Is tracing such a bad thing...?

When I was little I had a book called "Space Wars Worlds and Weapons" by Steven Eisler.

I still have the book 40 years later, but I never actually read the book until about 4 or 5 years ago.  All I ever did when I was a kid was trace the hell out of the cover artwork.

It had this really cool image of a space ship streaking across the front, and in the background was this massive space station orbiting some alien world.

I think it was that book that sparked my interest in the idea of becoming a book cover illustrator without even really knowing it was an actual job you could have.

I would trace it daily.  And the book has the indentation on the cover to prove it.  I'm actually surprised the dust jacket didn't get ripped.  They sure knew how to make them back then.

Fast forward to today and I'm still getting inspiration from that book.

Now, I didn't just trace that book, I traced a lot of books.  I also would trace VHS covers of videos we'd hire on the weekends.  Conan, Star Wars, Star Trek, Krull... .  I vividly remember I would sometimes just wander around the video store looking at the covers and thinking how cool they looked.  Especially if they were a Frazetta or Robert McGinnis painted cover (loved those old James Bond covers).

It was those early years of tracing that I think helped me grow as an artist quite rapidly.  Tracing professional artwork or photos helped me understand proportion, lighting and composition, before I even knew what those things were or how important they were to making professional looking artwork.

In my opinion, tracing is a great way to learn.  And a fast way for a beginner to learn the skill of drawing.  Now I should point out, I don't agree with anyone tracing someones work and then trying to pass it off as their own.  Thats just plagiarism.  But tracing the work of your peers and idols can really help you understand how to paint and draw, especially if you don't have a mentor to guide you.

Another reason I think tracing is a great way to learn is that often as a child we trace what inspires us.  So I think an adult should do the same.  That inspiration will keep us motivated to do more.  How often do we think, 'wow, I wish I could paint like X', but then have to settle for lessons from Y?  Sure Y is also a great teacher, but its X who really got our creative juice flowing.

My recommendation for using tracing as a way to learn art is:  find what inspires you in the style that most closely aligns with your interests.  Trace the heck out of it until you start to feel confident that you can then put the work aside and replicate it just from sight.

The reward is; not only do you get to create something that you will love, but you will see rapid, positive growth in your art until you're ready to take your art in its own direction.

And you know what?  You might just end up with your own Mona Lisa to hang on the wall.

Just don't try to sell it.


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