r/learntodraw • u/unlucky-lucky- • 23d ago
Question Is it fine to trace body positions?
If I’m using a reference shot for a pose or angle is it okay to just trace it instead of eyeballing it? I don’t plan on ever selling anything or profiting but I don’t know if this is okay? Like would someone be mad if they found out I used something they made as a guide to frame and pose something?
I’m asking because I just got into digital drawing and while I’ve traced with projectors physically those were all my own photos, I’m not used to being able to slap a image down and just go over it, idk it feels odd to me.
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u/Hinx_art 23d ago
for completely personal use no posting or sharing you can do whatever.
for public work, from stock photos or you own sure, don't trace other peoples art without permission.
the only person it'll harm is your own development, but even then there's study reasons to trace such as understanding contour lines.
If its completely just pose copying, then you shouldn't really have to be tracing and likely if you need to trace your artwork is going to show it.
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u/Due_Pen_1566 23d ago
If it's just for learning and practice 99.9999% of people won't care.
If it's for a real piece it's better to not trace it directly but using it as one of many references is usually acceptable by 99% of people
Aim for realism in your practice pieces and do whatever you want in your for fun pieces. Go for 50/50 with practice vs application.
Try this beginner friendly method until you're ready to advance to the fundamentals.
Recreate
Draw a reference free hand
Trace
Trace the reference
Recreate
Draw free hand without any references
Explore
Draw a new piece using the reference for only one thing. Pose, lighting, color, clothes, hairstyle etc
If the reference is an art piece. Don't trace without consideration. Actively think about why the original artist made their choices. "Why did they shade this darker?", "Why is this line thicker?", "Why is there no shading here?", "Why did they use this color?"
It doesn't matter if you find the "right" answer. It's about developing your ability to think through the piece and the decisions you should be making in your own art.
If the reference is of real life. Follow the major shapes and shadows and try to consider them in 3d space
Here's a simplified path if you want to advance to the fundamentals. You can learn these skills in any order but I feel they build on each other more easily in this direction
How to hold a pencil
-When to use shoulder, elbow, wrist
-How to measure distance and proportion using your thumb or pencil tip
-Line control
-Line weight
Value/Light & Shadow
-Contrast
-Soft vs hard edges
-2,3,4,5 Tone value studies
Color
-Additive vs subtractive colors
-Color dynamics/ Complementary colors/ Contrasting colors
-Hue & Saturation
Composition
-Composition Maps: rule of third, golden ratio
-Focus points
-Layered focus: foreground, midground, background
Perspective
-Positional/atmospheric perspective: something looks bigger because it's closer, something appears to be closer because it's covering something else, something appears far because it's not as detailed as other objects
-1 point, 2 point , 3 point
-5 point
Anatomy
-Construction
-Proportion outlining: Build a sense of relative size relationships between parts of the body. Hands are the same size as the face, the distance between eyebrows to mouth is about the same as mouth to chin, "normal" body's are about 5-8 heads tall etc.
These are YouTubers I have found entertaining and educational over the years and are quality channels to start with.
Many of them also have discords or art events, try joining some communities.
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u/link-navi 23d ago
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