The Ethics of Tutorials?

#1

This question has been floating around my head for ages but I’ve never been quite as compelled to ask it until recently. So here goes…

A tutorial exists to provide guidance and knowledge about a particular subject. But people who use a tutorial word for word, stroke for stroke, are generally frowned upon for copying someone else’s work.

If I find a good tutorial to do fire or hair (for instance) something a little complex, what do I need to do to not copy the work? Is it as simple as incorporating it into my piece or changing it a tiny bit? What makes it ok to use that tutorial in my reel, portfolio, work, whatever?

Basically, how can you use a tutorial in your own work?

Thanks for your thoughts,

:slight_smile:
frell

(Standard disclaimer: I tried to search for this but did not find anything and if in the wrong forum, I apologize, please delete/move me)

#2

There are no ethical problems, unless you lied when someone asked about how you approached a part of a project.

If there’s a concern, it’s that people who rely too much on tutorials will not produce the most original, distinctive work, because many other people will have done or seen the same tutorials. But that’s not an ethical problem, it just makes your demo reel less impressive.

-jeremy

#3

I think it’s an interesting question (and one I’ve never really thought about very explicitly) ~ but I’ll take a quick stab here and offer my two cents. Tutorials, like classes, are practice for the real deal ~ your own work. It may take months or more likely years to develop one’s own style. I don’t think anyone would accept work done strictly for a tutorial as “their own”. You’ll hear about people including well~known tutorial work on their reels, and of course, that is a no~no. But incorporating something that you’ve learned from a tutorial into your own work is the purpose of a tutorial in the first place. So it’s a long term process of learning from various sources, and then incorporating those sources, conciously or subconciously, into your own work.

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

#4

I might be over-simplifying this…

The way I see it, a tutorial is to show you the possibilities via a step-by-step process. After doing the tutorial, you should be able to take into account the tools you used, various techniques the artist used, and then use it for something else.

For instance, if you take Linda’s Hair painting tutorial, and then applied it to painting a llama who also has hair, then you’re doing yourself the favor of expanding her technique to something else.

I personally would refrain from using a tutorial piece with a good amount of similarities for your portfolio. Anything that is reconized and not done by you generates an initial negative idea that you copied your work from elsewhere. It’s just not worth chancing and you might never get a chance to defend that it’s your work.

Bottom line. Use tutorials to learn, and then go and be creative as possible.

peace,

Lu

#5

Hmmm. Thanks for you replies, they’re both helpful and thought evoking. :slight_smile: And now I have a followup question…

So the main consensus is that anything learned should be incorporated into your stuff. Don’t do hair to do hair off a tutorial but make the hair a part of your scene/piece. Show something else beyond the tutorial?

Once again, thanks for youre time.

:slight_smile:

frell

#6

I think really what I at least meant was to do a tutorial where you follow the exact steps ~ you want to imitate the tutorial as closely as possible so you can learn the most from it. This isn’t a portfolio piece, it’s just for practice.

Then, use what you’ve learned in the tutorial in your own piece/s. This may be a gradual process over time. But the point is that you don’t include the direct tutorial in your portfolio.

Cheers,

~Rebeccak

#7

In my book plagarism does not involve using reference to get a job done.
It is not like you are tracing or stealing content.
With a tutorial you are just following a set of instructions to do ONE specific task (say for example Hair).
They way I see it, as long as you use the tutorial to COMPLEMENT your work, you should be ok.

-R

#8

After completing many tutorials and practicing on your own, you should be able to develop your own workflows and strategies. When you can improve on the tutorial, either in methodology or artistically, you have grown as an artist.

#9

so learning something in school is also stealing someones work? comon!

#10

a tutorial is basically just one way of gettin to the goal, what it dos is basically show u the method, just one method to get u started, but the thing is, with time u will develop ur own ways and then…maybe do ur own tuts…it has nothing to do with plagiarism…basically u learn a way to do something that exists…u would figure it out sooner or later…so why waste time

#11

Heh, ever noticed the way the taught have the same of doing things as the teacher? YOu got twenty minds in one room all doing the same task. Always seemed rather odd to me. I think it’s an ethical problem for the teachers, not the students. The students ask for things to learn, not to be molded into place.

#12

Kinna freak me out thinking about it…kids all over go to school and carbon copy wut the teachers doing…its like an assembly line…freaky…off topic sorry.

#13

I think it depends on the kind of tutorial. A tut that teaches you how to draw hands (currently reading lots of those :stuck_out_tongue: ) or how to configure your brush settings is different from a tut called “the-super-ultra-secret-way-to-draw-exactely-like-me-and-get-away-with-it!”.
For example: I once read a great tutorial on painting clouds. I didn’t make the same clouds in my paintings, tough. Rather, I messed around with my newfound knowledge and “customized” the technique to my liking, making it unique (sort of). Am I making any sense here?

#14

YEah the assembly line freaks me out too lol. My last school told me we were being taught a craft, not the arts. Gave me the willies too sometimes.

It’s justa tough niche sometimes. :slight_smile: I’m going my way period, I ony read the tutorials to understand how to reach a certain effect, and that’s been quite valuable. So I don’t mind at all in the end. People should be nourished not beaten into submission though :p. If you can put it that way lol. ( and the language gets stronger, my apologies :D)

#15

They better hope the teacher is up to date with the latest trends and techniques then…

#16

Don’t we all use other people’s knowlege?

SB

#17

Well there are a few trueths to art. One is no idea is origional, had to come from somewhere. And also tutorials if you carbon copy them, your not learning them at all. whats best to do is to skim through it to see any steps that might intrigue you to try them out yourself. like in some of antropus’s tutorials I found probably 2 things he did interesting and decided to try it out myself with good results. But not only do I feel like a tool carbon copying the entire tutorial, i feel I waisted my time when I couldve done something from my idea’s

#18

One thing that I am at last beginning to understand is that there is always someone who frowns.

I have joined this forum to learn - I need and want these tutorials. Perhaps because of them I can be an artist someday. Although I have a hard time following instructions precisely (which may give a clue to my amateur status), I think that to start with copying and then progress to your own work is normal. When we are kids that is exactly how we do things. Mimicking before inventing. If being a creative is in your blood, then there is no way you won’t start developing your own material. I think it is important to know where you are on the scale of development though. Trying to pass off copied pieces as anything more than practice is unethical.

#19

I think the purpose of tutorials is that it is a way for great artists to pass down their art form. You are supposed to build on top of that tutorial, go above and beyond, in order to call it your work.

#20

Why is this even a question?? How did you find common grounds between tutorials and Ethics?

Someone mentioned lying being unethical !! duh !
What are Ethics? Lying has more to do with “morals” than ethics.

Just keep learning…dig every venue possible to advance your skills, accept nothing less, but your best…and …stay away from going into loops of moral questioning, unless of course you want to be a preacher not an artist.

p.s. It is rather interesting how someone co-related stealing with tracing of content in one phrase. no comment though :slight_smile: