trace drawing is not cheating

I agree trace drawing is not cheating if you are trying to achieve accuracy.

Art isn't a game, it's not about winning or losing, art is about being creative rather than following rules, so "cheating" isn't a thing.

A lot of people accused me of cheating when I used to post AI art on tik tok. then I started doing my own drawing, but when I tried trace drawing, especially when I copied Meowbah, a lot of people accused me of copying too much, and some complained about trace drawing being cheating when used too much because its less effort.

I see trace drawing as the only way to effectively copy some drawing style. the only other choice is to take literal measurements of drawing and place main dots to connect, and that is just a more complicated version of trace drawing, but less precise.

The end result will judge if your drawings are appreciated.

AI art.

Grey area.

Real techno AI might or might not be interested in the human concept of art.

Utilising advanced computer systems to generate imagery etc, probably can achieve effective results...Though I'm not sure if the designer is an artist and or just a computer operator...Though some would argue that creative thought is where art originates.

Anyway, if you enjoy the process, that's all that matters.

Well, before photos, many styles of painting often 'were an attempt to 'trace the object of one's art as accurately as possible.

As a lot of paintings 'were photos of a sort, albeit drawn my hand, eye, and mind.

I don't see it as cheating myself.

Though an artist able to draw 'without tracing, might be more valuable to an art company, in some situations.

Or might be more acclaimed by their fellow humans.

I wouldn't call night vision goggles in war cheating,

Though a person able to pathfind without them, might be considered a bit more skilled.

. . . (Shrug) But tracing is a skill in itself I imagine,

A person practiced in it, probably receives better results when tracing, than a person unpracticed in tracing.

Shooting someone at night would be considered cheating.

before photos, many styles of painting often 'were an attempt to 'trace the object of one's art as accurately as possible.

thanks to modern technology, I can trace any photo. As long as I can open photo with my Krita app, I can also trace it. Just open photo, reduce opacity to 80%, locking it in place, place new paint layer over it, and trace draw on layer. Once I am done trace drawing, I remove original photo layer, and I am left with only layer I trace drew on.

It is much faster than regular drawing.

I remember as a kid, I pressed my Warcraft 2 manual against a sunny window, so I could trace some of the artwork on a blank piece of paper over the manual and sunny window.

I do something similar, just on PC. the principle is same, just digital.

Cheaters think alike.

Shooting someone at night would be considered to be murder.

Challenging someone to a duel with pistols at night and removing their bullets would be cheating.

Am I supposed to manually measure distance between everything in photo?

What's wrong with just keeping the photo? It's the I'm perfection is drawing that makes drawing unique. No one with any credentials in drawing will advise that a drawing must perfectly match a photo. da Vinci called it saper vedere [knowing how to see] Draw what one sees. Even AI, dumb as it is [because, without human programming, it is], can recognize a human face with one eye and two mouths.

No one with any credentials in drawing will advise that a drawing must perfectly match a photo

Yeah, but you want it to match a photo good enough. Of course, I dont make my drawing same as photo, I do change to eyes, and mouth. I always do some change. But its that base and outline shape which must be perfect, because while you can get away with changing eyes and mouth, changing base and outline makes drawing different from photo entirely.

So long as you give credit to the original artist. It is not cheating.

I always give credit. I dont earn money from my drawing anyway.

There must be a reason why you don’t earn money from your drawing. They are just copies of other artists.

you want it to match a photo good enough

You missed my point. What's the urgency to make a drawing exactly like a photo. You have the photo. Draw something different. That's originality. That's true creation. Anyone can copy, but why bother with what's already done? Creation is originality.

You missed my point. What's the urgency to make a drawing exactly like a photo.

I never said I make drawing exactly like photo. But precision is desirable. to what degree, is up to person's desire.

The closer you get to the original, the more the original will be appreciated.

There are three separate schools of thought, as far as I am aware, on what constitutes "art."

1. Art is the representation of the best that we can do. - The Balinese believe this. "We have no art, we do everything as well as can be done."
2. Art is whatever you can get away with. Andy Warhol was something of a believer in this approach.
3. Art is not for decoration; it is an instrument of war. This is a quote from Picasso.

My personal opinion aligns these three in this order: 3, 1, and I utterly dismiss 2. I put tracing in this latter category.

The original is already art. Copying it is duplicating the art. When done properly, it will not diminish it as art.