Is It CHEATING to TRACE in Art?

Is it OK to trace in art? Tracing has been a part of art creation for centuries, but is it an acceptable practice? Do you use tracing in your art? Do you think it's ok to trace or is it a form of cheating? In this lesson, we'll look at a few artists accused of cheating and determine if tracing is a form of cheating.
***
***
***
Related Drawing Courses...
***

[gordonyork]

As an actual artist who makes his living utilizing art, I feel that most in the "tracing is cheating" are mostly non-artists. Using tracing is a technique. I think where it becomes cheating is intention. If you intend to only recreate another artists work and take credit for it would considered cheating. If you are using tracing as a method for creating your own work then it is not. If you use tracing as a method to educate yourself on how to make certain strokes or other technique, then no "cheating". I've had people tell me I'm cheating due to the fact I trace a photograph THAT I TOOK.

I think it comes down to a matter of intention.

[chaosinca]

Sometimes if I've tried to draw something over and over and just can't get it, I will trace it on scrap paper. It 'teaches' my hand and eye how to achieve that line and when I go back the improvement is dramatic. I think tracing is a learning tool in it's own right.

[paulag]

I think it's none of my business how other people choose to pursue their creative efforts.

[thewanderess]

I remember a wise woman who once told - "drawing and painting are two separate skills and each needs time and practice, it doesn't mean that you need to fully develop your drawing skills to start your painting skill" I think that sums up.

[lucyinwonderlandart]

I'm a colour portrait artist and I just want to get straight into the colour process so I transfer the outline onto my paper and then throw myself into the colour process. It saves so much time and allows me to focus on building up the colours and textures of skin

[loladarling]

For me, art isn't a competition or something that needs to meet anyone's standards but my own. I'm a mechanical pencil portrait artist, and I don't enjoy the bit where I need to get the proportions right. I enjoy the shading process, getting the values right, experimenting with different techniques, translating colour to black and white in my mind, and nothing is more disheartening than putting 20+ hours into this enjoyable process, only to end up with something that looks "off" in the end because I misjudged the distances and proportions of the facial features by a tiny bit. So I always trace a face's key features. Corners of the eyes, mouth, nostrils, basic face outline.

[AdamDuffArt]

Why the hell didn’t the algorhythm recommend you earlier - I’m annoyed that I’m only discovering you now

[mygirldarby]

My mom was an artist who did many portraits and she used tracing for some of those portraits. I therefore grew up seeing tracing as a valid artistic technique for getting the shape down correctly. From watching her, I saw that tracing didn't make anything "easier." She still had to do a lot of purely creative steps to make a portrait. I view tracing as a normal and really quite natural part of some paintings. My mom did portraits without tracing as well. The difference is nuanced. The traced portraits were spot on portraits that exactly communicated a person's face. The non tracing portraits were more about the feel and emotion that defined a person.

My mom was commissioned to do many baby portraits and with almost all of them she used tracing. The parents didn't want an interpretation of how their baby looked or an impression of them. They wanted a clear straight-forward portrait of their child. She rarely traced paintings of adults, and there was often more in those paintings than just the person and their physical appearance.

My husband saw a documentary in which artists were using tracing and freaked out, lol. He was outraged to find out that even many of the greats in art had used tracing. I explained to him that tracing wasn't used by artists as a way of hiding a lack of skill. Tracing is just a technique an artist might use from time to time. I can see why non-artists might initially feel "duped" when they hear about this technique, but it isn't cheating. If it was cheating then anyone could do a beautiful work of art using tracing.

[arkheavyindutries]

I find the term "cheating" applied to visual arts a bit absurd. Unless the artistic performance is part of the intended work, any tool should be allowed. Because of these ideas, I would spend my chilhood thinking that copying from other artists of even looking at references was "cheating". In the end, I was just hindering my learning process with unrealistic notions of what it is allowed and what isn´t, when in reality the result, what people are going to appreciate and observe, is what matters most.
It is true that you can abuse tracing and hinder your learning experience. But as long as someone is creating original art and acknowledges their methods, I think it is fine.

[vickymassey]

I used to think it was cheating, then discovered how erasing damages your paper, which is bad for watercolors. That said, knowing how to draw well enough that nothing else is needed, is an important skill.

[treywhite]

I have monocular vision, so I only look through one eye at a time. Therefore, I have no depth perception. Tracing helps me size things correctly so that the perspective looks correct. Once I''m done tracing, I use my creativity and imagination to shade/color - that's where *my* artistry comes in.

[ahedjehad]

i'm not afraid of admitting i'm a tracer. i actually have this rule that says that i shall only post artworks that i've made myself. tracing is just for fun and relaxation (though there are some irritating moments, i can admit). tracing is for myself, so i don't have to really be worried about how it comes out, since it's for my personal use. :)

[alanabelcon]

For me drawing and painting are two very different skills. I paint well but my drawing is crap. I trace the outlines for my commissions or I wouldn't be able to sell anything. My drawing skills are getting better as I practice but I can't wait to be good at drawing before using tracing as a tool for my paintings.

[alisonhendry]

Love how you approached this and your answers. I used to be in the “ cheating” camp and put ENORMOUS pressure on myself to draw it perfectly. So it took ages and ages before I could get to the joyous painting part. Then I took some classes from an amazing artist and she opened my eyes to all the tools for art. There is NO cheating she said, “ you STILL have to paint it..” can I draw? Yes. Can I draw as well as I can trace? Yes. Would I rather paint? HELL YES! So I have let go of my hold on NOT tracing and embraced it. Sometimes I draw it on paper, trace it onto tracing paper and transfer. Sometimes I trace the outline and transfer. Etc etc. It is alll good. This is a fabulous video commentary. Thank you.

[MaiNtive]

I trace
I copy
I light box
I window
I project

I make art

And I don’t care what other people say bout my creative process

I am a mark maker

I make my marks

I play art my way

[magstheonlyone]

In my experience, I just made a commission for drawing an automatic watch, using several references I made the final pic of what my client wanted in photoshop, then I traced with a projector, the tracing process took 2 hours and after that 60 more hours to complete the drawing.

I use tracing only for commissions, whenever I draw for myself I like to practice proportions without it.

This video is amazing at explaining why tracing is a good thing to do and nothing to be ashamed of.

[Symbolicliving]

In one way or another, a lot of art is copying/recreating from a reference of some sort.

[MrsShirotora]

Tracing a complex subject is its own skill. You still have to see the shapes and know how much info to include with your marks. I almost always do initial drawings separately and then trace them onto the intended support - if the work goes wrong then I can start again without starting from scratch and if I want to try the same subject in a different medium I've already got an outline ready to go.

[bethwaller]

Tracing is, for me, merely a tool. Often, I do a "working drawing" in which I work out the kinks and then trace that drawing onto the final surface for completion. I mainly work in colored pencil, so this also allows me to work in graphite for the working drawing and then exclusively in colored pencil on the final piece. All of the work is mine, so I see no conflict.

[tylavidal]

I did not often use tracing to draw/sketch but the work took a lot longer - lots of erasing and re-positioning if you only eye-ball it. I had a watercolor teacher who frowned on tracing or drawing first and my representational work in his class suffered until I decided to trace and then he loved my finished work. Tracing and grid work helps you take the next step faster and accurately. It is not cheating, It is a method and tool to help begin the work in whatever medium you choose - drawing, painting, watercolor, graphics, digital, etc. Love your channel Matt!!