If you follow my Twitter:

[checkerboardprincess]

You will have seen me bitch about someone sitting next to me... who is a tracer. Her name is Vanessa Lamarche (http://paperxcuore.deviantart.com/). This chick went to AI along with my friend Michelle and her fiancee Matt - graduated different years and on different tracks... this girl apparently was in the animation division? And... she claims weakness with human anatomy, so she traces to get a clean look and higher output.

I wonder if she traced during school too.

But yeah, I told the head of the Dealer Hall. She was pissed. We caught her again, and Matt even confronted her, which is... how we found out so much about her. But... no. Just know. I know I'm weak in anatomy (I'm weak in alot of areas dammit) but no. Just no. Even if the temptation is there... NOOOOOOO~

ESPECIALLY at a con where you are taking money for this crap! Ugh!

And I also love how she has her girlfriend behind the HALF TABLE with her... doing the color-work. Welp, not tomorrow cuz Barrie (Dept. Head) don't like it.

I think I'mma end up with enemies at this con... especially cuz one of her BFFs is her tablemate. Oh LOL. :/ Oh well.

Comments

[neolucky.livejournal.com]

So she's getting kicked out right? RIGHT? And who cares if it makes enemies, what it means is that you don't take shit from tracers and neither should customers and the AA department in general. It means you WILL report shit that isn't right.

It means this girl is a huge failure. Ai has a terrible animation program, but it DOES have good life-drawing classes, so she can't claim she's weak in anatomy...because she simply hasn't tried to improve. She just traces instead =D.

[kerssido.livejournal.com]

From what I've seen, most artists don't claim weakness, anyway. They claim IT'S MAH STYLLLLE!11 XD

[neolucky.livejournal.com]

Oh god, whenever I see someone using that excuse for HORRIBLE mistakes in their figures I get pretty damn mad. You can't have a "style" without some sort of basis in anatomy first, you can then stretch it after you know how things work!

It's like...if you start out mimicking a style and not life, then it's that much harder to get out of it and learn proper anatomy.

[unicorn-magic.livejournal.com]

Oh, well if she traces to get a higher output, then it's ok /sarcasm

[roland-scythe.livejournal.com]

Pssh. Justice is far more important than making new friends anyhow.

Man...that is...pretty sad. I'll admit I use photos to help with ZOMGANATOMY problems, but I at least have the decency to still draw it freehand so I can actually learn how it should be done. Did she just plan to spend her whole career tracing and hope no one would notice?

[mechanicaljack.livejournal.com]

@Roland: Some (far more than I was aware of when younger) legitimate professional artists generally use some form of reference, be it photos or live models, to nail anatomy.

[roland-scythe.livejournal.com]

I imagine it's actually a pretty staple thing in the art world. If she was looking at a picture and trying to draw something similar with her own hand that'd be one thing.

But outright tracing it? Ew.

The only time I 'trace' something is when I'm transferring my pencil sketches into inks.

[mechanicaljack.livejournal.com]

Aye. The sad part is the number of times I've seen people doing this, making a fair share of money and expecting not to get caught.

[kerssido.livejournal.com]

A lot of artists, probably most, use references. Disney artists do it, but they don't trace stuff! Tracing is dumb, especially if you're trying to be professional.

[mechanicaljack.livejournal.com]

I'm up and down on this. At a con, I can see the problem, in general I'm a bit more fuzzy dependent on specifics of the scenario. A number of the 'great masters' used a form of tracing in their works. The camera obscura for instance, which was essentially a projector, was used by, I think, Da Vinci.

Now, that's not to say none of them knew how to draw from life without it, but it was a tool in their box. It also helped me train when I was younger, but that stopped somewhere around early high school, maybe sooner.

That being said, I'm not bashing/flaming, just trying to inform.

On the note of AI, the Pittsburgh campus' animation program wasn't terrible during my attendance, but I think AI is overpriced and overhyped. Some great instructors, but not worth being in debt for the last 10 years.

[the-princeling.livejournal.com]

Sad thing is, she'll never learn to get over her weakness anyway since she doesn't even bother to try to do so in the first place. HER LOSS.

Don't feel bad for doing what's right and calling her out on her shit. She had it coming to her, really, and what you do in the dark always comes to light. All she had was a matter of time and someone willing to speak up about it. Let her get mad all she wants; if anything it'll just show you what kind of pitiful person she is having to lash out at people instead of admitting her own mistakes. Not worth the time of day!

[mazokuoni.livejournal.com]

Better to be her enemy than being ok with her tracing. Even if AI sucks in it's animation program, it's still her own failure for tracing.

Great that you stepped up to report and keep an eye on her!