Here's WHY You Shouldn't Trace

[@lina9535]

I just recalled a conversation from ages ago with my art teacher. Now I don't think this "counts" as tracing. But he'd tell us if we had problems with, say anatomy or something, to print out a picture and then place geometric shapes on it, as everything you draw can be placed in circles, triangles, squares, etc. It gives you a "feel" of how what you're trying to draw is "made" and eventually you'll have that in your muscle memory. I did it quickly to show a friend, and took a picture I had on my phone of a horse, opened it to edit and drew the shapes. Two circles in a triangle for the head, triangle for the neck, body and legs in a big square that is then divided for the body, and rectangles and circles for the legs.

[@p0p525]

It does

[@CherryTheCat]

I do that, it actually helped me improve my anatomy

[@lina9535]

While I still struggle a lot, it has helped me with the dreaded hands (the ultimate horror to draw lol)

[@howtodrinkwaterin5simplesteps]

Youre technically still doing the "mental practice" to make out the shapes and construction, that must be why it works :D

[@00kynex00]

​@@p0p525not really, because its just to train the pose.

[@Jojo_2222]

Thank you for creating a proper reason and purpose for people to stop tracing, so many artists are just told, don’t trace it is bad, and that’s the end of it. I think it is really important to be able to showcase and reason why it isn’t the way to go when drawing.

[@Creamy_Mo0n]

When she was talking ab tracing in the vid, she ment it as a exersice, not stealing. She is just saying that you should copy the drawing instead of tracing. Your right when it comes to STEALING art, ppl barly say anything. But this vid is about ways to practice and improve your drawing. Not stealing. Edit: I thought that they meant that tracing was bad as stealing, but ig I missunderstood

[@Jojo_2222]

@@Creamy_Mo0n that is what I meant I believe using tracing to practice is just fine but you shouldn’t rely on it , that’s what I’m pointing out, that people just say stop tracing like it’s a black and white issue

[@bibule]

It actually helped me improve for learning purposes 😒

[@eepydevil]

@@bibulek? it’s still bad to post it.

[@bingusenjoyer10]

omg nice zelda pfp

[@Marikyuun]

Please note I'm not talking about morality here, only objective practice. Tracing is an overrated method for improving because it gets treated like the "forbidden fruit" in the art community, where people don't do it because they're afraid of being considered a bad person, and not because... It's not optimal. You will learn much more and much faster by learning to study and reference properly. Trust my experience and give it a try for a couple of weeks. [EDIT] If you trace, think tracing is great and want to keep tracing forever that's genuinely up to you and I promise you I don't care... I think my take is the least controversial it could be, I show no judgement, never even use the words right or wrong. Yet some of y'all are pressed for some reason, are projecting and putting words in my mouth. Very weird behavior to say the least.

[@Fatherless12yrsold]

@rydergamerkamal3321She’s not talking about the morality of tracing, but its effectiveness as a method of practice. It is actually pretty situational, depending on the person. My point here is that tracing itself is not “bad”, but what you use it for, in this case that's the people who traced an artwork and claim it as their own or doesn't give credit

[@caylapuppy]

Admittedly, when I saw this in recommended, I assumed it was going to be another video demonizing using tracing for practice purposes. I am very glad I chose to read/watch first before doing anything silly. (IK you can take a reference photo and draw little guidelines or dumb the image down to simple shapes as a reference when trying to learn new creatures and things, which is a little thing I learned about on the subject.)

[@mikaspie6943]

​​@rydergamerkamal3321read the comment again cuz u clearly didn't get it + tracing means you can't develop your own art style cuz at the end of the day your just copying another artist it can never really be yours

[@ChimeraLotietheBunny]

Ahh I see

[@StrawberryDreamSky22]

@Marikyuun Tracing it's just a start for those who are just starting out in my opinion, Especially those who find it difficult mentally and emotionally

[@karinyupinyan]

I definitely do agree with this. Just tracing won't make you better at art quite as much as drawing yourself and thinking about what you're doing.

[@cherrycordiaI]

You can incorperate both. When I need a pose for reference I usually trace over the anatomical landmarks like joints, feet, head and torso then draw them in freehanded so the proportions fit the character I'm drawing.

[@partygamingz3332]

Yeah i mainly recommend tracing when practising to break down what you tracing into basic shapes n stuff to get a better grasp at what a makes up what and what connects to what. So it wont be daunting and complicated when you wanna learn and replicate without tracing cuz your more likely to remember the broken down ver than the whole already done peice with foreshortnening and all Basically dont just trace without thinking, trace with the intent of understanding why its drawn the way it is. This is just my perspective anyway

[@rosemary3029]

It won't work for some but it might for some

[@xrrgr]

@@cherrycordiaI exactly. tracing is helpful for learning anatomy and body proportions, faster than just doing it yourself over and over again.

[@lunarann6912]

I learned so much about anatomy by trying to copy poses of two of my favorite anime characters for an art project. The way a drew shoulders was never the same again. This perfectly explains why that happened. Thank you for the enlightenment

[@GoobieStar]

Honestly, the best way to learn is to use reference images. I use references to practice anatomy, the only thing I do that might be considered tracing is breaking it up into general shapes and then using those general shapes to replicate the pose my self.

[@mightybear5441]

I remember tracing a Treeko as a child with markers and I thought "WOW I'm SUCH GOOD ARTIST" I was so proud of it xD And I showed it to my momma and she said it was very good and all was well in the world

[@tvsonicserbia5140]

Well, if you came up with the idea as a kid, in a sense YOU were a good artist. Before cameras could perfectly capture reality, many famous historical artists were obsessed with figuring out how to trace reality, that's why they invented camera obsucra, camera lucida, ray tracing, the drawing grid and other tools.

[@purplepartytigerd1598]

I did the same thing with the cover of Horton Hears a Who

[@Lovethebutterflys]

I feel like it’s based off how you trace Yes, if you copy line from line, you’re not gonna learn anything from it But the way I used to do it is I would get a reference and try to copy it to the best of my ability. Then I would trace over the reference and compare and contrast the two (the one I made on my own, and the one I traced from )to see what I need to work on. For me this worked I learned a lot about anatomy and it helped me a lot in my journey. This help me practice where I need to place things and how to do certain shading, line work, etc Now I’m at a place where I never have to trace after years of practicing Tracing can be your friend if you don’t heavily rely on it and if you know how to do it correctly But that’s just my opinion, and it works differently for everyone

[@PandaClou]

i agree with you and how you do tracing

[@Cwahsawnt]

Perfect way to do it. You didn't "keep tracing forever" as the uploader put it in a comment.

[@everfluctuating]

tracing helps you draw one thing in one position. for example, you can practice tracing this image of mewtwo over and over and you might get really good at recreating it without reference purely with muscle memory, but it wont help you draw mewtwo in a different pose, or mewtwo from head-on perspective rather than this 3/4 view, or any other pokemon in the retro ken sugimori style. tracing is one tool in a very large arsenal of skills, and you cant build an entire house with just a screwdriver.

[@zephyrartch]

I love the emphasis on the mental part! I agree! Even though the video title is on tracing, I can see the value for how to practice! "Because everything we do is decision making" So true, reminds me of how I feel about art and practice. I used to believe that great artists made works more by "feeling" rather than thinking, but "feeling" is only how their decision making is being informed. A cute piece can only be cute if the decision-making works to fufill that feeling! "Why did the artist do this? What is the artist thinking when they made that decision?" Great video!

[@Marikyuun]

"Feeling is only how their decision making is being informed" - you GET me!!!

[@iamsonrac]

What do you mean by feeling is only how their decision making is being informed

[@zephyrartch]

@@iamsonrac say you want to make a sad painting, the colors, shapes, and composition you choose are all going to be informed by what the feeling of sadness means to you! for sadness, you might choose blue colors and darker values - choices informed by the feeling of sadness! Some abstract artists are intuitive about this but in most cases we all make deliberate choices to convey the emotion we want! I hope this helps! :)

[@iamsonrac]

@@zephyrartch I actually tend to choose a lot of dark/black colours for my art if I wanna colour, i was really inspired by some Japanese artists I came across on twitter as I was going through a lot of anxiety/depression (I still am) and those quote on quote edgy/emo art I look at makes me feel better.

[@sarahthesilly]

This is perfectly explained and I definitely was a victim to tracing and quite literally never learning 😭 thank you so much for making this video, also GREAT ACE ATTORNEY REFERENCE???

[@silverhairedprettyboy]

THE MUSIC IS LITERALLY FROM THE GREAT ACE ATTORNEY-

[@sarahthesilly]

@@silverhairedprettyboy I KNOW THAT'S WHAT I MEANT (NOT TRYING TO SOUND MEAN BTW)

[@rachelfalk3838]

i’m just beginning to really dive into wanting to improve my art, and this was so eye opening! i haven’t traced before but was considering it because i thought it would help. but now i’m going to use your exercise and work on trying to understand why the artist drew a curve or a line and how that helps portray the emotion or style of the piece! thank you so much for your help! 💖

[@jolly_oh_golly8443]

Tracing is like using training wheels, and using reference photos is like taking them off :D

[@akaGamerChlos]

Finished watching, and this is really true! Well I trace practice by learning it's shapes then after learning the basic shapes I will try drawing it without TRACING and this is actually right! You need to know how your drawing is gonna work, but you can always experiment with it and try new things! Practice, is practice. Practicing gets you to improve instead of just tracing!

[@suika666]

I used to trace to learn, but not just lazy tracing. I would trace different areas in different colours and try to figure out how those areas were drawn by breaking it down. Like, if I was tracing a torso, I would first trace it in one colour, then go in with another colour and draw a line of where the middle is, and across at the chest. And if the torso wasn't facing directly forward, I would draw a line where the front view would end, kind of trying to translate it into a more simple shape like a cuboid to study how to draw the perspective. This method worked really well for me learning how other people draw things, and as opposed to learning how to draw their art, I was learning how they draw their art, and finding my own way of how to simplify things in my head when drawing without a reference to make my own art more easily. Like how you would break down a cat face into a circle with two triangles, I guess.

[@amarimochi]

Yeah thats how I do my studies most of the time! Tho sometimes (mostly with things like animals or monsters since i dont fully get them yet and complex hairstyles) i'll do the guideline tracing first THEN go and try to replicate. Then I can look at the building blocks on their own rather than the finished piece! Sometimes looking at a finished piece, you cant tell right away how things work, especially in areas you arent fully confident in, so its helpful to break down the shapes so you can look at the broad image rather than every little detail.

[@slepyechos1423]

My rule of thumb is when you’re trying to learn something, it’s good to trace the BASIC SHAPES of something and then free handing it. When you try to do it by eye, sometimes you dont you actually see how the shapes of something actually work until you actually dig them out. But yes i 100% agree with this video! Tracing is only going to get you so far so improving your mental memory is just as or even more important!

[@claud952]

Personaly tracing helps me alot it helps me break down my ref into basic shapes and makes it way easier to draw after tracing . It also helps me when im trying to make a finnished peice of something realistic bc while i CAN draw without tracing it takes me so long and by the time i get to the main part the coloring iv already lost intrest in the peice.

[@Gray_S_Art]

I half agree with this I think it's good as a PART of a hole study

[@doublenootmf4081]

You just saved me possibly hours of tracing and having no progress. I thought “hm I just trace so I practice muscle memory.” I never thought to put my mind into it. I haven’t been drawing lately, just felt discouraged. But your video not just motivates me but gives me the confidence/courage to get back into my drawing journey. Thank you so much, you videos are straight to the point and I can see the effort put in them. I hope you know this will help a lot of people!

[@sonic8005]

How has drawing come along since you posted this?

[@NatsuDragneel-pi7cs]

Actually I tried tracing once to learn anatomy and the next second I forgot. But when I looked at the way the image works and drew it myself I remembered it more

[@mochi-y2k]

This rlly is going to help me tysm for helping improve my art!

[@Pherretfish]

Tracing can be absolutely helpful and beneficial but not just tracing alone without thinking. It can help break down shapes especially anatomy and understand perspectives as well.

[@crxziar]

I actually find that tracing does help me improve sometimes :)

[@infineoinfinite]

This is why... tracing is an actual art crime or theft, if you post it publicly

[@ot5newjeans]

Tracing is okay just don't post it😭

[@HighProteinPowder]

its not a crime if you dont post it anywhere

[@viviraptor]

tracing does have its merit as a band-aid fix for certain things, like if you want to draw a background or a detailed prop and you don't feel like you have the time for the "learning" portion, and just want to get it done. but if you're an artist who wants to do this as a long-term job or hobby, you are getting absolutely no bang for your buck by tracing as a form of practice. i really do recommend what mari is doing in this video, where she has a reference image open, but is drawing next to the image rather than on top of it. that way you're making a conscious effort to make sense of the anatomy and shape structure, making it much easier to remember and put to memory.

[@Strawberrymerenguecake]

I trace bc it helps me understand art more, I don’t post the art though and never will, but I am working through tracing and am starting to just draw freely.

[@PhieFty]

Number 2 is fucking right everytime i trace a character I always think how tf am i doing this without tracing

[@madmantheepic7278]

If anyone wants to keep tracing, use the Ethan Becker method of tracing. Tracing doesn't let you thin about what you're drawing like Mari said, but thats really only because people aren't tracing right, use Ethan's method of breaking down references using shapes on top of the reference. In breaking down stuff you will be thinking about what go where and etc.

[@jonevarty2205]

I agree.

[@2006HondaCivicD]

Ethan Becker is a gift that keeps on giving!

[@Sunny_DeeLight]

Tracing is fine as long as your doing it for practice and aren’t passing it off as your own.

[@Anime_lover6222]

1:44 Hey, that’s how I do it too! I don’t trace the drawing, I always start with a circle and I start thinking from there

[@stariverse5916]

i know the video is about tracing but im absolutely vibing to the ace attorney music

[@Shabrina_23]

The first time I used tracing for my art style, and do it by practising more and more until I can draw my art style without tracing. Now I can draw without tracing it

[@lailafayed9743]

I agree with you 100%, and I also agree on the part when you said that we can do mindful studying while tracing because this is what helped me the most. When I can't draw some difficult parts, I try tracing it while studying how it was done, then I try repeating it on my own and that helped a lot 😊👍👍

[@Strawelliesforlife-uh1._.]

If you ever trace, KEEP IT TO YOURSELF! I used to trace :( but and stopped and have improved so much (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠) never show it, and if people see your traced art. TELL THEM ITS TRACED! :3 pls don't trace, and if you do. Thats your private art, don't show it. Because technically that art you traced inst yours (⁠ㆁ⁠ω⁠ㆁ⁠)

[@supachiko]

you dont know how much the mental explanation helps thank you

[@MyriadParadox]

The only excuse I can give to tracing is learning line work. That's it. You want to practice your inking, pressure sensitivity, confident strokes over sketchy lines, stuff like that, fine. As far as the actual drawing part though people need to ditch the idea that tracing will help them improve.

[@whatTFisThis]

for the most part i think youre right, as a beginner ive only had a few times were tracing helped me understand what i was drawing, for the most part tracing's main use is as a shortcut if you want to get to certain part of drawing or designing, at least from what i can tell, so in a sense its not rly drawing also as a beginner who has been trying tracing sometimes thinking it might help, im glad im finally getting a solid answer as to why tracing isnt a good idea, im always just told "its morally wrong, even for practice!" (i havent ever made profit or published a traced work, i use it for practice and as an attempt to understand what im drawing) and other things instead of being told how it doesnt help me and how it isnt real practice

[@Raylongleg]

I absolutely enjoyed watching Today’s video and listening to your art tips is helpful and inspiring.

[@TheNoviceAnimator_]

I like to do both, do a quick trace over everything, learning the body shapes, then on the side try to recreate the image, while already having some muscle memory on it. I am a shit artist tho XD

[@R0S3MARY831]

Me personally, I trace so I don't constantly have to look back at a screen back and forth

[@beescrossingg]

thank u! I get super frustrated with my art when i cant get it right first time. I'd love to be an animator/editor when i grow up and ur channel helps me improve my art :D - 1000th like

[@Peachcacao]

I mean it kinda helps if u can learn the shapes

[@Love_Bug21]

I seen someone say in a comment section weeks ago that it's fine to trace

[@sarcastic__harmony8052]

Personally racing helped me find techniques that I didn’t know before.

[@Ezramorilt]

tracing*

[@williammclean6594]

Tracing is really just for like new artists to learn shapes and how to incorporate them to develop an art style. Tracing over then added me to see what types of shapes artists use. Then you can try to incorporate them into your own drawings

[@tirramasu7948]

While yes, however, I advise they don't simply take the drawing but by understanding by creating form or simplifying shapes

[@williammclean6594]

@@tirramasu7948 yeah, you have to incorporate what you learn and think about the things that you've learned from your studies while you're drawing when you make new drawings. Like after I take an anatomy course I'm thinking about what I learned when I'm doing my next study

[@KharonDeLune_vtb]

Tracing is mostly beneficial for very new artists or very unfamiliar things. There are exercises you can do over a picture that are more beneficial than direct tracing. For the most part, the reason I found myself clinging to my CSP 3D models and Unsplash images is because I was using them as a crutch - they were no longer strengthening my artistic skills, they began to weaken them! One thing that helped me a lot to break out of tracing models I posed or photos I sourced (and go from stiff to dynamic even in at rest poses) was by blurring the model layer so that I no longer had the lines there doing the heavy lifting for me. If anyone is scared to jump directly away from tracing models, but hates how stiff their results are, I highly recommend using this method. You have to create your own lines and volume, but you still have your major landmarks in place until you get comfortable enough to set those landmarks from memory alone! This also helps you to find your own style a lot better than direct tracing ever will.

[@Wonderhoy-er]

I trace smaller details of things rather then a whole mewtwo, for example, I learned how to draw cat ears by tracing different perspectives, but for things that are more complicated, like a hand, I just learn the anatomy, tracing is fine only of you are going to use it to learn, but don’t trace things that use more complicated perspectives, like a hand, or even an animal, instead, learn it's anatomy Sorry if this you couldn’t understand this

[@QuartzOfficial]

imo tracing would be useful if you deconstruct the depth and basic shapes afterwards

[@Bensaloop]

Hey Mari! I have been following you for like 5 months now and I just wanna say you inspired me so much, I learned how to draw poses from simply just watching your videos

[@NameIsDoc]

I'm a art professor Most people approach tracing the wrong way. There is the outline method doesn't teach you anything. It can be moderately useful as an inking exercise but that's not why most people trace. I recommend skeleton tracing or form tracing. Instead of copying the contour you draw the individual shapes forms or skeleton of the artwork then attempt to finish the drawing off that base level on your own skills. And when you get real advanced play with the proportions. Draw a similar skeleton but with entirely different proportions and see what you need to change to make it work.

[@river9603]

I disagree with the title but this is a nice method too!

[@Marudream407]

Is been a while since I draw something because I had no ispiration or didn't know how to draw better, but now I think i am ready to start to draw again

[@InvaderCom]

So a counterpoint to this, I started by tracing things, then over time started adding my own flair to things I traced, then moved to freehand replication, then added my own flair to that, then my own style started to form from that. Tracing isn't a bad thing, so long as you try to push yourself past that once you're comfortable with it.

[@NighttyDai]

Tracing isn't bad for start drawing, but I think this girl says if you are just tracing and don't want to go out of your comfort zone to improve or do your own style.

[@adas201love2]

THIS DOESN'T JUSTIFY TRACING! I acctualy learnt how to draw my style by tracing. I was doing a drawing that was "finish it!" And it was griefed, so I needed to do it. Sure, I had to remember some stuff, but it was practicaly stealing art.

[@armortithan3618]

See, the part of tracing that really helps me, is when I get to recreate the things I trace. But I never trace a drawing like how you trace. We usually trace the pose, the anatomy, how the body works, and not literally trace the whole drawing. When you say, "tracing is not using our brain" That's the problem I have. I can't draw from reference like you do, because my brain isn't capable of copying the lines I saw and a random art. Some people, like me, have a mechanic brain, which easier to do math, not drawing. We cannot just see an art and copy it using our own style. By tracing, we can understand how we supposed to draw the lines, where things should go, and we can also copy our made up lines and redraw it because we recognize those lines. "hey, that's the line I made earlier. I'll do it again without tracing this time" So imo, tracing CAN help you if you do it correctly. But I'm not against your opinion, because there's always pros and cons when it comes to tracing

[@gnf_2.056]

Im a traditional artist,and one time,I had this idea of trying to do different Sonic styles,because I havent found my style yet. No,I didint trace it,but Im sure pretty good at trying to replicate their poses,how the basic shapes look. I only tried this with Adventure,Riders and Movie style,my favorite was the riders since it looks so accurate. Still didint help me find my style though,but I had fun learning

[@missmieoww]

LOL when I started digital drawing i didn't even know that TRACING EXISTS and i'm actually proud i didn't know about it ...i used to count on myself everytime :)

[@anony_apis]

when i was younger i was obsessed with pokemon and i had this book filled with pokemon that i would always copy the drawings of, recently i found the notebook with a lot of the drawings and they look nothing like the og pokemon but i still feel like doing that helped me in some way

[@peterrealar2.067]

I will say that in my experience in art that you might never get every SINGLE detail correct, missing one even you trace. Though sometimes tracing is absolutely necessary if you have something INSANELY detailed. Like stuff in Xenoblade or even Kingdom Hearts. Goodness that is intricate.

[@therealno_one]

Usually when I trace it’s because I wanna practice drawing the proportions of a character for example. I’d never trace over something and claim it as my own

[@light00651]

Just get a character from enternet then trace over real human then apply the character on it simple🤷‍♂️

[@therealno_one]

@@light00651 ok cool I guess

[@pokehearts121]

Drawing mewtwo is kinda like just muscle memory for me because I just kept drawing him over and over again! ❤

[@sunset5868]

Tho for me, the only reason I improved was tracing, I did evrything, studied anatomy for over 3 months but still couldn’t get it right, tracing helps me ALOR

[@NighttyDai]

Late response but, you need to understand and practice what you learn, like maths for example, you can learn maths and do maths but if you don't understand is gonna be useless. To improve art you need to see, understand and also memorize the logic behind most of the theories and do it every day!

[@sunset5868]

@@NighttyDai yes, by tracing I didn’t mean that type of tracing, by tracing I meant I used to get references, and turn it into shapes (mostly squares) to simplify then practiced the proportions that way

[@cherrycordiaI]

When you get down to it, tracing is just a tool. Just like when a wrench, you can use it for it's intended purposes or dangerously. It's great for building muscle memory for and a valuable time-saver. A lot of the characters in my project wear boots and sneakers, so I made an catalog of previously drawn shortcut templates to keep on-hand so I won't have to spend ages on busywork like proper laced laces and embellishments. I think tracing becomes a problem when younger or newer artists use it as a way to skip the queue in their artistic journey, seek validation or get attention. They piggyback off of someone else's hard work, poorly, and it almost always shows. Especially in the age of the internet where damn near everything is archived. That's what comes to mind when most people think about tracing in art, theft. Ironically enough, a lot of massively skilled artist that I've seen started off by replicating their favorite artworks line by line. What makes them more successful than the kids who copy/trace is that they were breaking down images and training their observational eye as they went, rather than just mindlessly following the lines because they want pretty art too. Distinguishing the nuances between Tracing Good vs Tracing Bad is important, since blindly bleeting one or the other could discourage others into getting complacent or giving up art altogether.

[@Teclajellymon]

Why can't people just have fun.??

[@p0p525]

This

[@strayiggytv]

​@@Teclajellymonthey can but they shouldn't expect to be praised for it.

[@Teclajellymon]

@@strayiggytv idk I get praised for my art because what matters the most is to convey feelings to people. You can have the most polished art looking so soulless

[@Heathiekins]

I agree with this 100% with one more thing to add: tracing can be a tool (for example, studying line art and practicing line confidence) but needs to be implemented in your own art outside of tracing to take hold. Thank you so much for the video!

[@UNKNOWNJoojo]

as a person who does and doesn't trace, it can help some people. You forgot to mention it can help some people

[@hiiragii]

You might think it helps, but it really doesn't in the long run. You can trace and redraw like shown in the video and that'll show more improvement, but tracing doesn't really help u if you aren't learning fundamentals lol

[@UNKNOWNJoojo]

@@hiiragii it helps you with your mental memory on how to draw it, im no saying trace everything. Just trace what you REALLY can't draw

[@hiiragii]

@JooJo558 thats not helpful lol. If you REALLY can't draw something, then you LEARN how to draw it. Tracing won't help you if you aren't learning anything is the ENTIRE point of the video

[@UNKNOWNJoojo]

@hiiragii it helps me that's all you need to know, and plus I don't trace everything. I have my own art style without tracing so. And I only trace when I need a pose

[@2006HondaCivicD]

Think of it as baby steps and your art journey is a long pilgrimage. You're not going to get their anytime soon until you can walk with your own two feet.

[@user-gt7zb5nz2s]

I used to trace like A LOT when i was young because my friend who is an artist just taught me how to trace on Ibis Paint. She isn't a tracer though, she just never told me that tracing is bad and that photos are just for reference for training like what Marikyuun said in the video. I am so glad i got out of that phase realizing that it was wrong to trace. Now, over the past 3 years , i have improved a lot in my art.

[@BlueLeef]

This has been exactly how I practice lately, I take a reference and shrink it down, then draw it freehand using it as intended, A REFERENCE. Highly recommended!

[@willvolny5343]

I'm so new to this. Your concept is brilliant.

[@p0p525]

Ill kinda *disagree* here. It depends on how you trace. I figured the fastest way to learn for me was to trace *but* with structure! The point is not to trace the line art but rather trying to simplify the anatomy with simple shapes. Then afterwards, you try it again without tracing. Exemple tracing the head's general shape with perspective lines. It merges both mental AND muscle memory this way 👉🏽👉🏽 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Were literally doing that in my art/animation college, btw We have homework where we have to trace structure over photographs of people

[@Lovelgirl5]

I always just looked at the picture and just tried to copy it on the paper so I wasn't really thinking I was just trying to copy. Thanks for the tip!

[@D4n1_iscool]

Now in my opinion, I'm not gonna hate you for this but sometimes tracing can help for things like trying to learn anatomy etc... Like when I was trying out different artstyles, I was tracing but I did a few minor changes to it like let's say for example, the pose but the only thing that's bad on tracing is when you claim that it's yours or trace the thing itself.. I think just at least try to do some anatomy thingy like the sketch or whatever and then get to lineart. Sometimes, tracing can help, that's the same with let's say for example, getting inspo.. It's good if you get inspo but just not when the og artists says not to take the inspiration of it if you know what I mean so yeah Thanks for coming to my Ted talk

[@Marikyuun]

It seems to me that you either didn't watch the video or didn't understand it. I never claimed tracing was "bad" or "good", nor did I make any comments regarding morality or if it makes you a good or bad person. I recommend you watch the video again.

[@ot5newjeans]

​@Marikyuun everybody learns differently, if you didn't learn or improve from it much then that's a you problem

[@Marikyuun]

@@ot5newjeans I literally explain in the video that tracing can help if you're basically breaking down the reference and thinking about it. No one talked about morality in the video, which is what the og comment is exclusively talking about. All I'm asking is that people actually listen to what I say before commenting that they disagree and proceeding to not disagree at all

[@ot5newjeans]

@@Marikyuun everybody learns differently idk why you're talking

[@whereflowerblooms]

​@@ot5newjeansidk why you're not getting the point because the video seems to explain it very well for a dumb brain like me

[@flowverhello]

Yeah i really agree with this one and also same thought!✨- I rarely tracing since im lazy to do it- the mental one really improve and help me alot because i cant bring my phone or any other like that to school so i have to draw it myself- the good thing with the mental is you are capable to do an anatomy, pose, and drawing when there is like no refrences or anything like that at all-

[@SylverScourge]

For me, the way I've always "traced" (cause its not really tracing at this point) is that I draw the construction lines over my reference image so I can tell how the hell any of it works. Cause like, I can't just look at a picture of an arm with foreshortening and understand it magically. So by drawing the construction over top of the reference, I can break down how it works and then reference what I draw over in a way that makes sense to me. Maybe its different because I don't ever reference other artworks, just real life images.

[@skycreeper0173]

That was really awesome! Thank you for sharing that advice.

[@cherryflower570]

Muscle memory is the one thing I aim for in my art lol

[@Sheepdoghuskies2022]

My older sibling was surprised that I was rapidly improving my old drawings.

[@Teshiro]

I tried to trace because I thought I’m learning that way but you “opened my eyes”. That’s a good tip thank you!

[@pokegon100]

Tracing can help with general problem solving and help study the guidelines of whatever you want to draw. The hidden 3d shapes and lines behind the 2d image you see. But that's just the first step. Most people who suggest tracing as practice rarely, if ever, say just trace the outline like in your first example. The tutorials I've seen usually say to trace the guidelines, then copy them down so that drawing the rest of the figure isn't this daunting task. The problem solving is usually trying to find whether you did it right or wrong, where you screwed up, how to fix it, and repeat until you have it down. It's a tool for reference.

[@vivipettiss5832]

I mean i trace lineart to try to figure out the pressure put on each part or the brush pressure curve but thays different

[@EvyDevy]

Very nice points~ Not tracing and even making mistakes trains the mind and the body~

[@dika3127]

Completely agree with this, doing copy instead of tracing will really improve thinking on how to draw anything. I think where tracing is helpful is when you need to study the render on an artworks, you need to have the mental training for that too so tracing will help shift that to rendering instead of drawing.

[@Macythe64]

I totally agree. I used to trace art, and then when I showed it to other people and they complimented me, I felt guilty that it wasn't really my own art. But now I draw without tracing and I have been practicing a lot, and now it feels very rewarding when I finish an artwork and it looks good! ❤

[@chrissyj_]

Very glad to see your journey! But remember, tracing is a tool, so you shouldn’t feel guilty when you use it!

[@rambbler]

Edit: I rewatched the video and yeah, I've realized I did indeed misunderstand. Leaving this comment up because I need learn how to deal better with embarrassment outside of just pretending like it didn’t happen. Honestly, I disagree but maybe we just have very different thought processes when it comes to art. To clarify, I trace when I'm learning how to mimick a style, i.e. the 3ds pokemon trainer art style. I've had pretty good successes from tracing the features and then trying to retrace my steps, using the traced version as my reference instead of the image itself. Tracing can genuinely be a good step if you are trying to mimick an artstyle, but it does come with the caveat of already knowing how to draw, I guess. So maybe you are right? Its hard to say if I'm just misunderstanding here lol. I do really appreciate hearing you talk about it, though!

[@BearxTalks]

I used to trace eyes now I have found my own style form developing from that and when I found what I could do consistently I sticked with it

[@Firelava88.]

What i do is after I draw from my reference, I overlay it onto the reference to see what errors in anatomy I made and then try to fix it, then check it again to overlay. My art looks so much better when I do this 😭

[@KatPlayz1023]

I actually use tracing for practicing anatomy, don’t ask why but I also use it to try and find my artstyle

[@MiniEmber]

Tracing will not help you find your own art style.

[@KatPlayz1023]

@@MiniEmber Ik but it helps me try out different styles and allows me to- screw it I can’t explain this, but hey, atleast I don’t trace and claim it as mine!

[@MiniEmber]

@@KatPlayz1023 Fair enough but keep in mind that finding your own art style is not as simple as tracing. You can look at different art styles for inspriation though. Espically with cartoons/anime.

[@KatPlayz1023]

@@MiniEmber rip my art teacher who forces us to draw realism

[@MiniEmber]

@@KatPlayz1023 Realism is fine too but I personally prefer less accurate features but it's up to you.

[@herscheli]

I don’t think that tracing doesn’t help, I think it’s a good way to improve muscle memory actually. As long as your not claiming it as your own art I think it’s completely fine, if your trying to learn something and trace it, youll remember the shapes and patterns in which you drew it in, and you can later modify it on your own!

[@Shyren_]

To be honest with the mental thing and how you explained it, it really helped understand what i was doing was tracing or not, because i used to do it so much as a kid on pokemon one time, and i still kind of do it today if im just wanting to doodle something on a whiteboard at school. I feel like doing mental for me did indeed help me understand how things worked and how i draw what i like from my brain. The only times i traced were in art class during projects where i wouldnt physically be able to draw it in the way the teacher wanted it, or the teacher would make us trace during out project. Again, thank you for allowing me to understand whether what i was doing was tracing or not. Many loves to you and your content. ❤🤗👏

[@DanniTheRegular]

I really like how you explained this!! I do use the tactic where I trace over the base in a dynamic pose if the pose is TOO difficult but then I add guidelines, and try and recreate it myself! (With occasional tweaks and such.) It's a helpful art tool I've figured out from the past years but I DO believe it's not right to claim other's art as your own if you directly copy it and don't give some sort of credit to the artist. I believe it's a good thing to trace though if you are in need of learning posing. Thanks for putting it out here!

[@Cuteemogirl94]

That's why most of the time I use real clothes as reference and real human poses

[@daque4409]

Muscle memory is great for drawing a shape or line but if you don’t know how to use the shape or line to create a cohesive picture your gonna struggle to make something your happy with. You can use em however you want but there is always gonna be the mental learning curve

[@angelz4life13]

Fun fact: literally no one who commented smth like: Love It❤ Or Thanks So Much! Didn’t actually watch the full video yet-

[@GuyMcPherson69]

Who asked?

[@AmoraMichelle-tv6vt]

You asked because you just pull the question mark✨

[@purplecubwe]

​@@GuyMcPherson69you asked you nicom poop

[@rawr_ari]

@@GuyMcPherson69 💀

[@pemanilnoob]

Huh?

[@Z0rTh3Odd0n3]

I used to never do this, only recently i took and image (for Fanart) and drew each part like "oh, the bow has to be covering a little bit of the party hat!" Etc.(its was at a mid-way turn between front facing and side view. I drew her front facing)

[@Envy_Level_Zero]

I read some people are mistaking simplification with tracing. When you try to put simple shapes on top of the image you are analyzing and thinking about the positive and negative shapes in the image. When you try to reconstruct using the simplifyed shapes on the side you are both drawing on your own and understanding how the shapes work together. So next time you can try using these common shapes in your own art. Observation is key.

[@SonadamyBiance]

Omg i still remember when i commented on the twitch chat "alr big debate, does tracing help with improvement?" I'm so happy u made a video about it!! I hope other people will find it helpful

[@Pho32-ke9ep]

Thank you for this drawing tips, they really help and teach me a lot to improve with my drawings

[@spammer5530]

Ive only really traced to figure out what shapes to use for constructing/mannequin making

[@blackoutdawn]

Bro ion even draw or make visual art and I'm binging the whole damn channel, W vids

[@ohwowitsme8548]

Theres a certain way to trace thats actually really helpful. Instead of just tracing the line art "BREAK DOWN SHAPES" lets you see how there used, breaks down anatomy much better, seeing how you can use those shapes and proportions in your art etc.