Art Fight tracing/reference rule triggers organizer backlash
Art Fight updated its rules to tighten limits on tracing and reference use, explicitly broadening restrictions to target tracing 3D models. Longtime participants criticized the wording as overbroad, saying it would bar techniques such as rotoscoping and tracing one's own reference, and several artists announced they will skip this year's event. The dispute matters because Art Fight is a major annual artist exchange, and rule changes could exclude common study methods and reshape who participates.
putting this out there as its own post instead of at the bottom of a thread. "you may not trace 3D models (not even the ones in CSP that are made for drawing over)" was NOT always an Art Fight rule. it was only "always a rule" if you consider "tracing" and "theft" to be synonymous. this IS a change.
doodlemancy ✨18my comment up there explains. sorry i know you can't see it if you aren't logged in lol but there's no way i can paste it all here. the long and short of it is: the previous wording of the rules was always anti-theft. value-neutral tracing for utility's sake was NOT a reasonable extrapolation.
bibs6when i first read the mod's "its always been there", i immediately went to wayback machine to see if that was true. It is not. Pic from the mod announcement, and wayback link provided. web.archive.org/web/20240123... Lots of people give zero diligence to the matter and just yell.
froge (they/them) 🐸 vgen comms open6thank you for digging into this cuz I read the rules every year and I could’ve *sworn* it was not always a rule
art fight updating the rules so you can’t use 3d models as reference is dumb as hell coz as a 12 year industry vet I do that all the time, but also that rule is defeated by one simple trick just fuckin lie, how are they supposed to know unless you tell them LOL
MK but a skellington25can I draw a car from scratch? sure, I’ve done it many times. do I ever want to do that in my limited time alive on this planet when I can reference a free license 3d model of a car, specifically designed for me to do that? no and you can’t stop me
nids @ Manga Ichiba 5/22 10AM-4PM2Me when I can't draw ppls wols cuz I'd have to reference a 3d model 😔 more seriously tho this is a truly bonkers rule art communities already suffer from "reference = bad" rhetoric
the new art fight rules are stupid dogshit. i've seen so many artists who are disabled going "i use csp 3d assets to help me speed up the drawing process before my chronic pain sets in" or "I cant visualize things in my head and it helps" like this was a GIFT game first. the points r just incentive
Melvin ⚠️9not to be that guy but art fight was better before it hit tiktok big, because people on tiktok are insufferable and love to ruin things. ALSO IT'S FUCKING CRAZY YOU CAN'T EVEN TRACE IMAGES YOU TOOK /YOURSELF/. Absolutely fucking abysmal rule and no logical way to enforce it.
Rockystan🐟🫧2WTF ???? THATS SO FUCKING STUPID
faye💫💤2another rule i heard is being implemented is “crediting photography is encouraged, but not necessary” ig they don’t consider photography a form of art anymore???
Damn, every year Art Fight has some type of fucked up issue. Between the owner issue, not paying people who work for them, lack of listening to workers and the community. What I have seen playing blind on bullying...just so much. And now new rules that suck? Just yikes.
🏴☠️Inklop 🤕 ♿️3People should probably just do their own thing on w/e gallery site they use.. like how artists already do the monthly art hashtag challenges . it's just art trades at the core. some site owners just ruin the fun :/
Setumi Sketches 🏳️⚧️2Oh no...they changed the rules?? D: Ugh i gotta go read, i thought the rules before were fine
The recent Art Fight rules makes me sigh so much, bruh💀 Tracing over poseable 3D models & pictures to gain time is so... normal? Especially to work faster? Making these artworks ineligible sure is a choice™️ (That being said, I never did Art Fight. Dunno if it was already the case the other years?)
✨Lou🖤🤍💜7I've always kinda disliked the "fight/attack" etymology of this challenge, when it comes to trading artworks. I dunno, there's something violent behind those words that just doesn't fit how I picture art sharing. That's why I rather do art trades and collabs with people I know instead.
Saskia 🌿6And the thing is, posing a 3D model takes time and skill. Taking a photograph takes time and skill. Adjusting the camera/composition takes time and skill. Creating 3D assets takes time and skill. Knowing how to interpret and adjust features in the drawing phase takes time and skill.
Anya ⚔️4The whole referencing/tracing thing is always so baffling to me as a person who renders somehow realistically (even if not, it still counts), I NEED a lot of references to reality to effectively paint what I'm doing I ain't solely relying on my brain to understand what my five senses will
Tina Olah3Yeah, I even took a class recommending tracing over 3D clip studio models! It's so stupid!
This might, in fact, be what finally makes me stop participating in art fight. I've not even used 3D models for art fight since 2023, before 3D models were at all mentioned in their rules (artfight.net/comment/1695... for more info) but I'm PISSED at being basically told I'm an art thief like this.
Common Bondforged Gender Nuisance8I did NOT put up with fucking AI bros telling me and my friends that we're obsolete pencil pigs with no value now that AI can 'do what you do but better', just for a long-standing art event fucking tell me I'm an art thief *for using the metaphorical snow shovel I bought to personally shovel snow*.
Luné 🌟📖 | Ghosts in the Archive Basement2I never had the chance to participate but as someone who uses 3D models (CSP only basically) as a core part of my workflow, this does make me very sad that my work is now considered art theft in their rules :') Can't do much about it just kinda sad haha
