posting this separately from my last post about artfight rules because it's kind of a bigger issue than just artfight, in that i think we in the online art community have lost the plot a little. the attitude a lot of people have around tracing is frankly completely insane. there's nothing wrong with tracing from a photo you took. there's nothing wrong with tracing from a 3d model you posed. there's nothing wrong with tracing over other people's photos or using bases if you're not selling it and you're crediting people properly for their work. these are completely neutral things on their own, and i trust most people well enough to know when they need to be giving credit for work that isn't theirs (and if they don't i usually assume they're either young and don't really know better OR they do know better and they're being intentionally obtuse)
and tbh i'm also tired of the people who defend tracing with the "tracing can actually be a really valuable exercise for developing your skills as an artist!" explanation, because, like, not everything needs to be an exercise in improving your grasp on anatomy or what the fuck ever. sometimes people just want to draw things and have fun and that's FINE, art is supposed to be FUN and a way to spend time and a way to express yourself, not something you slog through because you're too busy obsessing over doing it the "right way" to actually enjoy the process
but this community is so fucking elitist and there's always somebody wanting to play cop and decide who's doing art the "right" way and who gets to be a "real" artist and it's so fucking asinine. we are giving beginner artists neuroses they don't need over things that don't matter, and i'm TIRED i'm tired of seeing it
