Digital artists watching this video: 👁️👄👁️

Legit how I learned to draw. It helped me understand proportion, spacing, angles, etc. If it helps you learn, it's not cheating.

GUYS!!! PSA: that's her own drawing... she's tracing it because she drew it on sketch paper and wanted to paint it in watercolor, so she needs tp move it. This literally isn't the same tracing you'rr thinking of... it's used as a tool to transfer art to a new paper. You can even use it to clean up line art- like if you have a super messy sketch, you can trace just the clean parts and pick off from there. As far as tracing others artwork, i mean, it doesn't really matter in this case cause that's not what she was doing, but generally as long as you arent claiming ownership or are using it to learn, it's fine. so digital artists, to adress to comments i keep seeing: No, traditionally artists don't just "get" to trace. We do it like you guys do. If your sketch get's to messy, you migjt trace over the important parts and then copy that on another layer. It's the same thing.

I traced for my final art piece in highschool. I did realistic portraits. I initially felt like I was cheating, but my teacher assured me that anyone drawing to my scale of realism would be tracing. I've kept that in mind when I trace these days, and I've noticed that I've learnt so much about anatomy and proportions by tracing.

How to Trace: “trace it, and then trace it, and then trace it”

When I got to art school I discovered light tables, totally a game changer.

I used to get screamed at amd told that i wasnt a real artist because Id trace my drawings like this rather than completely re drawing it from scratch. Thank-you for posting this, its healing in a weird way

People don’t seem to understand that they’re tracing a drawing out of (what I assume is their) their sketch book…essentially doing print making - so they can have a painted version without ruining the original drawing.

I like to use a pen for the initial tracing instead of a pencil. That way you can re-use/re-trace multiple times without risking any smudging or changes to the tracing on the tracing paper. Also makes it more visible against the graphite you put on the other side

I just use graphite paper when tracing. So you don’t have to scribble-scrabble, and the lines will be a bit darker without having to go over them again. Just a suggestion coming from a lazy artist. 😅

You can also get charcoal paper. It's basically a combination of the graphite she added to the tracing paper, and well the tracing paper. You tape the charcoal paper to the paper you want to trace the image onto (dark side down), then you tape the original piece over the charcoal paper. You trace the image, and the charcoal transfers onto the bottom layer of paper.

It's a huge art tip to trace. Not to claim that the art is yours but to learn proportions and placement. I learned SO MUCH when I traced. It helped me to draw freehand so much better

There is literally tracing paper you can buy where the graphite is already on the paper and you just have to put the drawing on top of it....saves you soooo much time and effort.

might want to invest in a light table if you're going to be tracing a lot. There are a lot of cheap options online. Some people even do a more diy light table approach and use either a glass table with a lamp underneath, or a glass window on a sunny day to trace stuff. You could also print a lighter version of the picture you want to trace, put soft graphite (like 4b and up) behind it, and trace directly from the picture. It saves a few steps

Light boards and mini projectors can also be great tools if you have the budget!!!

I like the serious face when you work. It shows how determined you are.

My art teacher taught me a method that doesn't even need the tracing part. You get either a graphite block / charcoal or something and rub it all over the back of the image you want to trace. Then you tape the image to the area where you want it to be. Simply grab a pencil or something and make lines on the image that you want to show on the paper.

I wish I knew this before :( i used to think that tracing was cheating so i always drew everything by just looking at it and making sure that it looked absolutely perfect. Although it was 10x more exhausting than this trick i'm actually very happy now because my skills got more refined that way🌷

I just realized this is a great way to learn like proportions and things because of how many times you need to draw the same thing.

That looks like so much work 😭 I just chose a picture from my computer, but paper over it, and trace it that way. Ofc having the room dark makes it so much easier

I like to use a 3B or 4B pencil for the scribble scrabble part. It tends to transfer really well and it seems to be darker than other hardnesses.

“It’s really faint” Nawww that to me is like the perfect opacity when I work with water color 😂

I cannot explain how long I have been trying to figure this out on my own. Thank you.

When I paint with watercolors I always have to draw the outlines of my OWN stuff beforehand on normal paper and trace it afterwards on the watercolor paper because I erase way too much. 😂

Easier way: Flip the image you’re tracing before you start. Trace. Flip over the tracing paper and instead of redrawing it again you can use a coin and scratch it to transfer it to the other paper

My story animated: WRITE THAT DOWN WRITE THAT DOWN!!

I’ve actually learned this in 7th grade it’s actually helpful

If you’re not tracing to earn money, you can do whatever the heck you want ♥️ I enjoy the hobby of tracing and then colouring it in. I don’t care about getting better at drawing. I feel good when I traced what I traced cos I did it for myself 😊

When I did some animation, I would take videos of myself/friends to trace them digitally. I feel like tracing is only bad when you try to pass other people’s work off as your own, but as a tool to learn it makes lots of sense

I started doing this when I was 15.. everyone just thought I was unbelievably accurate! PS the shading is important though..

Faster, easier, cheaper: When the suns out and you have a window.

All my years of painting without guides and never had a clue this material existed. I could have saved so much time

Me using a projector-

my dad taught me this and he is an artist! he does realism and he uses this technique a lot. some people call it “cheating”, but i think it just makes the process a bit quicker and easier. there’s much more to it than the outline. but besides that it’s a great trick

Yesss for one of my drawing classes, the prof gave me this thick/long piece of graphite for this purpose. Works a charm

Back in my day we didn’t have this many step’s to tracing an image. We just got the image we wanted to trace, place it on a clear glass table with a light under it, and trace it one time. There wasn’t any rough drawing, just the original, and your tracing of it.

Me, who has been drawing since birth and almost finishing fine arts college:....interesting

Thank you! I've been wondering abt this for a while (very new to art). What pencil are u using? Usually when I use pencil the graphite mixes with the paint and it becomes muddy. Do you possibly know why?

Knowing this at school among non artist friends causes me much pain in art class 😭

Her scribble scrambles are still aesthetically pleasing- 😅

I just realised that this was how you were supposed to use tracing paper😂

The fact I was told in art class and growing up that we'd learn nothing from tracing. I always felt ashamed when I did just to find out everyone does it with no regrets 😂

OMG you just unblocked the memories of my old fashion book, where you could copy different shoes and clothes from catalogue to models, omg.

I never knew how to use that paper! Thank you so much. You have changed my life.

"You like D&D, Audrey Hepburn, Fangoria, Harry Houdini and croquet. You can't swim, you can't dance and you don't know karate. Face it, you're never gonna make it." *I'm not sorry*

BRUH THIS IS A LIFE CHANGING HACK THANK YOU!!!

Your hair looks amazing here😮

Tracing is a helpful tool for transferring art between papers without ruining the original drawing. Graphite paper can be a useful alternative to traditional tracing paper.

I think it may be better to call this "how to transfer a sketch"

Artists watching who don’t trace: :0

"Scribble Scrabble". Never heard that one b4. Definitely sounds artsy.

U have NO idea how long ive been looking for this!!!!! tysm!!!!!!!!!

This is a lot of work, I just print the photo then put some graphite on the back, tape it on the surface of the medium and then trace the face in the print. Then you're ready to go.

for me when i do portraits, i put the references picture on my tablet/pc, put the highest luminosity of the used device, make the room dark, put the paper im drawing on on top of the screen and I trace the outline. it saves me SO much time and makes me feel safe that the end result will look like the reference in terms of proportions. I used to feel insecure about doing this but apparently it's a thing ahaha. I only do this with portraits though.

Also, you can get graphite paper to go under tracing paper when transferring, too! And use the same graphite paper a load of times!! Honestly, it is really useful when you want to do a drawing as a painting on a canvas, but want a plan beforehand, in your sketchbook.

Tracing has always and will always be an amazing tool for any artist

Other artists in the chat: “How to trace” *don’t*

Me who draws on a phone: 👁👄👁

Omgggggg I hateddddd doing this when I was in art class because it took so much and seemingly forever to do but it’s so worth it and I lowkey loved learning it. I miss art class sm. 🙏🏽

She said "drawring" so cute. And yup. I used to do this alot.

Theres people that do this. Then theres the legends who freehand trace with their eyes.

I haven’t been in the art community for a while and i come back to find y’all teaching each other to trace 💀

I finally get it! Saving this video! Thank you.

that’s literally so much work 😭

Hot take: What's stopping you from flipping the image before tracing? I'm not an artist so Idk if there is an exact reason for not, but i believe it would save a bit of time.

How to trace: just trace it init

Nice to see tracing being done well as a tool. So many people, myself included grew up thinking it was somehow cheating.

Tracing Garfield comic strips is how I learned to draw. Love how so many people learned to draw this way ❤

"And we are going to trace this drawi-" 14 year olds on twitter: allow me to introduce myself.

“you trace the drawing” *traces from a drawing* people who want to trace from digital work: 😀-

As an Architecture student, i use this method more than I breathe

Damn she turned mere lines into a whole painting.

Heck yeah! Let’s destigmatize tracing in art! As long as credit is given and you use it for practice/nonprofit purposes it is completely fine and you can learn a lot!

Tracing is no fun because then you can't tell your friends that you were the one who drew it lmao. Have faith in yourself. You're capable of whatever you choose to be capable of. And I know that you're definitely capable of drawing something on your own. You have talent and this is still so beautiful.

Scott: "even tracing is art!"

My god, this just took me back to childhood and all the rolls of sandwich paper i used when i went through my tracing stage. My poor parents. How fun to see this technique used by someone else in today's world. So nostalgic.

Until today I thought I wasn’t doing right, it felt like copying somehow to me even tho i've been tracing my own drawing like this... At least now i know,i wasn’t doing the wrong thing 😑

Digital artists: *Copy&Paste*

I never knew how to use this paper before, wow, thanks!

This is how i used to forge my mom's signatures lol

My name is Zoey Hepburn my parents were gonna name me Audrey but nope i don’t think im related to her tho

The Idea: Drawing is a Talent

Im so glad my dad got me a light table when I was younger omg. You have big expensive ones, but I just have one thats kind of like an oversized e-reader. Its amazing, only have to trace once.

You just made me an artist.

This is how I learnt to trace, that's where the 6b and the 2h pencils are at their finest

I used to do this all this time as a kid, like six or seven. I would make the trace all my own by adding color and shading. I always thought I was just coping an image. I never thought they were anything to be proud of, but I am glad they are☺️

Nothing sucks more than having to trace your art into another kind of paper it’s literally torture

THANK YOU I have a sketchbook with tracing paper, but I never figured out how to do it till now

I actually never truly knew how to use tracing paper. Thank you so much. 😂

The scribble scrabble works or you can use carbon paper which is one of the best things my art teacher showed me and I'm glad I was introduced to it

Not everyone has a light box, but I highly recommend it!

This is great! I just started watercolor and I suck at portraits. This is great practice.

Girl is exposing all the pencil artists out there 😂

Tracing paper is so magical I love using it

I scribble way heavier, other than that I love this method so much.

This is actually a great practice....it will help you so much in drawing perfect proportions and all

My Highschool art teacher taught us to go back over the initial tracing with a colored sharpie then put the graphite on the back liberally then use either a pencil or a stylus (she literally had da styluses we could use) to transfer it from the trace paper to our canvases it worked every time and I still as an adult do it that way

Damn I’m happy I just learned to draw.

Ooo how pretty and cool, very stylized!

Aww she looks so cool!!