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Atmospark In reply to Cruel-Quillish [2012-12-22 22:53:37 +0000 UTC]

Actually no, vector graphics aren't just traces. Vector graphics are heavily used in the commercial world to create things like logos and to show off products in advertising etc.

The the MLP fandom, the majority of vectors made are 'traced' from a screenshot of the show, but they're not made to be able to say "Hey guys look, this is mine, I came up with this and I'm so cool!", they are in fact made so that they can be used as resources, spread around and re-used. I used quotations over the word traced up there because the word tracing implies a direct copy, like putting a piece of paper over a drawing and tracing through it. When we do vectors from the show we aren't copying exactly. We're adding in missing details, fixing animation errors, anything we can to do the work that the animators just can't to make that particular character's pose or the scenery stand out and given attention.

When we 'trace' something, we do it only to complement the original and to sometimes give it a different style which appeals to other people.

Then of course you have vectors which are not traced in the slightest. If you look at the work by *ZuTheSkunk , there is no tracing involved there at all but all of his work is vector.

Others (including me) make quick little sketches on paper which are missing a lot of the details and then vector over them, making a unique pose, character, object or whatever the thing is but in the show's style.

Also the actual show is made in Flash, from vectors.

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Cruel-Quillish In reply to Atmospark [2012-12-23 02:14:03 +0000 UTC]

So... basically what you're telling me is that for the most part, it is just tracing, right? That's what I really don't get. It's either tracing or it's not. There's no grey area there. I'm sorry if you're offended by the fact that your 'vector' doesn't do it for me quite as much as the original, but to me, tracing is tracing. There is no 'improvement'. It just feels like a slap in the face to the original creator of the piece. It's all fine and dandy that they let you use it, but I'm just saying I see little effort in making a nearly exact copy.

If it isn't traced and is done completely by yourself, I don't find it as bad. I have no issue with people using vectors to help them draw better (as long as they aren't tracing the vectors). I just don't believe they belong on an art site that was made to show art you did 100% by yourself and one that is against most traces (but when you call them 'vectors', it's suddenly okay???) and don't think it's fair that original pieces get buried underneath vector work.

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haratofu In reply to Cruel-Quillish [2012-12-23 06:10:02 +0000 UTC]

The point of a vector is that it's scalable to any resolution. They don't make it "easier to draw"; in fact vector-based editing has its own learning curve that's significantly different than traditional art.

So... yes it is more or less a trace, but it also isn't. It helps to understand the medium before making a judgement.

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Cruel-Quillish In reply to haratofu [2012-12-23 15:25:44 +0000 UTC]

I'm trying to understand the medium, but I just don't get it at all. So basically, vector artists trace screenshots and whatnot, 'smoothing' out the lines, and then other artist copy and paste the vectors, resize them, and use them in their comics? Or do they just re-draw the vectors by hand in the scale they want? Because if it's the first one, I've lost a lot of respect from pony comic artists that use vectors.

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Quasdar In reply to Cruel-Quillish [2012-12-23 18:01:59 +0000 UTC]

Take a look at this [link] for some examples- vectors are not limited to traces. A lot of people like to do traces because they see something from the show they really like and want to make a high quality vector version of it. It's also a good way to learn the show's style so they can make vector versions of their favorite traditional art. Some users are good at making their own sketches and then turning those in to vectors. If you want to see what kind of cool things people can do with vectors, check this out as well [link]

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Cruel-Quillish In reply to Quasdar [2012-12-23 23:02:17 +0000 UTC]

Not 'always' traces? That's my point. I have absolutely no problem with vectors that are just used in order to learn anatomy and used for references, but that's ONLY if they weren't traced from stills or from other people's work. I don't know when it somehow became acceptable to trace, but when I was growing up I was taught that tracing someone else's work is considering stealing and it doesn't help you improve much at all. Drawing something from reference is fine, but tracing is not.

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Quasdar In reply to Cruel-Quillish [2012-12-23 23:08:29 +0000 UTC]

Uh, I never said 'not always traces'. Vectors are anything drawn with vector tools in vector capable programs, like Illustrator, Inkscape and Photoshop.

Do you tell people who color existing sketches you disapprove of their work too? It's the same concept, except with a vector you end up with none of the original art in the result.

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Cruel-Quillish In reply to Quasdar [2012-12-23 23:18:35 +0000 UTC]

"vectors are not limited to traces" Yeah. Yeah you did. If you meant to phrase it differently I'm sorry, but essentially that phrase means that vectors aren't always traces, but there are some that are. And then you continue by saying that people indeed trace in order to get 'high quality vectors'.

Only if they are colouring sketches that they don't have permission to colour, just as a lot of people who vector trace off of screenshots from the show. It's a copywrite issue, and doesn't belong on this site that is meant for showing off your original, individual talent.

Anyways, my original comment was basically me just saying that I found it unfair that a trace made it to the front page, while the original work did not. I'm not sure why you suddenly started ranting to me about vectors.

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UnimportantUsername In reply to Cruel-Quillish [2012-12-24 00:36:53 +0000 UTC]

"Anyways, my original comment was basically me just saying that I found it unfair that a trace made it to the front page, while the original work did not. I'm not sure why you suddenly started ranting to me about vectors."

The reason this conversation started is because you said at the very start:

"Doesn't 'vector' mean 'trace'?"

And the answer is: no.

I won't deny that there are people who do use vector graphics for tracing. But that applies to just about any other types of graphics (not only digital), so it's not a problem related to vectors alone.

[link] Those are original vectors, no tracing involved in their creation.

[link] [link] [link] And those are vectors too, to give you an example other than MLP.

Just take the time to read the definition on Wikipedia, and hopefully you'll understand better what vectors are. [link]

As for the fact that the vector made it onto the front page while the original did not (what probably isn't true anyway, as Kired pointed out) - you can't really predict which piece will get more attention than others. Neither would the creator of the vector.

Case of the point: this image. [link] I made it as a quick partial trace made for the sake of being a silly illustration for my tutorial, and I wasn't paying much attention to it. I upload it, and suddenly, out of nowhere, it makes it onto the front page, and gets over 2000 favourites. When my actually original artworks rarely get 1000.

Stuff happens.

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Cruel-Quillish In reply to UnimportantUsername [2012-12-24 00:47:07 +0000 UTC]

Oh, alright. Haha, thanks for explaining it a little bit better. I was so confused.

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Quasdar In reply to Cruel-Quillish [2012-12-23 23:28:07 +0000 UTC]

You said you were confused about vectors as a medium, so I hoped I could make things more clear to you.

A lot of people are interested in traces from the show because the people who do them create improved and useful graphics. These can be applied to flash games, animations, t-shirts, wallpapers, computer icons and anything else where digital images can be used. The creators of the show like that there's a large and active fanbase and the works produced as long as they aren't being sold for profit, lying about where they came from or trying to steal credit. But if you dislike anything traced you can feel free to avoid those and look elsewhere for original art. Plenty of users draw their own art and then turn it in to vector graphics. And when they make vectors from another person's art, they draw attention to it and its creator that it wouldn't otherwise have.

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UnimportantUsername In reply to Quasdar [2012-12-24 00:35:30 +0000 UTC]

"Anyways, my original comment was basically me just saying that I found it unfair that a trace made it to the front page, while the original work did not. I'm not sure why you suddenly started ranting to me about vectors."

The reason this conversation started is because you said at the very start:

"Doesn't 'vector' mean 'trace'?"

And the answer is: no.

I won't deny that there are people who do use vector graphics for tracing. But that applies to just about any other types of graphics (not only digital), so it's not a problem related to vectors alone.

[link] Those are original vectors, no tracing involved in their creation.

[link] [link] [link] And those are vectors too, to give you an example other than MLP.

Just take the time to read the definition on Wikipedia, and hopefully you'll understand better what vectors are. [link]

As for the fact that the vector made it onto the front page while the original did not (what probably isn't true anyway, as Kired pointed out) - you can't really predict which piece will get more attention than others. Neither would the creator of the vector.

Case of the point: this image. [link] I made it as a quick partial trace made for the sake of being a silly illustration for my tutorial, and I wasn't paying much attention to it. I upload it, and suddenly, out of nowhere, it makes it onto the front page, and gets over 2000 favourites. When my actually original artworks rarely get 1000.

Stuff happens.

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UnimportantUsername In reply to UnimportantUsername [2012-12-24 00:37:08 +0000 UTC]

Ugh, responded to wrong person.

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Kired25 In reply to Cruel-Quillish [2012-12-23 23:22:56 +0000 UTC]

The original is roughly 6 months old. It probably was on the front page at one point.

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Cruel-Quillish In reply to Kired25 [2012-12-24 00:47:31 +0000 UTC]

I certainly hope so. I guess I should just be happy that the vector led me here.

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Kired25 In reply to Cruel-Quillish [2012-12-24 03:00:49 +0000 UTC]

Many vector artists who do traces in MLP fandom will link back to the original. It's a common courtesy to acknowledge your source material.

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Alfamaxis In reply to DemonPanther [2012-08-26 10:22:48 +0000 UTC]

It is ... but i don`t know what.

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Ghost-Stars In reply to DolphinBuster [2012-08-15 21:41:49 +0000 UTC]

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