Why Tracing is Bad

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Originally Posted by Hamachi

For example - would you want to be a pianist that reads off sheet music all the time, or one who actually knows how to play songs from their head and improvise?

Actually, scratch that. Tracing is like playing sheet music with the recording of that song going off in the background for comparison. Sketching from reference or a life source is like playing sheet music. Illustrating, which I imagine is what you'd want to do, is improvising. Now there are skills that are common to all three forms, but the best way to get good at something is to practice doing that very thing.

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Tracing is like playing music with the letters written under the notes and on the keys.

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Originally Posted by Fenn

Tracing is like playing music with the letters written under the notes and on the keys.

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like rocksmith?

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Originally Posted by ClockHand

like rocksmith?

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lol... this is the best example yet

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Originally Posted by ClockHand

like rocksmith?

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Yes. Like Rocksmith.


I think tracing is okay when you're younger, but really once you have a sense of making lines on paper and how it feels to draw I'd go with, at the least, copying (as in looking at an image and drawing it).

I agree with what some of people here already said. Its ok until you abuse it ...

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Originally Posted by Gedeon

I agree with what some of people here already said. Its ok until you abuse it ...

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I don't know if I'd call it abuse. I mean, if you ENJOY tracing, then it's not really abuse so long as you don't try to claim you freehanded it (which would be plain lying anyway). But if you want to improve and move on to traditional drawing, it can become a crutch.

I think it just comes down to whether or not you've exhausted tracing as a learning resource. If your friend is already excellent at tracing, move on. Like any comfort zone, it's dangerous for an artist to pigeonhole themselves in one practice forever. They'll never grow.

^----Or can have the stigma of being a copycat for tracing. I have traced in a time or two but I never claimed credit for the bits I have traced. So I agree with everyone else on that it's a learning resource that really shouldn't be used too often (unless someone really needs it to help themselves).

Sometimes I trace my own work, it's pretty handy.

The important distinction here is using tracing as a technical exercise vs using it as an artisitc creation. Straight up tracing other people's images is ok if you are doing it for technical practice but I don't think you can call just copying someone's work being artistic. Tracing is more like doing craft, like a paint by numers. You end up with a nice looking end piece but it takes almost no actual artistic ability