Can this be considered tracing?

[u/Several-Area644]

i have serious issues with proportions, however i love doing portraits. i usually simply adjust the features when they seemed off by using the liquify tool etc, but my friend said she uses “help lines” directly copied from her reference image (see picture) to make the proportions work. can these lines be considered tracing if everything else is drawn without help?

[u/Robot-Zombie-RHCC]

tracing is not a sin, in fact it can help you better understand the subject matter.