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Tracers...useful?

I was reading some tutorials online and notice that many artists have many different methods of setting up their image ahead of time. Some artists say that tracers are great help with measurements while others say draw using lines to find weight and balance. Is this a choice of style or is there a better method to use? Just wondering.

I'm not even sure what a tracer is? Hehe. You mean like er, tracing images or is it something else?

using shapes like circles to get the frame of the object rather than going straight in and drawing just using lines.

Those are called construction lines, not tracers. :)

You need to study proportions in conjunction with construction lines in order to make contruction lines useful, IMO. Np point in using them if the circle for the head is huge and the arm lengths are different!

Proportion studying, and applying it to construction lines helps loads. I use construction lines all the time.

Mauricia said: Those are called construction lines, not tracers. :)

You need to study proportions in conjunction with construction lines in order to make contruction lines useful, IMO. Np point in using them if the circle for the head is huge and the arm lengths are different!

Proportion studying, and applying it to construction lines helps loads. I use construction lines all the time.

Thx for correcting me. No wonder I couldn't find any examples on the internet when I searched for it. And good point about the proportions. Darn, I could've sworn they were called tracers.

Yes, I find construction lines to be very useful. I used to just draw whatever I wanted to draw without them, and I'll admit that it worked for a while. Eventually though I realized that it was much easier to create drawings with better proportions by using basic shapes. When you have a lot of detail already drawn in you arn't going to want to erase the head or something because you realized it's too small or whatever. Trust me, it will be weird when you first start using them but it is worth the effort!

We're talking about like this sorta thing right? Not mine, some picture I Googled.

Yep, that's it Kooky. And I appreciate all the feedback from everyone.

I used to use them when I was much younger, and then I got out of the habit for a long time. I've been using them again, particularly for heads, and it has been helping a LOT.