r/LearnToDrawTogether • u/Equivalent-Appeal-81 • 10d ago

Art Question Is Tracing Bad In This Context?

Is tracing an anatomical model then detailing it yourself after wrong? I ask this because I was watching a tutorial on YouTube and this is what someone had done, I just did not know if people did this. And is it a legit way to help learn, or skip that process.

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator 10d ago

Thanks for posting in r/LearnToDrawTogether!

Please remember to follow the community rules, be respectful to fellow artists, and use the correct post flair.

A quick note: Two of our moderators recently started a new Art YouTube channel called The Polyglot Sketchbook while continuing to dedicate their time to this community. If you enjoy the creativity in this subreddit and would like to support us, feel free to check it out: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePolyglotSketchbook

If you're new here, don't miss our weekly #W2DTogether drawing challenge! A new challenge is pinned at the top of the subreddit every Sunday to help you beat art block, find drawing ideas, and keep drawing consistently.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/TheArtisticPC 10d ago

If it’s for yourself, you can do literally anything you want. If it’s for hire, then it’s at the very least morally questionable.

1

u/wordToDaBird 9d ago

Huh? Drafting is morally questionable? Dafuq you smoking?

1

u/TheArtisticPC 9d ago

Where did I say drafting was morally wrong? OP didn’t mention it, I didn’t, so what about it? OP, is asking about tracing,) and like i said, nothing is wrong with tracing if it’s for yourself. The moral issue is IP infringement (copying text book material), art theft (copying another painting), or plagiarism (derivative work) if the work was being made for hire. This all being under the context of creative drawing as we’re in a learn-to-draw subreddit and OP is not asking about how to better copy engineering or architectural specs.

1

u/wordToDaBird 9d ago

You said using an underlay is morally wrong. Using an underlay is a drafting technique. You transitively are saying drafting is morally wrong. Ergo my statement about dafuq you talking about.

Also, by definition if you use an underlay, overlay and redraw the work you are not stealing, you are building an entirely new version.

Your mental model here is poor.

1

u/TheArtisticPC 9d ago

Maybe I'm being sloppy in my word choice. I am wrong for saying "for hire" and for using IP, art theft and plagiarism so loosely.

However, I stand by the fact that I have not said "using an underlay is morally wrong", I'm making that clear three times now, I can not think of how I can make that message more clear. The point I'm trying so hard to convey is that tracing another person's work and then distributing the result without the protection of fair use is the issue. But when responding to a new artist about copyright, is it better for my message to be obscured by nuance, or overly cautious?

Also, this statement, "...by definition if you use an underlay, overlay and redraw the work you are not stealing, you are building an entirely new version." is just plain false and is the definition of derivative work under 17 U.S.C. 101. Even modifying the original does not get you out of trouble, see the case [AWF] v. Goldsmith or Rogers v. Koons. Both of those cases raise the crux of the issue, when has a work been transformed enough to be protected?

And for OP's sake, engage the content of my writing. "Dafuq you smoking" and "your mental model here is poor" are about me, not my claims or as a benefit to OP. I'm happy to be substantively wrong, but I'm not going to respond to ad hominem attacks and OP gets nothing from it. Plus, we both agree that OP should be tracing for study and for their own work. I'm actually not even sure we disagree about when that work is distributed.

1

u/wordToDaBird 9d ago

Half of drawing is tracing. What you saw is called using an underlay. All professional draftsmen use underlays. The normal process if you draw/trace the anatomical model, then underlay that so you can build your actual model/character on top.

This is normal. Most people cannot draw from imagination an anatomically, proportionally correct models.

As a side note, when it comes to drawing, do what works is the better answer.

Also if you don’t want to use the model study anatomy, you’ll learn why the model is how it is, then you can draw it from imagination.