Personally, I don't see the need to parse or justify when tracing is "okay." I remember in art school a student said he though using a ruler was "cheating." There is no rulebook, and art is not a sport. Use what works for you, without worrying about the Art Police😀
I often trace something first to notice all the details. Then I draw it. It helps me to “see” what I’m trying to draw. I’m always surprised at what I miss. I’m a watercolor artist, so I also trace my own drawings as simple shapes to transfer. Watercolor paper is not forgiving when it comes to erasing, so I sketch first. I don’t transfer a trace of someone else’s work, then my art would be coloring.
Hi Trent, I understand the contradictions happen to me often. I make many mistakes since I do not paint what I see, it is a mixture of what I imagine and what I am seeing, my paintings are full of corrections. thank you very much for sharing
there is a very popular/successful wildlife artist here on youtube that showed how they trace a projected animal reference straight onto the canvas - it was surprising and a little... frustrating. Additionally I've had people at markets straight up assume my work is traced when... besides the two instances mentioned previously, it isnt.
Yeah, I hate to see that in a good artist…it always tends to make me wonder if they can’t really draw after all. I like to believe they’re just doing it out of time necessity, but I do still wonder.
Trent, what do you think about Ai image generators? Photography, digital copies, projectors etc until now just concerned about technical reproduction (mentioning Walter Benjamin) until now, so the artist still was used to design and create the image, but these kind of generators are now just creating and thinking the image itself, stealing the act of thinking from the artist
I agree. I’ve recently learned from a fellow artist how AI can be used in a creative way…for example, I got this great photo or great idea and I just need to see it in different lighting or with something bigger or added or whatever…I’ve been amazed to see how it can be applied as a tool while still allowing the artist to create it almost as if it were from scratch. I don’t yet quite understand it myself but I’ve watched him and it’s kind of amazing.
some of the world's greatest painters used optical devices to help them. Vermeer, Canaletto and perhpas even Caravaggio used the camera obscura , forerunner of the projector. An exercise I find very useful is drawing without looking at the paper. You just look at the subject and imagine the pencil point moving like an ant along the outline. at first you will be tempted to look and your drawings will look funny but with time and perseverence you will get better. AND WATCH OUT FOR NEGATIVE SHAPES they are as important a as the positive shepes.
What you’re talking about is blind contour drawing, correct? I think that’s a great practice! In a way, that’s the essence of being able to paint quickly, and if someone is good at drawing from observation rather than tracing, those two things can really work together to make for some awesome art!
I have traced twice when doing watercolor dog commissions, because i felt i wasnt getting something right. i could draw the dog breed but it wasnt looking quite like their dog- so i traced eyes and a few contours from the reference - and then felt immediately guilty as if i had somehow cheated...so i feel...softer towards people who mostly trace.
When I was a kid I learned by tracing at 1rst, this is how I saw how they did it, then I tried drawing myself, and gained some insights. When you have no teach, that's one way to learn, and it worked for me. You can also trace your own work, this way you're plagiarizing yourself, nobody can complain (going from drawing to painting a piece).
I only see tracing as bad if it is always used and your skills suffer for it. *caveat* Never claim a tracing of someone else's work as your own- I wouldn't even post such images as the reputation damage you get could blot out the sun. Most digital art is a scan/photo and then refined via layers and traced over and over again through layers until you have the desired work. I see that as tracing, but that is the art method I see digital artist use.
Yep, it works! It could be considered by some as just “slow tracing”, but the brain is much more involved in that way. I think that’s a great practice!
Personally, I don't see the need to parse or justify when tracing is "okay." I remember in art school a student said he though using a ruler was "cheating." There is no rulebook, and art is not a sport. Use what works for you, without worrying about the Art Police😀
I often trace something first to notice all the details. Then I draw it. It helps me to “see” what I’m trying to draw. I’m always surprised at what I miss. I’m a watercolor artist, so I also trace my own drawings as simple shapes to transfer. Watercolor paper is not forgiving when it comes to erasing, so I sketch first. I don’t transfer a trace of someone else’s work, then my art would be coloring.
Yeah, it’s really helpful for checking work and learning. 🙂
Hi Trent, I understand the contradictions happen to me often. I make many mistakes since I do not paint what I see, it is a mixture of what I imagine and what I am seeing, my paintings are full of corrections. thank you very much for sharing
there is a very popular/successful wildlife artist here on youtube that showed how they trace a projected animal reference straight onto the canvas - it was surprising and a little... frustrating. Additionally I've had people at markets straight up assume my work is traced when... besides the two instances mentioned previously, it isnt.
Yeah, I hate to see that in a good artist…it always tends to make me wonder if they can’t really draw after all. I like to believe they’re just doing it out of time necessity, but I do still wonder.
Trent, what do you think about Ai image generators?
Photography, digital copies, projectors etc until now just concerned about technical reproduction (mentioning Walter Benjamin) until now, so the artist still was used to design and create the image, but these kind of generators are now just creating and thinking the image itself, stealing the act of thinking from the artist
I agree. I’ve recently learned from a fellow artist how AI can be used in a creative way…for example, I got this great photo or great idea and I just need to see it in different lighting or with something bigger or added or whatever…I’ve been amazed to see how it can be applied as a tool while still allowing the artist to create it almost as if it were from scratch. I don’t yet quite understand it myself but I’ve watched him and it’s kind of amazing.
some of the world's greatest painters used optical devices to help them. Vermeer, Canaletto and perhpas even Caravaggio used the camera obscura , forerunner of the projector. An exercise I find very useful is drawing without looking at the paper. You just look at the subject and imagine the pencil point moving like an ant along the outline. at first you will be tempted to look and your drawings will look funny but with time and perseverence you will get better. AND WATCH OUT FOR NEGATIVE SHAPES they are as important a as the positive shepes.
What you’re talking about is blind contour drawing, correct? I think that’s a great practice! In a way, that’s the essence of being able to paint quickly, and if someone is good at drawing from observation rather than tracing, those two things can really work together to make for some awesome art!
I have traced twice when doing watercolor dog commissions, because i felt i wasnt getting something right. i could draw the dog breed but it wasnt looking quite like their dog- so i traced eyes and a few contours from the reference - and then felt immediately guilty as if i had somehow cheated...so i feel...softer towards people who mostly trace.
I think you and I feel the same about it (and use it about the same amount). I admit it’s helpful but at what expense?
thanks again Trent. Very helpful information
Hi, about Tracing. What about the old masters and “Camera obscurer “ and mirrors that they traced the outlines ?
Yep, just another way of tracing. I feel the same about that (and them) as I do about my mentor that I mentioned.
When I was a kid I learned by tracing at 1rst, this is how I saw how they did it, then I tried drawing myself, and gained some insights. When you have no teach, that's one way to learn, and it worked for me. You can also trace your own work, this way you're plagiarizing yourself, nobody can complain (going from drawing to painting a piece).
😅 I like that. Yep, it turns out it’s useful sometimes!
I only see tracing as bad if it is always used and your skills suffer for it. *caveat* Never claim a tracing of someone else's work as your own- I wouldn't even post such images as the reputation damage you get could blot out the sun. Most digital art is a scan/photo and then refined via layers and traced over and over again through layers until you have the desired work. I see that as tracing, but that is the art method I see digital artist use.
grids and measuring with pencil, at arms length, with one eye?
Yep, it works! It could be considered by some as just “slow tracing”, but the brain is much more involved in that way. I think that’s a great practice!