of-imladris

[dasabucket]

Who is that adorable robotic chicken in the top left corner of that humanization post you made? They look so cute, I wanna learn more about them!! <3

Its basically a innocent baby

[sp00ky-scary]

To preface this I don't like AI, I think the ways in which AI is currently being used is the worst way we could be using AI, HOWEVER, I think the ways in which we discuss what makes AI art "bad" aren't like productive I guess. I don't really know how to explain it but the way in which people are defining what makes art human and what makes it "good" or "bad" are more detrimental to artists than anything ? And like idk it feels kinda discouraging at times and like it falls into old discourse surrounding art and things like referencing.

[sensenotsense]

i think the issue of tracing is such an interesting issue/discussion, but i do not have the brain space to get into

[bluebellthesponge]

thinking about making my own shirt but make the design pop art…like make my own stencils and get fabric medium to add to my paint and just diy it entirely ya know

[floraleevee]

All my embroidery projects that I want to work on have been left untouched for so long that the water pen ink has faded completely. And I’ve lost the original pictures / I was using an art program that USED to be free with the purchase of a product, but apparently switched to a monthly cost 🥲🫠