okay, i have a really long answer to this, so i'm retweeting it to keep it as a thread. see below: https://twitter.com/renkohearn/status/1294818956071571456

tracing has been a long-time tradition for achieving accuracy within art; whether it be through the use of cartoons, pinhole cameras, magic lanterns, using photos, or using projectors. many professional artists have used tracing throughout history and continue to do so now.

the thing is, the methods i cited all generally come from life and models, life drawings, or other ways we capture reality using technology and then recreate it onto a surface or medium. it is generally used to set down the basic image and composition of a piece.

tracing in these instances aren't a replacement for the skills required to apply paint, draw lines, design a composition, manage principles, and so on. there's still a lot of skill that goes into making such pieces. it's being used as a tool to create something new.

the artists using tracing most often are professionals with highly developed skillsets who use different methods of tracing for a variety of reasons. to these artists, it's not a replacement for a lack of talent, skill, or work. again, it's just a tool to get their art done.

however, these artists generally aren't tracing the art of other people. it's one thing to do something privately, but i find it ultimately robs you of developing the skills you need to be a successful artist. if you just recreate the same image you like over and--

--over again, you'll never understand why that image is successful and what makes it its own distinct work. it's one thing to look at another artist's work and compare it to your own as you create as a way to incorporate what you like about their art into your own,--

but it's another to just mindlessly trace over another person's interpretation of a subject. spend that time drawing from images or from life--tracing from them if you're really struggling. art is a skill and you need to work to develop it, tracing other work will not help you.

that's the end of this thread; i wanted to add some links for people to read on, if they're interested. i think this is a really nuanced topic and people should come to their own conclusions about the subject and whether or not methods of tracing are a tool they're interested in.

- https://www.vox.com/2015/6/15/8774475/renaissance-art-tracing-cartoons
- https://thevirtualinstructor.com/blog/is-it-ok-to-trace-in-art
- https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=98169&page=1
- http://hockney-optics.brandeis.edu/hypothesis/caravaggio/obscura.php
- https://www.malcolmdeweyfineart.com/blog/is-it-okay-for-an-artist-to-trace-a-drawing