Trisphee - Tracing = Art theft?

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- - Tracing = Art theft? (http://www.trisphee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19868)

So even if you're just tracing a pose, not with the intention of posting, but with the intention of building a reference folder to better understand things like foreshortening, balancing a pose so it's not unstable, or tracing part of an outfit so you can better understand how to shade certain fabric folds, you're automatically an art thief? I think that's a bit harsh, to be honest.

I think that's fine if you're tracing to learn. But what I find unacceptable is if you post that traced art and you claim it as your own. If you're tracing to practice, there isn't really a need to post it unless you want to show others that you're improving but even then you should credit the artist that you traced from so people can see their art and that you're not ripping off the artist because some people make money like this and it's not fair to them.

I think it depends on the reasoning behind it. If someone's fairly new to a style of art and are finding the tutorials a little hard to wrap their head around, tracing could help them get a better handle on things so they can work on their own pieces. However, if you trace someone's work without referencing back to them (and wherever possible asking their permission to repost your traced picture online) and try to claim it as your own, that's art theft. I also think it's important to look at how much of the image is traced. If it's all traced (for example a person's pose, expression, hair and outfit) then you can't claim anything of that as your own. However if you only traced one part but changed the rest, you can claim -some- degree that it's your work. Obviously in the latter it's still polite to link to the artist who created the part you didn't, but as the other pieces are your own actual work it seems fair enough if you want to show improvement or get critiqued.

I know I can be guilty of tracing parts of some drawings when getting to grips with a new art style. I don't post mine online or claim it to be my own though. It was mostly when I was younger though. I do prefer to use tutorials now. Though I know that a lot of younger artists prefer to trace to learn, so to automatically be brandished a thief regardless of their intentions seems incredibly harsh to me, not to mention it would put people off drawing again.

Tracing is ABSOLUTELY art theft unless the original artist specifically says it's okay, or if you ask and get permission. Even then, you should still give credit because it's not your own work. You might think it is because you physically drew it, but coming up with poses and getting proportions right takes a lot of time for some people and they deserve respect for their work. I'm against anyone referencing my work without crediting me.