Studies vs Copies

What’s the Difference?

Studies vs copies. What do I mean by this? Well, if you’ve ever been to art school, chances are you’ve had to do master study or two. A master study is when you take a work done from one of the great masters (Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Monet, DaVinci, etc.) and recreate it with an intent to learn from the process. There has always been some amount of controversy regarding this practice. Some argue that there is no benefit to the student by making pointless copies and that it is time wasted. Others will say that there is a distinct difference between a copy and a study.

The Difference is in the Intent

Studies:

Now that that’s out of the way, just what do I mean by a ‘study’? A study is just that…a study. A work done by yourself in which you are recreating the work done by another with intent to learn from it. That last part is key. You are studying in order to learn from the experience, to gain knowledge. How did the master handle line, color, value? How did they treat light vs shadow? How did they manage composition and gesture? How did they handle the medium they used? Oil paints handle very differently than watercolor. Pencil handles differently than charcoal. Find the nuances and dissect them. Take the work apart and put it back together again.

Note About Studies:

First of all, let me point out that a master study these days can include not only the classical artists, but also extend to whatever genre you’re interested in. So if you’re into painting, study the masters mentioned above or another of the greats that you admire. If you’re into sculpture, then study from the likes of Michelangelo or the ancient Greek and Roman works. If your dream is to be a digital artist, find the really great digital artists and study them. If you’re into comic books, then study your favorite professional comic book artists!

Copies:

If you’re going to copy someone’s artwork, why not make it a study and worth your while?

Copying on the other hand is mindless. There is no thought behind copying. There is no intent to learn anything. The only concern is to make your work look as close to the original as possible. Period. Take for example the two images below. Both are my own so as not to call anyone out on their mindless copy work (wink!).

Cadmus study, male nude, by Myra Naito

Copy of Marc Silvestri’s Cyberforce, by Myra Naito

The one on the left is a study of one of Paul Cadmus’ male nudes. To get a real feel for this project, I did it as he did, on a greenish surface. For me, it was a study not just in anatomy, but also in how light plays over the body. The one on the right is a collage of copied work of comic book artist, Marc Silvestri’s Cyberforce. There was no studying anything in this project. And I’m sure if anyone with a trained eye looked at it, they’d know right away that it wasn’t Silvestri’s own work. It was done simply for fun. Looking at it now, I realize that it was a wasted opportunity. I could have used this project to study line work, anatomy, how to exaggerate anatomy, etc. I had fun doing it, but didn’t learn anything from it and it certainly didn’t make me a better artist for having done it the way that I did.

Make Every Work Worth Your While

These days I try to make every opportunity worth my while and get two (or more) for the price of one. If I have a commission, I do the job and I do it to the best of my ability. Beyond just teaching me technique, master studies have also taught me to not do anything anymore without having the thought process behind it. If I come up with a tough area to draw, I’m problem solving and remembering what worked and what didn’t. Even now, I wouldn’t mind doing studies more often (if only I had the time!). Some say you can’t learn from masters who are long gone. That is just untrue. There is an abundance of knowledge in each of their works.

Ultimately, the number one thing to consider in the debate of studies vs copies is this…copying is just for fun. Studies are for bettering yourself as an artist. And who doesn’t want that?