AMKitsune: @katiaaitak: Despite what many may say, tracing can be (and often is) a good way to memorise certain styles of drawing (which can later be adapted into a style more of your own) and get comfortable with a particular medium, be it pen and paper or digital.

You can almost think of it as the artistic equivalent of stabilisers (or 'training wheels' as they're sometimes called). In time, you'll find yourself relying on direct references less and less until you eventually find yourself not needing them at all.

One thing that I would suggest though, when remaking or creating something that's heavily inspired by someone else's work, it's generally good practice to be as upfront about it as possible. I've found that a great way to go about that is to both credit the original artist and provide a link to their original image. While some people will understand that you're using images like this to improve your abilities, there are many people out there who'll jump on it for being a rip off (in the actual sense, not the tongue in cheek sense that we have here as a tag).

By doing this, your viewers would be left with no doubt what your intentions were when creating your image.

On a personal note, I usually try to get the permission of an artist who's work I'm working on/editing before I upload my version. I'm not certain that this is necessarily needed, but given that the work's mainly that of the original artist (in my eyes at least), I prefer to make sure that they know and are OK with someone else uploading their own version of the original work. So far, I feel that I've been extremely fortunate with everyone I ask saying yes so far. It would seem that most people are OK with it as long as you offer to be open and transparent about the derivative nature of your image. Again though, that's just something that I choose to do out of respect to the original artist. How you go about it would be entirely up to you.

Also, that's some nice clean lineart and colouring there. What program are you currently using?

katiaaitak: @AMKitsune: thank you so much for your encouraging words, it really really REALLY helps a lot :))))). I'll take your advice into consideration. And to answer your question I use procreate on iPad.

Tahrey: I can't criticise anyone for tracing, so long as they don't try and claim something as their own original creation after doing so. It's useful for using something as a base for an altered fanwork, or to uprez something that's pixeled or otherwise low definition using vectors, etc... Done enough of my own before to make better looking images from poor sources, and many other things besides.

ThatGuyWithAKhajiitWaifu: @POMA: Instead of criticizing on how /bad/ it is, how about giving them advice?

POMA: Ehhh, advi-i-i-ice. Okay, what you do here is completely wrong. Drawing is, essentially, just a bunch of lines - straight and curved - so the first thing you have to learn is how to draw them. And the best thing to learn it is spend some quality time drawing spheres and cubes. There are a lot of teach-yourself material about it on the internet. Also complete retrace won't teach you anything but retracing, you better try to copy image by occasionally peeking at original or build a skeleton off the image - it'll help you understand how the bodies work.

MikeyTheFox: @POMA: I taught myself how to draw by tracing and editing images :V

I ain't proud of it but that's how I got to where I was today.

Well that and just lots of practice.

kamperkiller: @MikeyTheFox: If it worked for ALL the major artists of history, I personally think it's good enough for furry artists.

Just don't post it as your own (or at all really)

The next step is to use them as references

Tahrey: Anyone who can draw a perfect circle (or sphere) or straight line (or cube) unaided is supposedly clinically insane, aren't they?

Radian: @MikeyTheFox: @kamperkiller: But it's bad way to learn :( I think tracing should be
considered only for very beginner and better get rid of it as earlier as possible.

@Tahrey: Yes, but 10min of line\circle\ellipse practice is a good warn up.

Pepsidude: I've traced in the past to learn the flow and motions of certain shapes, it isn't a bad way to learn necessarily. Granted, I did not upload mine, but still. People are going to learn all in different ways. Seriously, people who are JUST starting shouldn't get too much flak for tracing.

The Prequel Fandom has become a lot less friendly over the past few years. Mostly cause of people like POMA and such, being on high horses and such. If you act like that it could discourage people from trying to draw. It almost made me quit a few times, and it's made me quit prequel art almost altogether.

I've personally taken time to talk to starting artists and given them helpful advice rather than being an asshole to them. You'd be surprised how much people improve with positive reinforcement. That's something most of the fandom is unaware of these days.

-Uzi_Man-: I just edited a few things from the original.

Armored-Struggle-Wagon: Yep, That's wedgie'd it's way right into a questionable rating.

Tahrey: looks potentially painful, that.

Tahrey: ...actually, there's no difference in degree of wedgie between this and the original. She's just lost the ponytail and a bunch of construction lines / other little bits that needed cleaning up.

Vidiotdragon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHHyUECVUbs

kamperkiller: Trying more Light effects with Katia (Tips welcome)

Riddle78: The front of her face seems a little dark,considering where the dominant light sources are. Besides that,excellence!

Tahrey: Nice ... I echo the "face needs more attention paid to lighting", but then, as only one of the sources is yellow, and the others are blue, we shouldn't expect the greatest reflection from those.

But, where are her legs?!?! ;)

kamperkiller: @Tahrey: is mostly a bust sketch

Tahrey: you can say that again ;)

Man_Of_Mer: THE POWER OF SUGGESTION!

Stankloid: Fig. 3: Why intimacy with Khajiits is both ill-advised and terrifying.

Bob: Strangest boner right...

*Sees Fig. 3*

...And it's gone. :)

comkiller: oh dear Azura...

Adventuring_Farmer: Oh my...

Armored-Struggle-Wagon: Isn't this just cute! Fig 3 is just too silly, and adorable... Silladorable...?

Tahrey: Dorasil ... kills 99% of all germs

kamperkiller: Katia just having a good time... too few of these.

Pepsidude: your style is adorable!

kamperkiller: @Pepsidude: Thanks. :3

Tahrey: For some reason I can't help thinking someone's tickling her :D

kamperkiller: @Tahrey: I was going more for "Smug" lol

Tahrey: Nah, you need to go a lot more Donald Trump for that

Pepsidude: Make Cyrodill great again! Build a wall to keep those filthy Khajiits out.

(I am so sorry)

kamperkiller: @Pepsidude: They bring Skooma to our streets, and they are nothing but sexual fiends, murderers, and deviants with disease.

Fralex: Now I want oatmeal cookies.

bluedraggy: I so much don't get this I had to doublecheck the URL. What? How does this relate? I'm sure it must but... ?

RoninSmall: @Fralex: sorry, but it is piece of wine corks

Tahrey: bluedraggy: the cream and green lump of material at the far left of the picture is the half-finished model of Katia seen in the immediately previous upload.

Also, "beautiful" star of chaos? PURGE THE HERETIC! FOR THE EMPEROR!

RoninSmall: @Tahrey: well, you want to burn me? Okay, WHERE MY HELLDRAKE?!

Haha...

"a line that says what I'm joking at answer and not trying to humiliate someone, as many think, because I'm too lazy to learn language"

Tahrey: u wot m8?

*radios for Imperial Guard backup*

Tora! Tora! Tora!

RoninSmall: @Tahrey: throw chaos cultist's figure into the monitor * BLOOD FOR DA BLOOD GOD!

Tahrey: MORE Emperor-damned warp-crazed Khorne-lovin' heretics? This is getting tedious. Forwards, men!

MetalC0Mmander: Ok I'd say this has gone on for long enough already. Let us drop this non-sense remember what brought us tougether in the first place. Apprecition for arts of an anthropomorphised yellow cat for whom life is hellish repetitions of faillures and dissapointments. Come on! Toward a brighter future. A more purposeful way to live. Or for a greater good if you will.

Tahrey: SILENCE HERETIC! This world will be purged.

Mothership, commence exterminatus!

tronn: "...and her breasts were big like this!"

kamperkiller: @tronn: lol, I could see her being a little pettanko

Tahrey: Hey, who stole my juggling balls? (And my legs?)

kamperkiller: Trying more Light effects with Katia (Tips welcome)

Tahrey: Well, the ambient fill-in means you don't have to worry about the local sources so much, but it still would probably be a good idea to have a bit of near-field highlighting from the fire at least.