What's your opinion on photo/model tracing?

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Gambit74
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What's your opinion on photo/model tracing?

#1 Post by Gambit74 »

For as long as I can remember, I have been drawing without ever using basic techniques like drawing a body framework because I've never learned to. Until recently, I have decided to use 3D models and photos as references when it comes to drawing people because I can never seem to draw hand positions and gestures correctly. Something I've learned from someone somewhere on Google mentioned tracing over a photo of a mannequin figurine, and then adding your own designs to it afterwards in order to cut time on trying to figure out how a limb should be positioned/folded since the figurine already does that for you. I have decided to try this out myself, and it does indeed help me cut tremendous amounts of time in getting a character done. However, in a way I felt like I was cheating myself because even though I came up with the character designs myself, I wasn't the one who drew the figure. Not to mention the fact that I should be learning how to draw them instead of tracing over what is already there.

So my question is, how do you guys feel about photo/model tracing? Like is it a good idea, a bad thing to do, it's cheating etc?
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Re: What's your opinion on photo/model tracing?

#2 Post by MaiMai »

I say you can trace to learn, but not to make final pieces. You said it yourself, by just tracing without really observing and thinking about what you're drawing, you're cheating yourself out of actually learning how to draw. I found two tutorials that actually give pretty good instructions on how to trace and teach yourself at the same time so you can get better at free handing it

You CAN learn to draw by tracing by riyokusakimori

How to Study Human Anatomy by x-al3x

What these two tutorials have in commons is that it teaches you really think about the form and structure about what you're drawing and in that sense, if you create guidelines while tracing, it'll help you understand how to draw bodies a bit more. Don'tever throw away drawing by observation and looking up other resources for drawing human anatomy without tracing though. If you want to improve, you need to train your eye, your mind, and hand to be able to draw without tracing.
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Re: What's your opinion on photo/model tracing?

#3 Post by Endorphin »

Hmmm... I have a mixed opinion on this.
On the one side, I prefer to paint everything myself, but in the other hand... schedules are tight and the concurrence does not sleep.
I'm currently trying to build a workflow in which I integrate 3D elements to speed up the creation process. However, I only "outsource" elements which I could easily have painted myself--this way, it feels less like cheating and more like just saving time.
(Still, it's kinda like... my brain tells me that it's the best idea ever but I don't feel it because I wish to prove myself and feel like people will reduce the result because of the way to reach it?)
You have to think about what get's the job done and with what you're comfortable with.
In case of your concept art example, tracing and photobashing might even be a good idea--it's about the concept, not about your drawing skills. If you want to convey an idea using phototextures can make it clearer for the viewer to understand the feel and what the final image is going to look like--concept art is just communication, and the easier you make it to understand, the better. Once the general direction is clear, you can still spend time showing of your painting skills.
If it's an illustration, ask yourself what you want--do you wish to get better at painting, do you wish to present your painting skills or do you want to show a scene/mood/whatever? Choose your method accordingly.
Basically, photobashing etc. is pretty common nowadays even in the industry--just remember to look at the usage rights of the images you use and give credit when it's due.
However, if you feel uncomfortable doing it--don't. There's no use in creating something that makes you feel worse.

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Re: What's your opinion on photo/model tracing?

#4 Post by fleet »

I don't see a problem with it. If you don't tell anybody, I doubt that they would notice.
If YOU think it's cheating, don't do it if it makes you uncomfortable.
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Re: What's your opinion on photo/model tracing?

#5 Post by Lumella »

I think photo/model tracing is a good practice for your eyes. It allows you to be more observant how proportions work.
I know a lot of good artists who resorts to making their own reference pictures mainly because it looks more natural to live sketch them.
I've started out through this method, mainly because studying anatomy for me was difficult and they always come out stiff for me.
It's a good practice, but studying the foundations such as anatomy is a lot more advantageous, I think.

There are times when I want a specific pose for an artwork but I can't draw it out of my imagination so having a friend (or yourself) and a camera (I just use my smartphone with stand) helps a lot.
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Re: What's your opinion on photo/model tracing?

#6 Post by Lesleigh63 »

I think it depends on what you're trying to do.

If you're a visual novelist and you want to make your own art assets, you can use whatever means you want to produce the finished product providing you're not breaching copyright or ripping off someone else's work.

If you want to be an artist and perhaps do commissions, it will be in your best interests to learn to draw without the props, so you can get speed, spontaneity and be able to produce what you're clients want. Getting good as an artist means drawing/practicing a lot and you can use the props there until you no longer need them.
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Re: What's your opinion on photo/model tracing?

#7 Post by Gambit74 »

Interesting responses so far. :)

I'm capable of drawing my own stuff of course, but often times I would have trouble drawing certain poses, or the anatomy is just somewhat off. What I was trying to get at is whether tracing a pose of someone in a photo or a drawing, and then adding your own designs to it would be frowned upon or not. I don't mean utilize it in something like an art contest per se, but rather in your own work like a visual novel, comic book, graphic novel etc. This is assuming the resources you used are stock/public domain, your own, or you have permission to use it in any way you want to as long as you do not redistribute the source material.
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Re: What's your opinion on photo/model tracing?

#8 Post by fleet »

Gambit74 wrote:Interesting responses so far. :)

I'm capable of drawing my own stuff of course, but often times I would have trouble drawing certain poses, or the anatomy is just somewhat off. What I was trying to get at is whether tracing a pose of someone in a photo or a drawing, and then adding your own designs to it would be frowned upon or not. I don't mean utilize it in something like an art contest per se, but rather in your own work like a visual novel, comic book, graphic novel etc. This is assuming the resources you used are stock/public domain, your own, or you have permission to use it in any way you want to as long as you do not redistribute the source material.

As to whether or not it would be frowned upon, based on the conditions you sited, depends on the individual player/reviewer.
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Re: What's your opinion on photo/model tracing?

#9 Post by trooper6 »

Looks like the great painter Vermeer might have "traced" as well.

http://boingboing.net/2014/06/10/vermee ... ht-be.html
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Re: What's your opinion on photo/model tracing?

#10 Post by Lesleigh63 »

This is just my opinion.

If you own the original source material (say a photo), there's no issue. You can trace over it, make it your character and circulate it as your own work.

If you don't own the photo but use it as a reference to produce something quite different, that is not recognisable as the photo and does not contain any of the photo in it - then I don't think there'd be an issue.

If you open up a manga and trace over the lines of a drawn character or try to copy the pose of the character closely, then it's not okay. Your finished character/pose needs to be significantly different to the image in the manga. You can copy for practice, but not to produce a finished item you want to circulate as your own.
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Re: What's your opinion on photo/model tracing?

#11 Post by trooper6 »

Another side note:

Some people think that "real" artists draw everything from their imagination, but I'd like to point out that Alex Raymond--the famous artist who drew the Flash Gordon comic strip (among other things) always used life models. He hired models from a modeling agency, dressed them up and had them pose. Then he drew their poses. Many artists used life models for their work. Now, a person may not have the money to hire models to pose for them and so may have have rely on DAZ or other sorts of people modeling. I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing.
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Re: What's your opinion on photo/model tracing?

#12 Post by kistnerelizabeth »

I see it this way if you use the picture for reference and your picture is nowhere the same as the original, then it's fine.
Last edited by kistnerelizabeth on Thu Jul 27, 2017 7:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: What's your opinion on photo/model tracing?

#13 Post by Lodratio »

Leaving aside questions like how tracing relates to legality and artistic integrity, the big issue with it is that it just doesn't look appealing in most cases. There's a lot of small decisions you have to make with linework in order to make a pose balanced and dynamic, make clothing folds feel right, and help to create a sense of threedimensionality, that are either barely noticeable or not there at all in photographs, and completely lost when you trace over them.

Rather than tracing, if you use photos as reference and make conscious decisions about stylization, even if you aren't that good at drawing it will still have more life and charm to it, and it'll help you get better.

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Re: What's your opinion on photo/model tracing?

#14 Post by namastaii »

I think it's a fine idea for your beginner days. It can kinda train your hands on how to create the shapes and give you practice for when you start making your own things. If you put traced stuff in your games...idk. As long as you aren't tracing every single element of a character, it really shouldn't be too big of a deal in my opinion. Let's say you drew over a base (just the body and head shape) and then you added your own stuff on top. Should be fine (I'd recommend finding some free bases on deviant art and such if you're going to use these tracings in a game or whatever) but I think it's a good practice technique. Some really good artists started out tracing so it's not so much cheating in my opinion as it is just trying to learn. If I want to practice drawing. I trace something I like first. Then I try creating what I just traced without tracing it.

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Re: What's your opinion on photo/model tracing?

#15 Post by Katy133 »

I think that if you can use 3D models to help make your art easier, more fun, faster, and/or better, then go for it!

Here's the thing with "cheating": Art is hard. Any little "trick" of "cheat" is a good thing so long as it benefits you in so aspect of creating. ;)

A lot of my favourite artists use Google SketchUp to help with their art (to the point where I'm looking into how to use the program myself for my own art).
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