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stop-tracing — 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.
Are you against tracing? Join the club!
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Comments: 277
UHGLUKIJH. Art theft iun general just pisses me off. Like this: [link]
By the way, does anyone know the where the original of that is? I need to find it >_>
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omfg I HATE it when ppl trace OTHER'S HARD WORK and claim it as their own and that they didn't trace it..pisses me off xD
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So sick of hearing these stupid excuses :I
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Tracing is wrong if it's someone else's work but tracing your own work isn't. So not all forms of tracing is wrong but I understand what your coming from.
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tehe <2
say there is no plz account of this stamp? I'd really like to use it~~
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I barely draw/do art at all, but even I don't resort to trace. I however, reference things to death, guilty as charged
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OH, lord! I have a new one that I heard: "Tracing? No... you mean re-drawing. C: I don't trace."
God, some people.
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I didn't trace it, but I used a different drawing as a reference. Is that okay? I told the original artist but she never responded and now the Hackers have killed her account.
[link]
inspired
[link]
So is it art theft or not?
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Reference is fine :3 Tracing is NOT.
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if u want to learn, get a ref pic, and try to draw it. u can have it right next to you and stuff. but dont trace. u wont learn anything anyway.
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i dont think its right to trace someone else's art at all! the only thing i trace and upload on here is my own photo. and i didnt even upload that one. XD
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In ways, I'm not against tracing. What was the LIGHT TABLE invented for? I know a lot of fantatsic/profesional artists that use it, and as long as they don't trace everything, or claim it as their own, then I'm okay with it. (and they don't trace art). I traced for a while but got out of it. It was just a habit, and heck, it may have helped me get btter. Overall, if people trace too much, then I don't like it.
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So, my vector artwork counts as theft? =O
I was just showing what I learned in my digi art class. D: Now, I'm sad. Should I delete it??
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dont delete it, just cause of a stamp uploaded by a stranger you met on the internet.
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OMG -high fives- So fucking true! I have this friend who loooooves anime, but all she does is use bases, and color other peoples work. (That's good for practice, but you don't LEARN anything from it)
....makes me so damn mad.....
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The only way taht tracing something can be seen as descent is for making a higher resolution version of something, and not claiming it as your art and posting it on this site.
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Hello there
I am doing a school project contesting against art theft, and I was curious if I could include this image on my project? I'll of course give you credit, but seeing as how its about art theft, I don't want to appear as a hypocrite and figured I should ask
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Sahweet Jebus instant fav!! I hate tracers with a passion.
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Tracing is art. Art that's someone else's.
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I featured 2 of your stamps [link]
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500 out of 10.
You have no idea how annoying it is.
Not just tracing images for PVs, but basers do it. OMFGGGGGGGGGG. >
This is DeviantART, not DeviantTRACE.
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I'll get shot for this but... technicality poke. It's not theft if you trace your own photos. xD (I am not defending tracing, but I like pointing things out).
That aside, yeah, aside from theft, it gets people into a real bind. I did it to start with, since art for me was "just a hobby", and I had just switched over from dolling, and I wanted it to look nice. Since I wasn't concerned with having to do art for real, I decided that was okay. Well, here I am five years later, having used every trick in the book to keep from having to draw my own lines totally from scratch (thankfully, since I came from dolling, I knew how to draw clothes pretty well). Now I've decided I want to become a real artist, and I can paint really well thanks to all the practice, but can't even draw a basic human form. So now I can't even really take any kind of art class because I'm a basic beginner on one level and kind of advanced on another.
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I believe tracing your own work is what falls under the definition of Vectoring, a word tracer thieves tend to use as an excuse.
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I don't think tracing your photos for lineart/sketch, then painting the rest yourself, falls under vectoring at all.
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That's technically what the definition is, from what I understand. Vectoring only counts if it's your own art, not someone else's.
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This stamp is GENIUS! Now only if we could find a way to drill this stamp into the heads of tracers... With sharp objects I assume >
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Haha... I've traced before... but I've traced my own stuff!!! 
That's a new one, ain't it?
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Instant fave.
The tracing epidemic just seems to be growing though. It's so easy for people now.
Seriously, guys, tracing doesn't help your art skills, either. If anything it makes them worse.
:Not Impressed:
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epic stamp is damn epic and true.
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I'm going around asking some people this question because I want a lot of opinions before deciding what to do.
Alright, so I go and print out an anime base. Example - [link]
I trace/outline it to help myself learn anatomy. I go in and add clothes, hair, and a different eye style(All original, with a lot of references).
I'm doing it for practice, but I would like to post it. However, I'm not sure if it counts as stealing/copying.
I don't want to offend anyone, or get accused of art theft. Because I myself hate art thieves. I'm not sure what to do though. Do you think it would be alright to post it as scraps, or better left shoved under my bed and chalked up to practice?
Feedback would be greatly appreciated!
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I know this is a decently old comment, but...
Please, please, please don't trace anime to "learn anatomy". Anime does have its own set of proportion rules when it comes to anatomy, but it's a horrible way to learn anatomy in general. If you get those rules cemented in your head from the start, it's a very difficult thing to reverse if you ever try to draw something that isn't anime. I don't say this because I'm one of those people who hates anime (I really enjoy anime on a pretty regular basis, actually), I just know how badly it can mess someone up artistically if they're learning.
A really fantastic anatomy book is "Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist" by Stephen Rogers Peck. It has full layouts of anatomy divided up by body part and also has sketch pages with good mental references for artists to use while drawing. You can find it for less than $20 on amazon.com and even cheaper at used book stores because it's been around forever.
It may sound odd, but if you learn correct anatomy rules from the get-go you'll have enough knowledge to know how to bend those rules for the sake of style, be it anime or anything else you might want to try.
I also second what ~vomitresponse said that it's far more beneficial to eyeball something than to trace it. Eyeballing something makes you think about the structure and proportion of what it is you're drawing rather than following a line, and it will stick with you better that way.
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Most creators of bases say you can use the base if you credit them for the original. Be sure to read the Artist Comments and see what they have to say, or directly ask them in a comment or a note for permission.
Tracing doesn't actually improve art skill, however, and I'm not trying to be rude or cruel by saying so. Instead, try to use the base as a reference and redraw it that way. It won't look perfect, it might not even look good, but no artist ever started out drawing well at all. However, it will train you over time to identify proportions. AGAIN, ask the original artist of the bases if you can do so before you start, and be sure to credit the original artist of the base, especially if asked to.
Thank you for asking before assuming and being respectful of other artists.
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I second this comment
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Agreed, if you take someone else's hard work just to trace it and say "I can't draw" is a lie, anybody can draw! All you have to do is work hard and be proud of your drawings no matter how crappy they are!
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Thank you so much for this. If I had a sub, it would totally be in my journal asap.
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So true on many levels, tracing someone's art is unacceptable. There are many good artbooks out there than people can learn from rather using the excuse 'I can't draw'
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And BTW, I'm dumping traced bases. I'm going onto bases that deviants have drawn by hand now
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I would be rich every time i heard that. I'm sick of see people trace over other people's pictures and claim it to be theirs!! Its not right!!
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I totally agree with all of those.
Oh, um, if it's all right, I credited your stamp in my anti-art theft journal entry: [link]
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and this is why since i can't draw i don't. i am just a mad faver. i have only drawn anything once and i don't feel comfortable putting it here knowing how bad it is.
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i would also like to say as long as they are not silly enough to post their tracing here it is a way to learn but it should not be aloud to be posted.
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Uh.. Most of those I agree to, but tracing is a VERY effective way of learning how to draw certain characters or styles.
Though to put it up as a deviation isn't necessary. -w-
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I don't mean to be rude, but how is making a vector considered tracing? Yes, some vectors are quite similar to screenshots from such-and-such...but I've never really considered them tracings. :/ If someone could explain that would be awesome.
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