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stop-tracing β Stamp - Tracing Is THEFT.
Published: 2008-08-28 23:01:18 +0000 UTC; Views: 17683; Favourites: 1175; Downloads: 112
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If I had a nickel for every time I heard one of these excuses...I would be rich enough to buy deviantART and hire new admins.
Please read the companion article.
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Comments: 277
I feel so bad now. :/ Β I traced a picture once (I put the paper over the screen and drew after, and then colour-traced by eye) to practise painting. And then I uploaded it on da (At least I said I didn't make the lineart) because I didn't know it was wrong, scince I have never been in an art community before. Of course I deleted it when I learnt how bad it was.
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Not to mention traces look like crap.
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Copying is only a crime when you post it. Tracing isn't theft if you don't post it.
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Bullshit, my sketchbook was stolen by some kid and they traced one of my pictures.
I asked them were they got it. You know what they said?
"I got it from a commercial." They also said they wanted to name the character Angel.
Since when the hell does Neopets make commercials now?
They may be too young to go to jail, but it's still theft.
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That's actually kind of a traditional equivalent of tracing art, claiming it as your own accomplishment and posting. And then they had the nerve to brag about it and rename the character?
So it's actually the same thing.
Basically what I meant was,
if you only copy work that you either have full permission to copy, or if you only copy or trace for your personal art practice, and never actually show it to anyone, other than for the purpose of having a private conversation about your personal development as an artist, or if you always destroy all your traced or copied pieces as soon as you finish them,
then there's nothing wrong with copying.
The problem with copying and tracing is when kids act like that asshole who stole your sketchbook. They stole your physical property AND your idea. 
Also, though, children are designed by nature to be copycats of older people, so sometimes they need to copy work so someone can whack them and tell them they need to stop
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Now there's 20 knock-off pictures on her wall of that cat I drew.
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I think she probably took this FAR too far.
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I know, right? At least she doesn't have all of them, especially the good ones.
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Well yeah people like her are the bad kind. I wasn't talking about people like that when I said that tracing and copying aren't inherent crimes. You just need to keep that stuff mostly to yourself, and stealing property to decorate your home with your excessive tracings isn't the proper way to do that.
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I didn't mean YOU need to keep stuff to yourself, though, of course. I just meant people who trace need to do that.
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But seriously, taking my sketchbook on purpose and copying images out of it without a reason is still stealing. You know what, I tried to be nice by switching out the picture with the base of the character so she could create her own (it was a Cybunny by the way.) but hell no, she decided to draw the clothes back on the damn thing exactly like they were! Who the hell does that?! I mean, if she was trying to learn how to draw a normal rabbit by looking at my paper, that would've been fine, but why...?!
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Some people just suck.
I hope you don't meet more people like her.
If you do, you might need to keep your sketchbook tied to your arm.
I'm sorry she happened to you.
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Damn it, I have to live with her every day! xD
10-year-old-nieces and their art theft
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Tracing with permission of the original artist is okay though.....
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Well...
I'm not good at drawing.
Even if I genuinely tried to trace it I would get worse art than what I usually do.
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these are not excuses, they are REASONS. and they are valid ones.
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They're excuses. Horrid ones too.
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Well, they are indeed reasons for PRACTICE. They still should never post it up here on DA
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I have NEVER traced anything...ever..
And the few things I DID, I never uploaded them on here, they were only practice, like you keep tracing and your hand will "remember" it..at least I hope it would .__.
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I LOVE drawing, but I would never trace. When I make a fanart of a character (I have one of my own works proudly displayed on my profile) I keep trying, and trying, and trying until it looks great. There's no shame in it not looking right the first time. Heck, the fanart piece I made (referenced from an actual official piece of art from the creators) looked like total crap. But you know what? I drew it a million times over and now I can draw it with my eyes closed, hehe (not literally, but you get my point). Anyways, to any tracers who are reading this, don't do it! Trust me, keep trying and you'll be amazed at what you can do! I've been trying my own original poses with this particular character since because I've gotten so good at it.
Β
And... like others have said tracing always turns out bad and it's sooo obvious!
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Yes, because using vectors that artists allow people to use and giving credit to the artist for the vector is SO stealing.
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FAUX-TOE-SHOPPING: photograph-into-a-drawing examples:
Aston Martin LMP1
www.carsbase.com/photo/Aston_Mβ¦
fineartamerica.com/featured/asβ¦
Citroen Survolt
www.theweek.co.uk/motoring/111β¦
lyle-brown.artistwebsites.com/β¦
Jimmy Clark & Lotus
fineartamerica.com/featured/loβ¦
phil-snapshots.blogspot.com/20β¦
Fire Bomber
1000aircraftphotos.com/Contribβ¦
lyle-brown.artistwebsites.com/β¦
An example of TRACING the finest auto artist designer, Chip Foose.
Delahaye
www.clusterflock.org/2010/05/cβ¦
fineartamerica.com/featured/buβ¦
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At Least I Been Drawing ever since I was 3 and I never Gave up
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Actually i'd like to say something about tracing. No matter how you do it it always looks bad. You can always tell if something is traced .-. well i can tell if i trace something. The thing is how do you tell if a picture is traced or merely referenced. And yes there is a difference believe it or not.Β I mean to me its alright to copy a pose from a book as long as your not tracing it.Β
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What a lot of arrogant ones ; )
Tracing help a bunch of us. We credit, we never do anything with it than ask advice for improve.
And now lot of us can do original.
Hypocrite.
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Well, of course tracing can help here and there. And you are free to trace as much as you want, just don't upload it. No one here is arrogant, it simply IS not allowed on dA unless you have written permission by the original artist. You can trace all the way you want to improve, as long as you keep them on your computer and don't post them online.Β But if you do nothing than tracing other people's works, you'll never really grow as an artist, just saying. You'll never really improve your own skills on the long run, simply because you will always copy the other person's mistakes too.
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*gets banned by everyone who uses one of these excuses*
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I'm beginning to hate Deviantart for this. Case in point:Β captainmisuzu.deviantart.com/
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She didn't steal it, you joined today,
Plus, YOU DON'T HAVE, ANY F***ING PROOF.
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My art teacher made us trace in his class. There were times I asked him why we aren't doing real art and doing original works. He just looked at me and basically told me I could if I didn't care about failing art. I thought he was an idiot. It's people like him that make it seem like tracing is okay.
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When I was young, I used to trace, until I learned how disrespectful it is to the original artist. If I need help, I just reference, but use my own style.
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You know, someone traced off of my art. I think I'm a little offended by it because...it's really bad tracing.
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I never traced. Don't really copy either. Never occured to me as a way to learn to draw. Then I noticed other people doing the tracing and I always wondered why.
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Well, I thought the same - it's wrong. But today someone said to me... that dA rules are ok with tracing if you give the credit to original artist! I was really shocked...
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So true. 
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Agreed.
It's not that you must be an excellent artist to draw anything, the saying "practise makes perfect" applies to drawing perfectly. Tracing is not something you do if you can't draw. What you do then is have patience and draw, draw, draw and draw. You'll learn eventually
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ewe I found you~
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Question!
What if you use a screenshot from a tv show/movie with actors and everything and you make the lineart of that scene and then you color it??
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art theft unless you draw the scene in your own style.
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I see.. so it is ok if I redraw the scene in comic style?
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sure! by doing so, you are simply recreating the moment. Only tracing/ copying the style is art theft. I believe you're safe.
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I see.. thanks a lot| ^^
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