I love his unpretentiousness and honesty. Very creative and fresh. Thanks!

Ah--to trace or not to trace. I am 67 years old and just getting back to painting. I do not want to spend all the years I may have left on drawing classes. So I blow up a pic and use graphite paper to trace on my paper. You have given me a great idea in using the light behind the photo. I would have never thought of that. I love your classes. They are easy to understand and I don't have to pay big bucks to take them (haha). Keep them coming. You Rock!!

With such a fine body of work to support him, who would dare to give Stan Miller a "thumbs down"? ;-) Thumbs up for honesty and practicality Mr. Miller. As a very-late starter, I still struggle to do large pre-colour drawings that are always proportionally accurate. Consequently, I may trace a light outline then fill in the detail from references before adding watercolour. To date, I don't have the courage to begin a large (20 x 30- inches upwards) watercolour without a preliminary pencil sketch. Maybe one day I'll get there. Many thanks again for your time and encouragement.

I had no idea you could shine a light through 140 lb Arches paper! I also like the “slip and slide” technique. Another excellent video!

many years ago I did a drawing course,I hadn't drawn in years and the lady that did the course would only tell me to practice when I asked questions, I was older than the other students and felt stupid,,,,I gave up before I completed the course, I'm now 45 and have picked up a pencil again, as I'm not a natural drawer ,your advice about the tracing is excellent :-) thank you Sheree

Your straightforward and honest tutorials conceal a great depth of skill and experience. Thank you for sharing your considerable time and teaching talents.

thanks for your comments everyone.

I have found that tracing is a great way to train your hand to match the motions of the strokes needed to draw a certain object.

All your lessons have such great ideas! There are so many of us that are beginners that just need to get started. Of course we will eventually get to free drawing from our imagination, but copying is an imprative part of learning. That's part of how we grow.

Just dropping a few words to say thank you! If you intend to be a pro then you should work really hard on drawing exercises, but for those who are interested in painting as a hobby these are wonderful tips because they lead us to going through the drawing process quickly and easily. It's mainly important for people like me who do not know how to draw but love to paint. With all this info I'l be able to paint even those subjects I thought I'd never be due to the barrier of drawing. It's a new world and possibilities opening up. So, thanks again Stan, no words can express my happiness and gratitute!

I liked what you said about “getting people into painting”, so using any method to get the subject on the paper is another tool and not cheating. Thank you for saying that!

I love how much people hate tracing. It's nothing new. What do people think the camera obscura was for? Was it not just projecting an image to be traced?

slip and slide is fantastic.This videos are helping me a lots. Thank you.

This is a valuable lesson. I'm glad you didn't receive a single thumbs-down above, as was your fear. I was taught to draw from life years ago but as my eyesight has become more challenged, I have to rely on a few "cheating" methods to assist at times. Especially for very detailed work which also includes using a floor magnifying lamp. If this is "cheating" then wearing glasses would also be considered "cheating" by the purist. Do learn to draw and paint from life if you can, it's very rewarding, but as you start your journey, or at any time during your journey, if you need to rely on assistance, don't let the need for these tools diminish in any way your creativity. My philosophy, do you and stop judging other's work. If we all practiced that most important "technique" we would all be much happier.

I used to trace in a window, I could go outside or inside my home depending it day or night. I finally learned to draw

For years I didn't permit my students to trace, they had to draw out their painting the old fashioned way. I spent most of my time in class correcting students drawings and then it dawned on me, they were cheating by needing me to correct their drawings. I don't permit my serious students to trace, only those who paint as a hobby.

Tracing, gridding and slip sliding are not bad ways of drawing, actually they’re very effective - which is why they get used. However, the point of making the extra effort to draw from life is that it teaches you so much more. Not only will you be able to create a likeness, but you can do it with any medium, freeing you from the tyranny of an outline. Drawing from life also teaches you to see the defining elements of an object or person, allowing you to select or omit to realize your creative vision.

Brilliant!! I especially like Stans 'slip and slide' completely new to me! Thanks Stan.

Stan, I realize this video was taped over two years ago, but I just found you today...and I can not thank you enough for these helpful tips on getting the drawing down, so that we can proceed the painting process! I don't see these as cheating...I will use them as tools to help me "see" the subject more clearly. There are a lot of times that my hand, mind and eye are not working on the same subject!!!! Again, I am excited to give these ideas a try...and I will not give up on my desire to draw better with more and more practice...but this will let me get a better painting, if the subject is correct! Thanks much!!!!

Thank you so much for all your videos, they are really very informative and helpful to us beginners and improvers. I have never seen the slip and slide method - amazing and I shall give it a try.

Brilliant Stan, just recently started with watercolour. Every clip of yours I've watched has given me something to take away. Defiantly a sign of a good teacher.

There’s no cheating in drawing/ painting . I like your style, I can draw but as you know time is money. I especially like your any color portrait. Still a student @ 71.

Hi there. Thank you for sharing your amazing work. I’m a longtime viewer and a first time commenter. Another reason to use your “frowned upon” tracing method is that it lets inexperienced painters better see values without getting lost in details and colors. Thank you for all you do.

Thank you so much for these drawing techniques. I can draw but it does take a lot of effort so any help to do the drawing much easier so that I can get on with the painting is much appreciated. - Aileen from the Philippines (late bloomer in watercolor painting😄)

Great thanks. New techniques to me. At least the Stan's slip and slide was. I used grid technique for a hgh contrast side view of Any Warhol recently : my tutor kindly suggested it when I think he detected a look of lost-and-panic as I had no idea how to go about it after I painted the the bland grey background! I had to do exactly as you always say: just see the shapes and put them in the right places! And it worked! One thing I am becoming less worried about is just taking an eraser and re-drawing parts. I find having a break or coming back to a sketch the following morning helps me find errors I just had been blind to the night before: eraser time!

I have done GCSE art, A-level art gnvq art and architecture degree in interior and 3d design, never were we taught about value... That was 15 years ago... I wish I had you as a tutor at some point... IV learned more in 3 of your videos than in all that time at school /college...

I just watched this and decided to go back to an old technique I used to use - I pencil in the back of the photo and then draw right on top of it. There's no right or wrong to tracing, it's what's called a gradient. Everything is done little by little, from easy to more complicated. Once you get good at tracing, you can move on to freehand.

I love your videos, I am just starting in watercolor... thanks you very much 🙏

A really informative set of lessons that should help anyone from beginner to practiced amateur to improve rapidly ! Btw it is now thought that even the great Vermeer used a form of tracing to help set out his interiors. Maybe the thing is - if it helps, use it. Thanks again for a great set of lessons !

I love Stan's slip & slide!

thanx, and yes, u rock it Master!! awesome again and again...

What makes tracing such a faux pas when learning? Not everyone developes a style without learning through visual or physical tracing to begin with.

Thank-you again for sharing great information! I don't consider this cheating :). I ordered a proportional divider - gonna use it.

You r genius. Hats off to your knowledge and creativity.🙌

thanks a lot, you are a great teacher! and you have a perfect easy to understand pronunciation too!!! ;))

Sir, I don't see recent videos from you! Can't get enough of the knowledge you share with us. Greetings from India

That "slip and slide" technique is actually really clever. I've never seen that before. Tracing isn't breaking any rule in art. There aren't really any "rules" in art, but of course there are still the general ones that apply to all things and businesses. You can't lie to your customers about the details of how something was made. If they ask about your process or technique and ask if you traced the contours and if you lie and say no you didn't but you actually did, then that's the only thing that would be "cheating" about tracing. I just want to mention one thing about drawing that I have found helpful and maybe someone else will also from reading this comment. When first sketching out a picture, the easiest way to do it is to sketch really "sketchily" at first. Sketch with really quick, rough, blurry looking lines and marks. The whole drawing should be pretty messy looking at first. Keep sketching fast, erasing stuff, moving big shapes around, very loosely and easily. Keep everything light so that it's easily erasable and changeable. Keep doing that until everything looks like it's in the right place with the right proportions. Then once all the large shapes and big proportions look accurate, then take an eraser and go area by area and clean up the drawing with smooth shading, crisp lines, and sharp edges. Go slowly across the whole drawing and using your eraser and a pencil make it have the exact style and level of finish and detail you want. But when you start the drawing it should be very loose, very sketchy, and very fuzzy and blurry looking. Keep sketching like crazy until you get all the big shapes and proportions right, but keep it all light so it's easily erasable and moveable. That's the first part. The second part is then slowly going over the drawing area by area and cleaning the drawing up, sharpening up edges and giving it the exact look and style you want. The typical way of beginning a drawing with careful little tiny marks and slowly going area by area is very difficult to learn how to do and get the proportions right. To instead start sketching like crazy at first to get the proportions right, and then slowly going over it to give it a tight and careful look, is much more fun and much quicker. The real trick to this is to draw lightly when you do the quick sketching in phase, because you want to be able to erase things and move them around easily and change the way they look effortlessly with your kneaded eraser.

Thank you for another great video.

Greatly appreciated ✍️👌

Your artwork is gorgeous! A good artist always should learn how to draw. But I agree with the viewer who said that tracing's been done even by the great Masters -- i.e. the camera obscura. It is not cheating, esp. when you are doing a commission. In a portrait accuracy is the most important thing. Your client won't care whether you drew freehand or traced. They want a perfect likeness! And that's all that matters.

Do you have anything out there on easy perspective? I have a difficult time on where to place vanishing points - on or off the paper.

Although I use tic marks with a projector since erasing wrecks the paper, I make sure that I draw out the person 5 times-that way I become very familiar with the features and know where I can take artistic license .

Your thoughts and techniques very good i like it . thank you

Your students are very lucky to have you in school as their teacher. I would love to do a workshop with you.

Hello, I have discovered your lessons just a few days ago, I just want to thank you for sharing your knowledge so generously, in short-format lessons. It's a good way to jump in watercolor painting for a beginner like me. I don't get why your advices would be criticized, painters have used lenses and other tools since centuries ( see the Hockey - Falco thesis).

Btw, you are an awesome teacher Stan Miller.

Thanks for all of the great lessons. Can I use a light box with 140 lb paper to trace?

The 'cheating' works well if there's a time constraint. As much as I'd like to prove to myself that I can draw freehand and still capture the likeness, the reality is that there are just times when we don't have enough time to complete the project. I feel like I'm more pressured to trace when I have a deadline as opposed to me just drawing or painting a portrait for fun.

cheating is good for art! thumbing up! :P

excellant work

Another great lesson. Long nails on right hand... guitar player?

How is tracing "cheating", especially if you are getting paid to do a specific portrait ? For one, you may want to save time, and make sure you have the image as accurate as possible. When you add paint you are putting part of yourself into the piece , and that is what your client is paying for.

Very helpful thank you 😊

hello Stan. Thank you very much for your lessons. I'm learning a lot from you here in Portugal. Many thanks to the internet :D I have a question: in this video when you show the painting done in Tuscany, what is the material/support in which this painting is preserved? What is the finish?

very useful tips, thank you .. can you tell us how u preserve your watercolor drawings like that ?!

Stan do you have a tutorial drawing or watercolor book for download ?

Have you heard of a light box?

Omg... Hadn't seen the removal replace of the photo to make a mark when I left the last comment.... But that is an amazing technique... If it works then why not use it... People should t questions the technique just these outcome

Cheater-teacher...:) great!!!

Never know the slip and sketch method. Woww

Tracing might be frowned on by elitists, but tracing trains too. Better to get folks into the art part withe less stress as possible or they will quit before they really get a chance to get good. I don't think the tracing or the slip and slide thing are cheating at all.. it trains whether we realize it or not. it's interesting to see how you do things like this. when I do complicated drawings I use still yet another technique to start drawing it .. like a portrait for example. I wish I could share an image to show you but alas this doesn't allow it. (no not grids) Anyway, you have given me some great ideas as well applying different situations to whatever technique to get a sketch done. Thank you again for your time, heart, and sharing.

At 6:08 the water in the painting looks as if it is actually rippling around! And I recently discovered another way to "trace." I use my magic eye technique and superimpose the image from my left eye on top of my right eye. One eye on the photo, one eye on my paper! Then I "trace" the image. Is that cheating? Have a great day everyone!

i don’t think tracing is cheating or even bad for you. every profession has their tricks of trade and so does art .the main focus should be on making a beautiful piece of art. i rest my case

My only problem was with the title. I would have appreciated it being called Great ideas for transferring an image onto watercolor paper. I totally get it because if I spend ages doing a drawing I don't want to paint it. :(

I think it's genius

Very informative. People cheat all the time with Photoshop. If it works. Do it!

There is nothing right or wrong in Art it is the final result that counts. I learnt to draw as I find measuring so boring.

Tracing is not cheating. Telling people that you're drawing free hand when you are really tracing is cheating.

Lol Christ face

Так нельзя рисовать!

tracing is not a valid option......

If you can't draw accurately then don't bother to do water colours/colors! Competent drawing is the essence of water colour/color painting. TRACING? UGH!!!!!!!