6 things to remember when you copy Art
✅ Helps when you do client jobs
Something that many people don’t realize when it comes to copying art is, it can be really useful for you when it comes to fulfilling a job. Most of the time you will work with clients who already have their ideas and concepts set up for their projects. This especially goes to 3D artists who have to turn 2D images into 3D. That means, that you as an artist have to create something from an already existing idea. This can be from a written note or even better from a concept art the client already created from another artist. If you are lucky, you will have a little freedom to add things to it and make it in your style, but more often the client really wants the exact same thing which they already created. So copying a concept art 1on1 into 3D is pretty good when you can do that. Concept artists have a bit more freedom when it comes to creating but as a 3D artist, you just have to copy the concept.
✅ Studying art gets easier
When you have the ability to copy 1on1, this will help you to understand forms and shapes even better. You will have the ability to see every little detail even when you don’t understand them yet and your way of looking at things is pretty in-depth. So it’s overall a great skill to have. Some artists can’t copy well which brings a lot of issues later on with studying and doing specific jobs. So if you can try to learn how to cope well, try to learn to look deep into anything you are doing and filter the things out which are important. It’s the same as being a baby. You copy everything you are seeing in the world, and suddenly you can walk, talk and do other things. That’s how we are building. We grow with copying. But pls don’t see copying as a free ticket for everything. Copying is only good when you use it correctly.
✅ Art is all about copying and mixing up
When you look at the whole creature design community, then you see that many people copy from each other. But copying and mixing up is a different thing. If you only copy you will just do something that is already there to 100%. If you add some mixing to it, then you can create something beautiful and unique. That’s how life is built and grown. People always use things that already exist and mix them up together. Simple example. The first flying machine was built because they mixed up birds with materials that we used in other things. And here we created the first plane! Another example, look at the movie Transformers. They mixed robots and mechanical things together, and they also mixed humans into them as well. All things we already know and what already exists. But when you mix all these up together, you get something unique out of it. In this case, it’s a huge robot, that can transform into all kinds of machines and which has the ability to speak and feel things, like a human. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Just copy and mix things up. To create a new creature, mix two different animals together and maybe a plant or an element, and here you have a new unique creature come to life. If you feel bad to copy existing things, don’t be. Really. That’s how things get born, with copying and mixing. It’s very rare to create something that never ever existed in this world.
❌ You don’t train to make your own ideas
If you copy other art all the time, you will never be able to do your own ideas. Maybe you think creating your own style, ideas, and art is simple, but it’s not. You have to train that because there is way more to create your own than only making a piece of art. If you are never interested in bringing your own ideas to life, and you are totally fine with just copying concept art as personal work or for a job, then that’s totally fine. Not every artist wants to create their own things. But if you want to do your own brand and want to sell your own art (like most artists want), then try to implement also some art into your routine, where you don’t copy anything from other people. Write your own stories, create a whole new universe or a little scene, and style with just your own imagination and interest. You will see it’s not as easy but so much more worthy in the end. Train your skill to bring your own ideas to life.
❌ You can get in trouble with copyright
I mean, this is an obvious point because copying is something that can bring you a lot of trouble when you don’t be careful. In the art community copying, art is something a lot get very angry about when you copy a style, a composition, an idea, or anything in between from another artist. I don’t mean the 'I just got inspired from this piece, or I just wanted to practice my own art' thing. I mean creating the exact same image or model. Something that is obviously not your idea. Even when it’s just a private artist, it’s still not allowed to copy and especially not making any profit out of it. The same goes for copying companies’ art. We all know fan art is huge in the industry, and there is nothing bad about it, but be careful when you want to make your art profit when you do fan art. You can be in big trouble with company copyrights when money is involved. Just keep that in mind.
❌ Not everyone likes being copied
That’s another thing. It’s cool to see fan art of your art or someone turned your character into 3D or just wants to honor your style with a fan art piece of it. But only because you like that doesn’t mean that other people do as well. There are tons of artists out there who don’t want anyone to copy their ideas and work. What I can understand. So please be respectful and listen to people who don’t want their art being copied or fan art. Every artist is different. To make sure it’s okay to get inspired from it, just email them or write a comment or message and ask if it’s okay to do something with their art. If they say no, respect that and move on. If they say yes, say thank you and create. And always don’t forget to credit artists. Even when it’s just a study, credit is always welcomed.
