Why you are master in copying, but idiot in creating?

Hello! Cutie, I am Comic black rainbow.

I believe you who are studying anime drawing must have encountered a situation is that after you practice drawing a lot of pictures or you have practiced copying the works of many masters, when you put down these copy reference pictures, you found that you would face a blank sheet of paper but with a blank head?

In fact, you are not alone in this problem!

Many people have encountered such troubles and problems just like you.

So today I want to share with you.

What the reason is there such a situation, and how do we face this problem so that you can really learn something through copying without wasting effort and time.

Avoid being unable to use copying practice for your creation at all!

Further reading you might find interesting:

For many beginners in drawing, imitation painting and copying seem to be the same. They both look at a picture and draw whatever they see. They thought that they should already be enhancing their own drawing ability with this kind of practice. But the fact is not. There is a big gap between imitation painting and copying. This is why we usually say that we should copying, rather than imitate painting.

Imitation painting is generally like when we were children, holding a picture of Pikachu or Doraemon and a piece of white paper, and then looking at it without thinking, drawing it on the paper. In the process, we just want to copy it completely. If you draw this picture on paper completely, you might want to show off to your friends that you have a strong imitation painting ability. Another hand, copying is like looking at a real human body and drawing on a canvas in a course at the Academy of Fine Arts. At this time we will use our own observation and judgment to think about how to present the picture we see in front of us on the canvas with drawing skills. It's the same case when you copy the master's works.

In the above paragraph, do you see the difference between the two? In fact, all the things drawn are imitated and copied, the only difference is how your head works! Imitation paintings usually look at a picture and try to make the drawing look like it. For example, "Can the angle of this painting be perfectly aligned?" or"Is this color the same as the original painting?" In the process of painting, we don't learn through observation and judgment, but just want to paint exactly the same. This is why imitation painting can't increase our drawing skills, but copying is the reason why we can make progress in painting!

In fact, people who have this phenomenon often mistakenly use imitation painting as copying in practice. Of course, it is impossible to practice good skills with the mentality and method of imitation painting. I have seen many beginners practiced drawing in this way and saw a little improvement. They thought that this method would really make their drawing ability stronger. Because they are not clear about the difference between imitation painting and copying, they would encounter some problems when they reached a stage of painting. Especially creating, they will find that when they look at the white paper without the picture they can imitate in front of them, their heads are blank. In this case, they usually collapse and frustrated, and they are easy to get stuck in this situation for a long long time. If they continue to practice drawing in the way of imitation painting, it will not make them make progress in their creation for many years...

In fact, the ability of creation is innovation, not copying. If you want to rely on copying to help yourself draw and create, you need to observe the real pictures and master's works, think, analyze, and experiment in the process of copying. Only then can you use your own discover to absorb something, and truly acquire your own skills through practice. When you have this knowledge and skills, your brain will naturally have many things and images. At this time, when you want to create new things, there will be many ideas, and there will be ways to draw the picture you want to show with your hands. This series of exercises can really refine your own painting and creative skills!

I am so happy that you read this article. Now you finally know the difference between copying and imitation painting. You also know the real reason why you can't create after imitation painting or copying so much, right? I hope this article will help you have a better understanding of self-study anime drawing. Through these contents, you can help you find problems and adjust so that your study and practice will not be wasted, and you will truly gain drawing skills! If you have any questions about learning, please comment below or use social media or mail to share with me! I hope that you will see your progress and breakthroughs in this painting journey again and again.