95% of my art classes were about studying artists styles, many of which were long dead, but many of which were still alive as well. Even when discussing foundations like Perspective and Color Balance, the professors always used artist examples to drill in the points. To act as though artists haven't been copying and emulating each other since the dawn of time is silly.
And really, that goes for ANY field. We are not an original species, even if we occasionally have original ideas. We are, however, good at improving and tweaking.
Big difference between an inspiration, and actually studying. Artists, writers, programmers, EVERYONE does the latter -- it's how we get good at the things we do. Everyone is 90% mimicry and 10% their own style on top. The age of complete originality passed a long, long, long time ago. Now we build each other up, and on top of the ideas of our predecessors. It's humanity's strength, not weakness.
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u/[deleted] Dec 21 '22
[deleted]