I also feel like this entire "cheating" thing comes from online videos that tell you "what or what not to do" in art. It can very easily give people the wrong idea about art.
I told this story forever ago but since someone might read this I'll share it again. When I was somewhere around 8 years old I found a photo of a dog in a photo album and drew it; my first reference drawing. I was super proud of the result and when I ran into the kitchen to show my mom and some male visitor (friend of the family or relative, can't remember) my mom was impressed because I had captured enough likeness that she went "wow you drew (dogs name)! It's beautiful!" And the male visitor looked at it and went "you cheated" and it probably was a joke like "oh its so good that theres no way you did this right?" but it didn't read in his tone or face enough so I felt like I had broken the law and I carried shame for years, hid the drawing and stopped drawing. At 26 I met my husband who went to art school and he said "that guy obviously knows nothing about art because if you ask an artist then they'll tell you using a reference is a GOOD thing for your art" which helped me start daring to try again and heal those damaging words. So I echo what he said... those that point fingers that things are cheating are those that don't do art and don't know the history and culture and skill building of art. Listen to those inside the art circle that you look up to. Creativity is beautiful, let it play. 💜
I NEED to keep being reminded that references are not only good for art but IMPORTANT. I get way too hung up trying to draw something exactly how I see it in my imagination. Chances are I'm drawing it right, but... it's in my imagination, which means it's malformed mush.
One problem that i have with using references in my art, is that i quite literally DON'T HAVE THEM most of the time, cuz i draw 90% of my drawings in school, during recess, where i don't have any references for the thing im drawing, but the moment thay i DO have a reference, the quality of my artwork skyrockets sooo........ I've tried to draw things that HAVE references when im in school, so that's helped me a lot
I think you can use tracing as a TOOL, but it’s easy to forget about actually bettering your draftsmanship if you were to trace all the time. Your art would improve way slower! You can’t rely on tracing, but you also shouldn’t be ashamed if you use it to learn.
I agree, but also I’d like to point out that not everyone makes art for the sake of “getting better!” Some people just do it as a hobby and are fine with being stagnant rather than always trying to get better.
Indirectly yes, it's an art cause it's made with its own process of making and there could never be anything made like that same thing even if you try to make that again with the prompt 😅
I don't like AI, or at least I don't like how it's being USED, since it's really just a tool that can be used for good or for ill. That said, I'm still on the fence over whether or not AI generated images are definitively not art. On the one hand, the image itself is a computer-generated amalgamation of tangible pre-existing images, not like a collage of images or a piece that the artist draws clear inspiration from other pieces for, more like a calculation of what an image MIGHT look like if a human created it; after all, what is a computer but a glorified calculator? By that definition, an AI-generated image is no more art than the result of a multiplication problem. On the other hand, you still need a human to put in the prompt and program the software, and that requires at least some creative decision making. And would it make a difference if you used imaged you DID have permission to use? I don't consider AI images to be "real" art the same way I would consider a painting or a photograph made by a human being to be art, but I feel like that doesn't automatically make it not NOT art. Maybe I'd feel differently if my own art was good enough to even BE plagiarized. :P
I remember my friend and I making a fan comic for our friend by using the copying paper and tracing from existing comics. It was so much fun, we never had to worry about cheating or anything. We made a script and we used the tools available to make something new out of the existing material. Kind of like when animators use stock footage (especially in older anime, like Revolutionary Girl Utena is filled to the brim with stock footage). Thank you, Scott, for this video. I think a lot of people really need to hear this.
Tracing is how I learned to draw. When I was seven I started tracing pictures to learn how to draw certain things. Then later on after I had traced a picture I would draw it without tracing. This is how I learned to draw things it was another way to learn how to draw. Then one day, I just kinda stopped tracing. It was like this was what I had been preparing for , and I just instinctively knew what to do. The thing is, when you’re a cheerful, optimistic, and super confident and motivated nine year old NOTHING and I mean NOTHING can get in your way. I knew I was NOT going to be perfect. Everything I did right was more motivation, a reason to celebrate. And everything I did wrong was a chance to improve and to learn. Tracing is a tool, art theft is, well, theft. (If you read this to the end wow you have officially impressed me here’s a virtual high five 🖐️ Have a lovely day)
Great perspective! It still amazes me how people keep saying not to trace or use grids or pre made palettes or digital tools or... Just goes on and on. The greats used grids, and traced, and copied, and referenced each other! As long as you're not taking someone else's art and saying you made it, what's the problem? Even tracing other people's art is ok if you're only practicing your skills. Just don't steal!
Thank you so so much scott. My cousin keeps telling me that using a REFERENCE is "cheating." When I do digital art, I trace the outline of the subject and then render it myself, and she says that its "cheating but its okay cuz she does it too" which is complete crap. I wish I could show this to here but she never wants to see my reasoning.
One of the biggest shocks in my time at art school was finding out that the technique of one of our professors was to make photomanipulations and paint over them. Up to that point I'd thought that was cheating. Nowadays I use that technique myself, especially for compositions of complicated pieces.
I always got taught that tracing is cheating all the time, and my 11 year old artist kid is always desperate to explain why she’s traced something… it breaks my heart
I constantly feel like i’m trying to prove that my art isn’t stolen or copied, that sometimes i sacrifice cool ideas for my drawings or animations, but you’re videos have really inspired me to be more free with my art, and not worrying so much about a standard i have to meet
1000% best message about creating ever! I loved Austin Kleon's book- we need to share this message to all creatives, we should be able to create without guilt or questions about cheating. I've been told that it isn't art if it is traced - even if it was my own drawing from the start. Crap! Total crap! We all glean from life, others, things that catch our attention- that is what makes us creative, because we see one thing and then another and another and figure out how to put those pieces together to make something new. Thank you for sending this message out to the world!
You're art is so inspiring to me, I love your work, and what you add to it. You've gotten me to "Steal" your idea of adding some background in the your style, giving me the idea to start adding backgrounds, something I never did or felt confident to do. You rock!
This makes my cry, because I have limited my art for a long time. I thought I have to create everything out of my own brain.😢 Last year I have stoped this, and it's so hard to let this sh*t go. Thanks for the reminder.❤😊 I love to steal like an artist, as artist.❤
You are one of my favorite artists out there! I recommend you to all of my friends and I even showed you to my art teacher! Your work is beautiful and it inspires me to keep going even when I hate the way my art looks. You help me understand that it’s ok to make mistakes in art. You are truly a person I look up to!
Growing up I always heard certain things were "cheating" and as a result, I think this weird haze has settled over my art.. using a reference still feels borderline illegal, but even just being Inspired by an artist feels like it isn't allowed either. Im sure Imposter syndrome comes in a bit here, but one day I really hope I can just create without feeling these invisible barriers. Thank you so much for sharing your art! ♡ and also for giving others courage to break their own barriers. ♡♡
Such a good subject, and thorough explanation for a video. Fifty plus years ago for me, these were not brought up as issues. The same when I started taking art classes way back when in college in 1979.
Thanks for another great video on a super important topic. I'm no expert on this by any means, but I feel like the "cheating" thing comes from a mixture of feelings of inadequacy (which most if not all artists have experienced a lot of, and which the internet tends to amplify massively) on the artist's side, and a kind of "purity culture" maintained by people unfamiliar with artistic practice beyond polished presentations of it on Instagram or similar platforms (where a lot of presentations tend to fall into polarizing categories of "look at my effortless mastery of my tools/skills" or "here's a photo with a filter slapped on/here's an AI-generated image that I'm claiming as my own"). Of course there is tons and tons and tons of content in between these two, but unless you're looking for it and know something about what to look for, I can definitely understand why people fall into these simplistic black-and-white categorizations. But they're also nonsense, obviously. Couple that with our culture's love for idolizing individuals and seeing things like skill and talent as innate rather than complex outcomes of practice, opportunity and a hos of other factors - things get oversimplified pretty quickly. I really love how you're consistently open about your own struggles, including how you overcome them, and don't hide your errors or things you're unhappy with. Doing that is perhaps the best antidote to attitudes like this.
i personally think that an art style isn’t something u can steal or take because it’s a part of you! i can look at my first ever drawings and still see my art style in them even after i studied other artists and learned many things from them the core that is my art style is always the same!
ty for this video! i actually had alot of worries in the past that were answered in this video, hearing these words made me feel so warm and happy. once again thank you! p.s i once thought the line tool was illegal or something and if other people found out i used it for a piece of art theyd hate me 😂
The cover image of the fat Mona Lisa reminds me of a Progresso(?) ad for regular and chunky spaghetti sauce. The artist was Mark Hess. In addition to a style that was very similar to his illustrator dad, Richard Hess, he did a lot of work that were direct "copies" of old masters work but they would have a commercial spin to it. I don't see traditional work commercially anymore especially since there are digital tools and filters that mimic different mediums. Makes me wonder if traditional artists are even out there commercially anymore. Or do they now do private commissions instead to keep going. What are your thoughts on traditional illustration vs digital as an occupation? (If one is not a social media personality)
There's only 3 types of cheating in art:- 1: AI generated 2: theft 3: trying to make dad jokes like our man scott, cause it's his own art of commedy and we love it.❤
I loved this video, it gave me the language to express how I feel about AI art. I am old enough to remember when digital art was new, and how there were traditional artists that looked down on digital artists for "cheating" with for example moving of selections. Back in high school in art history we had a discussion on the merit of conceptual art as art. In that discussion we also talked about how a lot of new art styles were looked down upon by the makers of the previous styles. Including impressionisme, cubism, fauvism, minimalism, etc. AI art feels the same for me. It is a new tool, with large implications. And there need to be discussions about the data the AI engines are allowed to build their database on. But the frase "AI art isn't art" feels to simplistic to me. As looking down on the people using this new tool. AI art isn't my cup of tea. Not as a consumer and not as a producer. But that I don't like something doesn't make it not worthwile.
AI art steals from other digital artists to generate something soulless and lackluster. The previous styles you mentioned were all different ways humans engineered to express themselves. There is no human expression within AI art. That being said: this comment is not a jab at you, but at AI art. No hate
Thank you, and don't worry, not taken as a jab. The point where you and I differ in opinion is that the end result is soulless. I agree that the AI engines are build on theft, at least partly. There is also public domain of which I wouldn't have a problem if they build their databases on. But the end result, the generated image, has human input. Someone who crafted the prompt. I view AI art somewhere between conceptual art and collages. Taking excisting imagery and making something new with it. And that making something new with it is after the input of a human. There are artists that make paintings with a dripping paint can on a string. The input of the human is how long the string is, the colors used, the in what trajectory the can is swung and when taken back. But in the "putting paint on canvas" aren't human hands involved. Where is the line between theft and inspiration? If someone takes multiple images of the internet and photoshop them into one piece. Is that theft? What is the difference with if an AI engine is used as tool instead of photoshop? I don't have an answer myself quite yet, but I'm leaning to "be critical on what input the AI engine is allowed to base its database on, but don't disregard product of the users"
I am really enjoying your longer videos. I honestly love Mucha and how you approach to it, but honestly it is not something I would do myself, I am rather in the japanese style, and I still love how you think and share your thoughts. Thanks for making this videos, those help me to go thro thought times and inspire me to keep doing this, because I love drawing, even tho I do not think I can go to art school... Greetings and have a wonderful day:)
When I was in high school I took an art class, one of the assignments was to bring in something to draw as our reference. Since I am a total Star Wars geek I brought in R2-D2 as my reference. We had to draw our reference around 9 times and then color them in different color schemes. Since I drew something so complex my teacher said I could trace my first drawing I had done of R2-D2 so I didn't fall behind the other students who chose something not as complex. Then most of the other students in that art class said I was cheating because I was tracing my own drawing I had done. It was so disheartening that even years all these years later it stuck with me, I don't remember the other students names just remember the shame that I "cheated". You are so inspirational, love the message you spread about art!
Heyy Scott, thanks for clearing all the things out, I understand now, especially about stealing art. And not gonna lie, your art becomes better and better by day, this one is really gorgeous and colorful!!!💛💙♥️ Keep up the good work🎉🎉🔥🔥
Thanks for sharing your experience & thoughts on this topic. It’s a great help for me to learn & figure out how to go about finding out what styles of art I enjoy & what pieces I like to take or use in my own work of art.
I'm not sure if filters are the one and only reason this assumption of "cheating" exists. I think it's more than people who have a very passionate idea in their head of what art is or isn't now have an opportunity to say so. More often than not (and this includes myself), they have a feeling about why they do or don't like something and don't know the exact words to use to communicate it to something else. There are no legitimate critics on the internet any more than there are rules in making art.
I really enjoy these longer videos :) Have seen your shorts every now and then, but because I personally prefer content I can sit down and actively watch, I never considered subscribing... until now, that is
Firstly love your art and your videos I’ve been watching your shorts for ages, but only recently found your longer content and I am in awe of your spirit, acceptance and basic humanity so thank you for sharing your self with us all. I love Alphonse Mucha I find him inspiring all his design details and thanks to your videos I have learned it’s ok to use stencils to achieve a similar effect in my journal so I’m totally stealing that and the way you outline your characters with thick black ink and then white or light ink I absolutely love the effect it gives your work. So today I learned it’s ok to borrow from others.😂
I will preach the importance of references for the rest of my life. It is NOT cheating and never has been. The improvement I made in just a few months when I started using photo references, WOW. And I saw even more improvement when I started drawing from life (at my local zoo!)
It's really difficult to reference other artists coz people like to pinpoint and compare an artwork with other artists' artworks. It's like they don't know that originality is just a mish-mash of different things. An artist's viewpoint is the one that is unique! (Sometimes even the audience has unique viewpoint on the art).
Dear, Scott🙏 Your videos always is so comforting. I was doubting myself in art 'cause sometimes I trace faces to make more accurate art and make a sketch over a 3D model. I always thought it's not cheating, but society made me think it's wrong. Thank you, internet dad💅 We all should just enjoy our process and be as strong as you💪💪💪
As someone who is new to art and does a lot of fan art for artist and characters that I like, I sometimes felt that what I was doing was cheating. The more that I have been doing it though the more that I have come to realize that what I am doing is more of fan art and not exactly copying them. I don't know what tools that they used in order to make their art, I know that what I mostly use right now is colored pencils and that is what I have been liking the most, along with some painting. It is good to see that others also are seeing that what I am doing is not cheating or stealing, it is nearly me learning. I will never act like what I am doing is my own original work unless it is.
I saw those Poscas in the corner at 1:25 I know you secretly like them, even though in your video reviewing them you said you didn't really like them. And I see you use them a lot for outlining, maybe I'm wrong but that's my theory, an Art Theory!
I was always taught that tracing, using rulers , stencils, compass , etc is bad and it hampers ur learning and its cheating. Scott was the person who changed my perspective. Thank u scott uncle.❤❤
What these people mean when they say cheating is that you are cheating yourself out of learning better. Tracing (expect if you're like a complete beginner... ok) will only slow down your progress. Same counts for the grid method, this is not teaching you how to learn to draw, you're just copying the squares. Using reference is fine, copying is fine but if you ever want to draw your own faces and poses you gotta start drawing things from different angles than whats in your reference.
I am working on a frog digital painting. I am tracing it from a copyright free site, and will be painting it digitally. I have never done any digital art, so I'm using it as a practice piece and learning the program. Even with tracing, this is not at all easy! Just because you have help with the image... Same with using a reference for a watercolor. I still had to paint that image, and in the end, it was difficult and I learned a lot.
I love your watercolour style and it has influenced my style. I push the colours and play with them on the page more. I have started using less realistic colours too.
I do a lot of Snoopy and Woodstock and Charlie Brown Christmas. Sometime I draw, copy, trace and freehand sketching. I’m proud to make art of Charles Schultz’s characters. I do with Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nose. They’re a lot of fun!!! Who cares what people think of me. Like creating a world of art!!! Blessings to all of you!!!
I’m really starting to think that a lot of people who claim that photo reference (or even in person reference) or tracing is cheating don’t really get the process of art. Drawing straight from imagination in the most literal sense does not exist because we have to know what we are trying to draw to draw it whether we consciously know it or not. What we draw is influenced by what we observe or what stories we have been told. Like some people don’t seem to understand that if someone commissioned me to draw a Pitbull dog I would have to know what that breed of dog looks like to be able to draw it meaning I would have to reference. I know in the comic book world people look down upon artists swiping other artists poses which I think is ridiculous because that would imply that artists have ownership over poses. Now I would get if the swipe was done for one panel and in that shot the anatomy of the character changed to another artists style as being a problem but just the pose with stylistically different looking anatomy to me is hardly an issue you can’t own a pose. If “a real artist never works from reference or photos or traces” was true you know how many artists statuses we would have to revoke under that pretence? All of them.
I Don't like to say using reference equals cheating , Example when i want to draw a drawing with an element of historical fashion , before i making my drawing , i would simply collect all photos i like the best and consume tons of qualitative reading before i can do such things Reference is important if you know how to use it wisely
"we steal art just enough to have it be an homage and move on. A little too much and it's theft. Not enough and its worthless" I just found my senior yearbook quote! Scott is an amazing human and artist.
There are times where i feel that in stealing or cheating by using tools like rulers and stencil . But we just need to remind ourselves that there are no rules. Thanks for making thinks Clear that there are no rules.
I love art but i dont have a hand for it, i can draw but my hand is just to shake so i draw digitaly and use a tool that makes my lines smoother but some day a person came up to me and sead that this is cheating and thats not real art. Thats the thing people just dousnt know anymore waht art means. I dont feel offended by any coments like this and it dousnt effekt my art but people just shoudnt anoy other peoples art because i know people are effekted by it
I love the idea that we need to expand on what we think of as tools for art. Live models and bowls of fruit were references before the invention of the camera. Tubes of paint that you buy rather than crushing your own berries or plants, those are tools. "There is no cheating in art."
I remember the first time I heard someone say that reference photos are cheating. I was so confused when they said they don’t use reference because then it doesn’t count as their art. Without reference our brains tend to get things wrong, so our art may come out not looking how we expected it to. Just a reminder that it’s always a great thing to have a reference!
To be honest, I couldn't tell you who influenced my art. I'm doing it in a very intuitive way. It's not gatekeeping. I just can't pinpoint it. Most of the time I only can tell who the photographer of my reference was (except if I used something from Pinterest because usually they aren't very reliable with sources). But that's it.
Thank You Master Scott, I learnt alot from this video, and i hope I'll learn more from you and other masters too, Love your style, and love your words🇮🇳
Some sentiments I have carried forward on art is that art, fundamentally, is communication. If a human didn't make it, it stops being art and starts being a pretty picture. For it to be art, there has to have existed a time where you could ask the real human creator about it. I think some non human animals may be capable of making art as opposed to pretty pictures. But humans are primarily the creatures we know to make art as communication. Secondly, if you respect your sources and teachers, you would never steal. A real artist that borrows and copies and learns is never ashamed to reveal their inspirations. An artist should be glad to show others to the sources of their inspiration because they should want others to enjoy the art that inspires them, too. Any artist that is ashamed to reveal when they copied something is either a thief or selfish. You can be proud of what you made, even if it’s traced or copied, without trying to hog the spotlight or prevent credit from reaching others who also deserve it. There are no rules for art, but there are rules of engagement between humans. If you want credit for effort you expend, make sure you give credit to your inspirations when you make art, because that's what you would want done for you.
It’s interesting hearing that there isn’t really cheating in art. Great art as always Scott. I hope you have a great day each day Scott 😁 I also have a question for you. What are your thoughts on AI generated art especially since you are a very hands on artist. Are there things about AI generated art that you don’t like or anything about it that causes you to be concerned with the way the digital age seems to change and introduce new forms of art?
I think it's ai generated imagery. Art is something made by hand. It's something someone creates with thought and talent. Not something a computer spits out from typed in prompts
I thought digital art was sort of cheating until I tried it! I still have to sketch on paper then trace my own drawing on the tablet cos it's really hard! That undo button is too tempting! Ha! Also regarding tracing, The Art Sherpa said something along the lines of anyone who says tracing is cheating obviously didn't go to art school as it's something they teach and encourage! If you want to focus on your painting you might not want to spend hours drawing first, if you do, great! If you don't, great! Anyway, great video 😊 (too many greats? Nah! 😁)
I really think it comes down to intent and willingness to grow and learn. If you're only reason for art is to copy it to get fame and recognition, what's the point? Like AI art, it takes all the humanity and....art out of art. - Though, if it's someone that's trying to learn, develop their own style, then the best we can do is help lead them along. So many people want to be hard on beginner artists, but they just happen to have visibility on their start that many people didn't deal with. Most of the time, blatant, uncredited copying is a mistake, so teaching people how to develop styles and crediting constructively is so important. That way, we can have more wonderful artists in the world
Agreed. BUT... if someone's intent is to trace and get fame and recognition.... great for them. If someone wants to not trace and get fame and recognition.... great for them. If someone wants to trace and be unknown... great for them. If someone wants to NOT trace and be unknown.... great for them. It's none of OUR business. Is it?
Since, i started drawing from that day to now i usually use car images and videos for drawing 😄it is actually teaching you the shapes and some times weird lines that's how I learn to draw without drawing classes!!
The only "cheating" in art is stealing someone else's and claiming it as your own or claiming you drew ai images, in my opinion.
THat's still not cheating. It's theft
@@ssavaartlol
@@ssavaart true!
Theft and plagiarism. Not cheating.
Because rules ≠ laws. Cheating is breaking rules.
@@ssavaart smart 🥹
I also feel like this entire "cheating" thing comes from online videos that tell you "what or what not to do" in art. It can very easily give people the wrong idea about art.
especially since the thumbnails for such videos shows a giant red X over one method and a green tick over the other
I told this story forever ago but since someone might read this I'll share it again. When I was somewhere around 8 years old I found a photo of a dog in a photo album and drew it; my first reference drawing. I was super proud of the result and when I ran into the kitchen to show my mom and some male visitor (friend of the family or relative, can't remember) my mom was impressed because I had captured enough likeness that she went "wow you drew (dogs name)! It's beautiful!" And the male visitor looked at it and went "you cheated" and it probably was a joke like "oh its so good that theres no way you did this right?" but it didn't read in his tone or face enough so I felt like I had broken the law and I carried shame for years, hid the drawing and stopped drawing. At 26 I met my husband who went to art school and he said "that guy obviously knows nothing about art because if you ask an artist then they'll tell you using a reference is a GOOD thing for your art" which helped me start daring to try again and heal those damaging words. So I echo what he said... those that point fingers that things are cheating are those that don't do art and don't know the history and culture and skill building of art. Listen to those inside the art circle that you look up to. Creativity is beautiful, let it play. 💜
I NEED to keep being reminded that references are not only good for art but IMPORTANT. I get way too hung up trying to draw something exactly how I see it in my imagination. Chances are I'm drawing it right, but... it's in my imagination, which means it's malformed mush.
💜💜💜
One problem that i have with using references in my art, is that i quite literally DON'T HAVE THEM most of the time, cuz i draw 90% of my drawings in school, during recess, where i don't have any references for the thing im drawing, but the moment thay i DO have a reference, the quality of my artwork skyrockets sooo........ I've tried to draw things that HAVE references when im in school, so that's helped me a lot
you can't cheat in art, but you can cheat yourself. make what you love, for you.
I think you can use tracing as a TOOL, but it’s easy to forget about actually bettering your draftsmanship if you were to trace all the time. Your art would improve way slower! You can’t rely on tracing, but you also shouldn’t be ashamed if you use it to learn.
I still trace from time to time. Most pros do it.
But, yes, it definitely hampers your learning if that's all you do.
I agree, but also I’d like to point out that not everyone makes art for the sake of “getting better!” Some people just do it as a hobby and are fine with being stagnant rather than always trying to get better.
Doing ANY one sole thing and neglecting the others will always hamper your learning. It's important to have a healthy mix regardless.
There’s only one kind of art I consider to be cheating and that’s AI but then again that might not apply because AI art isn’t art.
Indirectly yes, it's an art cause it's made with its own process of making and there could never be anything made like that same thing even if you try to make that again with the prompt 😅
I don't like AI, or at least I don't like how it's being USED, since it's really just a tool that can be used for good or for ill. That said, I'm still on the fence over whether or not AI generated images are definitively not art.
On the one hand, the image itself is a computer-generated amalgamation of tangible pre-existing images, not like a collage of images or a piece that the artist draws clear inspiration from other pieces for, more like a calculation of what an image MIGHT look like if a human created it; after all, what is a computer but a glorified calculator? By that definition, an AI-generated image is no more art than the result of a multiplication problem.
On the other hand, you still need a human to put in the prompt and program the software, and that requires at least some creative decision making. And would it make a difference if you used imaged you DID have permission to use?
I don't consider AI images to be "real" art the same way I would consider a painting or a photograph made by a human being to be art, but I feel like that doesn't automatically make it not NOT art.
Maybe I'd feel differently if my own art was good enough to even BE plagiarized. :P
@@stevedecker8041art is not the end product, but the journey
AI art is not art at all
I like ai just don’t use ai art and make vids or say it’s your own cuz u didn’t make it , no one did
I think Ai is a tool it can be used as inspiration but people are using it and claiming it as their own, thats unfair.
I'm glad that using a reference photo is not cheating, its really annoying when people expect you to draw without a reference picture
The only people who expect you to draw without a reference picture are people who don't actually draw and have no idea how to.
I remember my friend and I making a fan comic for our friend by using the copying paper and tracing from existing comics. It was so much fun, we never had to worry about cheating or anything. We made a script and we used the tools available to make something new out of the existing material. Kind of like when animators use stock footage (especially in older anime, like Revolutionary Girl Utena is filled to the brim with stock footage).
Thank you, Scott, for this video. I think a lot of people really need to hear this.
Tracing is how I learned to draw. When I was seven I started tracing pictures to learn how to draw certain things. Then later on after I had traced a picture I would draw it without tracing. This is how I learned to draw things it was another way to learn how to draw. Then one day, I just kinda stopped tracing. It was like this was what I had been preparing for , and I just instinctively knew what to do. The thing is, when you’re a cheerful, optimistic, and super confident and motivated nine year old NOTHING and I mean NOTHING can get in your way. I knew I was NOT going to be perfect. Everything I did right was more motivation, a reason to celebrate. And everything I did wrong was a chance to improve and to learn. Tracing is a tool, art theft is, well, theft. (If you read this to the end wow you have officially impressed me here’s a virtual high five 🖐️ Have a lovely day)
Great perspective! It still amazes me how people keep saying not to trace or use grids or pre made palettes or digital tools or... Just goes on and on. The greats used grids, and traced, and copied, and referenced each other! As long as you're not taking someone else's art and saying you made it, what's the problem? Even tracing other people's art is ok if you're only practicing your skills. Just don't steal!
Thank you so so much scott. My cousin keeps telling me that using a REFERENCE is "cheating." When I do digital art, I trace the outline of the subject and then render it myself, and she says that its "cheating but its okay cuz she does it too" which is complete crap. I wish I could show this to here but she never wants to see my reasoning.
Absolutely LOVING the longer little videos 😊
One of the biggest shocks in my time at art school was finding out that the technique of one of our professors was to make photomanipulations and paint over them. Up to that point I'd thought that was cheating. Nowadays I use that technique myself, especially for compositions of complicated pieces.
The art police joke was hilarious:)
I always got taught that tracing is cheating all the time, and my 11 year old artist kid is always desperate to explain why she’s traced something… it breaks my heart
I constantly feel like i’m trying to prove that my art isn’t stolen or copied, that sometimes i sacrifice cool ideas for my drawings or animations, but you’re videos have really inspired me to be more free with my art, and not worrying so much about a standard i have to meet
1000% best message about creating ever! I loved Austin Kleon's book- we need to share this message to all creatives, we should be able to create without guilt or questions about cheating. I've been told that it isn't art if it is traced - even if it was my own drawing from the start. Crap! Total crap! We all glean from life, others, things that catch our attention- that is what makes us creative, because we see one thing and then another and another and figure out how to put those pieces together to make something new. Thank you for sending this message out to the world!
Doing a rough drawing then tracing that is 100% accepted practice.
"Good artists copy; great artists steal."
-Steve Jobs
Wasn't that quote from Pablo Picasso?
@@lhavebeenthereman No, I said that
Hi Picasso. How ya doin?@@DarthGardens
@@lhavebeentheremanNo it's from the rock
You're art is so inspiring to me, I love your work, and what you add to it. You've gotten me to "Steal" your idea of adding some background in the your style, giving me the idea to start adding backgrounds, something I never did or felt confident to do. You rock!
Beautifully Put (and Painted!)!
The inking and the colors turned out perfect. Thanks for sharing your art (and wisdom) with us, Scott 🙃
I don't know why tracing always seemed to be stealing or cheating. It's so hard for me to change that mindset. So thank you so much for this video. ❤
I love the longer videos! Thank you!!
This makes my cry, because I have limited my art for a long time. I thought I have to create everything out of my own brain.😢
Last year I have stoped this, and it's so hard to let this sh*t go.
Thanks for the reminder.❤😊
I love to steal like an artist, as artist.❤
You are SO inspiring! Thanks Scott ❤
Like you, I love Mucha. I also love this painting and think Mucha would be proud of you!
YES! I have seen many "style gatekeepers" on the internet and this is everything I have tried to say but said so much better. Thank you!
You are one of my favorite artists out there! I recommend you to all of my friends and I even showed you to my art teacher! Your work is beautiful and it inspires me to keep going even when I hate the way my art looks. You help me understand that it’s ok to make mistakes in art. You are truly a person I look up to!
I love this!! Sometimes it’s good to have a reminder that art has no rules!! Thank youuu!!
Thank you, Scott! You're a wise man 🩷
Growing up I always heard certain things were "cheating" and as a result, I think this weird haze has settled over my art.. using a reference still feels borderline illegal, but even just being Inspired by an artist feels like it isn't allowed either. Im sure Imposter syndrome comes in a bit here, but one day I really hope I can just create without feeling these invisible barriers. Thank you so much for sharing your art! ♡ and also for giving others courage to break their own barriers. ♡♡
Just want to say I love these longer videos! ❤️
I'm so glad!
I like how we see Scott’s great art and he says inspirational things about art 😁
honestly from all of the content i've seen you're definitely one of my favourite artists, you're amazing Scott, never stop.
Also, love the longer content! Keep at it, RUclips will eventually push it. It's great stuff ❤
Such a good subject, and thorough explanation for a video. Fifty plus years ago for me, these were not brought up as issues. The same when I started taking art classes way back when in college in 1979.
Wow. You've got me beat by 8 years!
Thanks for another great video on a super important topic. I'm no expert on this by any means, but I feel like the "cheating" thing comes from a mixture of feelings of inadequacy (which most if not all artists have experienced a lot of, and which the internet tends to amplify massively) on the artist's side, and a kind of "purity culture" maintained by people unfamiliar with artistic practice beyond polished presentations of it on Instagram or similar platforms (where a lot of presentations tend to fall into polarizing categories of "look at my effortless mastery of my tools/skills" or "here's a photo with a filter slapped on/here's an AI-generated image that I'm claiming as my own"). Of course there is tons and tons and tons of content in between these two, but unless you're looking for it and know something about what to look for, I can definitely understand why people fall into these simplistic black-and-white categorizations. But they're also nonsense, obviously. Couple that with our culture's love for idolizing individuals and seeing things like skill and talent as innate rather than complex outcomes of practice, opportunity and a hos of other factors - things get oversimplified pretty quickly. I really love how you're consistently open about your own struggles, including how you overcome them, and don't hide your errors or things you're unhappy with. Doing that is perhaps the best antidote to attitudes like this.
I'm loving the longer videos and I want 33 percent more Mucha in my hair 😁
Wouldn't we all!
i personally think that an art style isn’t something u can steal or take because it’s a part of you! i can look at my first ever drawings and still see my art style in them even after i studied other artists and learned many things from them the core that is my art style is always the same!
In my opinion, thieving is when you "take" a person's exact piece and say its yours, but when you "steal" it's more like taking part of YOUR piece.
I'm really enjoying these videos. A lot of what you're saying, I really needed to hear. Thank you 🙏
ty for this video! i actually had alot of worries in the past that were answered in this video, hearing these words made me feel so warm and happy. once again thank you!
p.s i once thought the line tool was illegal or something and if other people found out i used it for a piece of art theyd hate me 😂
Also lovely work as always Scott!!
I’ve been trying to get into drawing aircraft, and you really inspire me!
love your art scott , you really inspire me
The cover image of the fat Mona Lisa reminds me of a Progresso(?) ad for regular and chunky spaghetti sauce. The artist was Mark Hess. In addition to a style that was very similar to his illustrator dad, Richard Hess, he did a lot of work that were direct "copies" of old masters work but they would have a commercial spin to it. I don't see traditional work commercially anymore especially since there are digital tools and filters that mimic different mediums. Makes me wonder if traditional artists are even out there commercially anymore. Or do they now do private commissions instead to keep going. What are your thoughts on traditional illustration vs digital as an occupation? (If one is not a social media personality)
There's only 3 types of cheating in art:-
1: AI generated
2: theft
3: trying to make dad jokes like our man scott, cause it's his own art of commedy and we love it.❤
Well said , Mr.Scott!
PS: Im loving these long form content!
It's not the internet. I'm older then that and even my art teacher would say tracing was cheating or a projector
I loved this video, it gave me the language to express how I feel about AI art.
I am old enough to remember when digital art was new, and how there were traditional artists that looked down on digital artists for "cheating" with for example moving of selections.
Back in high school in art history we had a discussion on the merit of conceptual art as art.
In that discussion we also talked about how a lot of new art styles were looked down upon by the makers of the previous styles. Including impressionisme, cubism, fauvism, minimalism, etc.
AI art feels the same for me. It is a new tool, with large implications. And there need to be discussions about the data the AI engines are allowed to build their database on.
But the frase "AI art isn't art" feels to simplistic to me. As looking down on the people using this new tool.
AI art isn't my cup of tea. Not as a consumer and not as a producer. But that I don't like something doesn't make it not worthwile.
AI art steals from other digital artists to generate something soulless and lackluster. The previous styles you mentioned were all different ways humans engineered to express themselves. There is no human expression within AI art.
That being said: this comment is not a jab at you, but at AI art. No hate
Thank you, and don't worry, not taken as a jab.
The point where you and I differ in opinion is that the end result is soulless.
I agree that the AI engines are build on theft, at least partly. There is also public domain of which I wouldn't have a problem if they build their databases on.
But the end result, the generated image, has human input. Someone who crafted the prompt.
I view AI art somewhere between conceptual art and collages. Taking excisting imagery and making something new with it. And that making something new with it is after the input of a human.
There are artists that make paintings with a dripping paint can on a string. The input of the human is how long the string is, the colors used, the in what trajectory the can is swung and when taken back. But in the "putting paint on canvas" aren't human hands involved.
Where is the line between theft and inspiration?
If someone takes multiple images of the internet and photoshop them into one piece. Is that theft?
What is the difference with if an AI engine is used as tool instead of photoshop?
I don't have an answer myself quite yet, but I'm leaning to "be critical on what input the AI engine is allowed to base its database on, but don't disregard product of the users"
I am really enjoying your longer videos. I honestly love Mucha and how you approach to it, but honestly it is not something I would do myself, I am rather in the japanese style, and I still love how you think and share your thoughts. Thanks for making this videos, those help me to go thro thought times and inspire me to keep doing this, because I love drawing, even tho I do not think I can go to art school... Greetings and have a wonderful day:)
When I was in high school I took an art class, one of the assignments was to bring in something to draw as our reference. Since I am a total Star Wars geek I brought in R2-D2 as my reference. We had to draw our reference around 9 times and then color them in different color schemes. Since I drew something so complex my teacher said I could trace my first drawing I had done of R2-D2 so I didn't fall behind the other students who chose something not as complex. Then most of the other students in that art class said I was cheating because I was tracing my own drawing I had done. It was so disheartening that even years all these years later it stuck with me, I don't remember the other students names just remember the shame that I "cheated".
You are so inspirational, love the message you spread about art!
Heyy Scott, thanks for clearing all the things out, I understand now, especially about stealing art. And not gonna lie, your art becomes better and better by day, this one is really gorgeous and colorful!!!💛💙♥️
Keep up the good work🎉🎉🔥🔥
Well... there is ONE rule
DON'T STEAL/COOY ART UNLESS THE OG CREATOR HAS SAID IT'S OKAY!!!
No such thing as cheating in art, so true, love it ☺☺☺
Thanks for sharing your experience & thoughts on this topic. It’s a great help for me to learn & figure out how to go about finding out what styles of art I enjoy & what pieces I like to take or use in my own work of art.
This was a great perspective on the creative process of art! Thank you!
Love this Scott. Words of wisdom, as usual. Thanks.😊
I'm not sure if filters are the one and only reason this assumption of "cheating" exists. I think it's more than people who have a very passionate idea in their head of what art is or isn't now have an opportunity to say so. More often than not (and this includes myself), they have a feeling about why they do or don't like something and don't know the exact words to use to communicate it to something else.
There are no legitimate critics on the internet any more than there are rules in making art.
I really enjoy these longer videos :) Have seen your shorts every now and then, but because I personally prefer content I can sit down and actively watch, I never considered subscribing... until now, that is
Firstly love your art and your videos I’ve been watching your shorts for ages, but only recently found your longer content and I am in awe of your spirit, acceptance and basic humanity so thank you for sharing your self with us all. I love Alphonse Mucha I find him inspiring all his design details and thanks to your videos I have learned it’s ok to use stencils to achieve a similar effect in my journal so I’m totally stealing that and the way you outline your characters with thick black ink and then white or light ink I absolutely love the effect it gives your work. So today I learned it’s ok to borrow from others.😂
Hi Scott i started painting because of u i love ur videos❤ and ur my idol i wish i can be an artist😊❤
I will preach the importance of references for the rest of my life. It is NOT cheating and never has been.
The improvement I made in just a few months when I started using photo references, WOW.
And I saw even more improvement when I started drawing from life (at my local zoo!)
It's really difficult to reference other artists coz people like to pinpoint and compare an artwork with other artists' artworks. It's like they don't know that originality is just a mish-mash of different things. An artist's viewpoint is the one that is unique! (Sometimes even the audience has unique viewpoint on the art).
Dear, Scott🙏
Your videos always is so comforting. I was doubting myself in art 'cause sometimes I trace faces to make more accurate art and make a sketch over a 3D model. I always thought it's not cheating, but society made me think it's wrong. Thank you, internet dad💅 We all should just enjoy our process and be as strong as you💪💪💪
As someone who is new to art and does a lot of fan art for artist and characters that I like, I sometimes felt that what I was doing was cheating. The more that I have been doing it though the more that I have come to realize that what I am doing is more of fan art and not exactly copying them. I don't know what tools that they used in order to make their art, I know that what I mostly use right now is colored pencils and that is what I have been liking the most, along with some painting. It is good to see that others also are seeing that what I am doing is not cheating or stealing, it is nearly me learning. I will never act like what I am doing is my own original work unless it is.
i can't even express how much talent this man has❤
I saw those Poscas in the corner at 1:25 I know you secretly like them, even though in your video reviewing them you said you didn't really like them. And I see you use them a lot for outlining, maybe I'm wrong but that's my theory, an Art Theory!
You got me!
I was always taught that tracing, using rulers , stencils, compass , etc is bad and it hampers ur learning and its cheating. Scott was the person who changed my perspective. Thank u scott uncle.❤❤
What these people mean when they say cheating is that you are cheating yourself out of learning better. Tracing (expect if you're like a complete beginner... ok) will only slow down your progress. Same counts for the grid method, this is not teaching you how to learn to draw, you're just copying the squares. Using reference is fine, copying is fine but if you ever want to draw your own faces and poses you gotta start drawing things from different angles than whats in your reference.
I am working on a frog digital painting. I am tracing it from a copyright free site, and will be painting it digitally. I have never done any digital art, so I'm using it as a practice piece and learning the program. Even with tracing, this is not at all easy! Just because you have help with the image...
Same with using a reference for a watercolor. I still had to paint that image, and in the end, it was difficult and I learned a lot.
The pacing and clasping hands is so true!! 😂😂
I love your watercolour style and it has influenced my style. I push the colours and play with them on the page more. I have started using less realistic colours too.
I do a lot of Snoopy and Woodstock and Charlie Brown Christmas. Sometime I draw, copy, trace and freehand sketching. I’m proud to make art of Charles Schultz’s characters. I do with Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nose. They’re a lot of fun!!! Who cares what people think of me. Like creating a world of art!!! Blessings to all of you!!!
looked down at my paper for a bit while listening and looked back up to find this beautiful piece filling my screen. Amazing.
I was afraid to share the watercolor painting I made because I was using what I saw in your video 😅
Hopefully you don't feel afraid anymore
I’m really starting to think that a lot of people who claim that photo reference (or even in person reference) or tracing is cheating don’t really get the process of art. Drawing straight from imagination in the most literal sense does not exist because we have to know what we are trying to draw to draw it whether we consciously know it or not. What we draw is influenced by what we observe or what stories we have been told. Like some people don’t seem to understand that if someone commissioned me to draw a Pitbull dog I would have to know what that breed of dog looks like to be able to draw it meaning I would have to reference.
I know in the comic book world people look down upon artists swiping other artists poses which I think is ridiculous because that would imply that artists have ownership over poses. Now I would get if the swipe was done for one panel and in that shot the anatomy of the character changed to another artists style as being a problem but just the pose with stylistically different looking anatomy to me is hardly an issue you can’t own a pose.
If “a real artist never works from reference or photos or traces” was true you know how many artists statuses we would have to revoke under that pretence? All of them.
Amazing 😊
I love this art nouveau style! I have not really looked into the artists behind it before so I am going to go explore some Mucha!
Thank you you are such an inspiration to me and you got me confident in my art so thank u so much 😊
I Don't like to say using reference equals cheating , Example when i want to draw a drawing with an element of historical fashion , before i making my drawing , i would simply collect all photos i like the best and consume tons of qualitative reading before i can do such things
Reference is important if you know how to use it wisely
"we steal art just enough to have it be an homage and move on. A little too much and it's theft. Not enough and its worthless" I just found my senior yearbook quote! Scott is an amazing human and artist.
There are times where i feel that in stealing or cheating by using tools like rulers and stencil . But we just need to remind ourselves that there are no rules. Thanks for making thinks Clear that there are no rules.
I love art but i dont have a hand for it, i can draw but my hand is just to shake so i draw digitaly and use a tool that makes my lines smoother but some day a person came up to me and sead that this is cheating and thats not real art. Thats the thing people just dousnt know anymore waht art means. I dont feel offended by any coments like this and it dousnt effekt my art but people just shoudnt anoy other peoples art because i know people are effekted by it
I love the idea that we need to expand on what we think of as tools for art. Live models and bowls of fruit were references before the invention of the camera. Tubes of paint that you buy rather than crushing your own berries or plants, those are tools. "There is no cheating in art."
I remember the first time I heard someone say that reference photos are cheating. I was so confused when they said they don’t use reference because then it doesn’t count as their art. Without reference our brains tend to get things wrong, so our art may come out not looking how we expected it to. Just a reminder that it’s always a great thing to have a reference!
To be honest, I couldn't tell you who influenced my art. I'm doing it in a very intuitive way. It's not gatekeeping. I just can't pinpoint it. Most of the time I only can tell who the photographer of my reference was (except if I used something from Pinterest because usually they aren't very reliable with sources). But that's it.
Thank You Master Scott,
I learnt alot from this video, and i hope I'll learn more from you and other masters too,
Love your style, and love your words🇮🇳
Some sentiments I have carried forward on art is that art, fundamentally, is communication. If a human didn't make it, it stops being art and starts being a pretty picture. For it to be art, there has to have existed a time where you could ask the real human creator about it. I think some non human animals may be capable of making art as opposed to pretty pictures. But humans are primarily the creatures we know to make art as communication.
Secondly, if you respect your sources and teachers, you would never steal. A real artist that borrows and copies and learns is never ashamed to reveal their inspirations. An artist should be glad to show others to the sources of their inspiration because they should want others to enjoy the art that inspires them, too.
Any artist that is ashamed to reveal when they copied something is either a thief or selfish. You can be proud of what you made, even if it’s traced or copied, without trying to hog the spotlight or prevent credit from reaching others who also deserve it.
There are no rules for art, but there are rules of engagement between humans. If you want credit for effort you expend, make sure you give credit to your inspirations when you make art, because that's what you would want done for you.
AI art is really the flipped and signed pissoir-fountains of our time 😂
It’s interesting hearing that there isn’t really cheating in art. Great art as always Scott. I hope you have a great day each day Scott 😁
I also have a question for you. What are your thoughts on AI generated art especially since you are a very hands on artist. Are there things about AI generated art that you don’t like or anything about it that causes you to be concerned with the way the digital age seems to change and introduce new forms of art?
I think it's ai generated imagery. Art is something made by hand. It's something someone creates with thought and talent.
Not something a computer spits out from typed in prompts
Thank you for the wonderful video that you always made
I thought digital art was sort of cheating until I tried it! I still have to sketch on paper then trace my own drawing on the tablet cos it's really hard! That undo button is too tempting! Ha! Also regarding tracing, The Art Sherpa said something along the lines of anyone who says tracing is cheating obviously didn't go to art school as it's something they teach and encourage! If you want to focus on your painting you might not want to spend hours drawing first, if you do, great! If you don't, great!
Anyway, great video 😊 (too many greats? Nah! 😁)
I really think it comes down to intent and willingness to grow and learn. If you're only reason for art is to copy it to get fame and recognition, what's the point? Like AI art, it takes all the humanity and....art out of art.
-
Though, if it's someone that's trying to learn, develop their own style, then the best we can do is help lead them along. So many people want to be hard on beginner artists, but they just happen to have visibility on their start that many people didn't deal with. Most of the time, blatant, uncredited copying is a mistake, so teaching people how to develop styles and crediting constructively is so important. That way, we can have more wonderful artists in the world
Agreed. BUT... if someone's intent is to trace and get fame and recognition.... great for them.
If someone wants to not trace and get fame and recognition.... great for them.
If someone wants to trace and be unknown... great for them.
If someone wants to NOT trace and be unknown.... great for them.
It's none of OUR business. Is it?
@@ssavaart that's fair. At the end of the day, it's best to just enjoy art and do our best to lift others up to. That's what makes art so great ^^
DUUUUDDDE!!! GOD BLESS THIS MAN ALSO I WOULD BUY THE HECK OUT OF THIS IF IT WAS A POSTER LIKE HOLLY COW.
Since, i started drawing from that day to now i usually use car images and videos for drawing 😄it is actually teaching you the shapes and some times weird lines that's how I learn to draw without drawing classes!!
Even the old masters stole from others.
The pacing and clasp was so true 😂😂
HAPPY 2 MILLION SIR🎉
You are the best artist and i Love your work 😍