Is Tracing Cheating? 

A question we thought would divide opinion, but actually solidified how both professional and budding artists feel about it. This is what you had to say about it…

As you can see from the poll, the answer is clear; tracing is not cheating! The caveat is, there is context to it. While tracing is not cheating, it is cheating If you are copying someone else work or claiming something to be your own when its not.

Lets’ have a look at some of the ways tracing is beneficial for your creativity.

Learning Curve

Everyone has to start somewhere right? When you first star to draw, tracing is a handy bridge to get you to draw what you see, not what you think you see. It helps you see composition, angles and proportions and also the way an object can overlap, bend, fold and curve opening your mind and hand to the three dimensional aspects of capturing your subject.

Trace Your Own

You’ve been messing about with ideas, sketching away and then boom you get THAT idea and want to make your little sketch into something bigger and better. Happy days. Only, every time you draw it it just doesn’t look quite as good- the solution? Trace your own sketch! Making a mock up and then enlarging it to trace over onto a bigger canvas saves you so much time and stress.

This is amethod used is many artist professions; from mural artists to tattoo artists. 

Art Block Beater!

I think most of us have been here- a total creative block! Tracing is a good way to just draw and get your hand moving. It helps keep up your creative spirit and might even spark an idea helping you lift the weight of your art block.


When it comes to tracing, the act of tracing in itself isn’t a dishonest tool for improving your own skills. It’s how to use it

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