<edit> this is out of date and rather lacking in some points, however some of it still stands. Will be edited at a later date.

This is a negative rant about traced bases. If you disagree with me, feel free to leave a comment. I'm always up for a debate.

edit, for those who aren't clear :
My issue is not the type of art produced by traced bases, how good it is, or why you do it. My issue is that it's art theft and disrespectful to the original artist to use their work without their permission and that dA is breaking several of its OWN POLICIES by having a traced base category.

Dear Deviantart:
Why do you insist on breaking your own policies?
You have a traced base category, and yet;
FAQ #8: What are violations of the deviantART copyright policy?
"...adapting or copying the original work or by manipulating or altering the original. "


Why do you support art thievery and the bastardization of artist's hard work? Why do you allow traced base makers to continue
to steal and edit art? Why do you encourage people to shoot themselves in the foot and halt their improvement?

"There is nothing against the rules about traced bases!"
On the contrary. DA has a traced base category; yet it has policies against the alteration and distribution of other's work without their explicit permission.

"I credited the original artist, so it's fine!
FAQ #306: Does "Crediting" let me use whatever I want?
More than that, the most common 'source' for traced bases is zerochan- which is effectively photobucket for anime images.
Very rarely do I see any base maker source back to the original artist (most commonly on pixiv)
Come on. You've got the energy to make a base; 2 second on saucenao or tinyeye with the original image will find the original source for you.

"I can't speak Japanese, so I can't ask the original artist to make a base of their work!"
FAQ #257: What sort of permission do I need to use someone else's work?
_{the don't make a base of work you don't have permission to alter, dumbass.}
Google translate. Link to the base. Maybe a before and after comparison. They're not stupid; they'll get the picture. Odds are a million to one they'll a) be horrified b) say no.

"I can't draw, so I have to use bases!"
If you can't draw, practice.
Here is babby sox's art, three or so years ago (when i still used bases)

Here is babby sox's art now.


Suck it up. Put pen to paper, not mouse to ms paint.  (*not saying all mouse/mspaint work is bad. I've seen some good stuff in my time; referring to bases only here)
Work hard. Don't trace over shitty anime bases.

"Bases help me learn anatomy."

Nononononono.
This will not teach you anatomy.
This will teach you shitty, stylized anatomy.
You want to learn anatomy? Look at real people.  Then stylize.
I don't care if you want to draw anime; you'll still need a foundation to build off of.

"Not all base art is bad! Look! [link][link][link]
the ONLY time I have seen this excuse, 5/6 have been links to works on original bases MADE BY THE ARTIST.
Alright. Some base artists are decent. Some have a good sense of colour and are good at drawing clothes or hair.
99% of the base community are still shitty, shitty artists who do terrible recolors of their terrible, terrible ocs.

"Why do you even care? We're just having fun."
I care because you're being selfish assholes who are hurting the entire art community by 'having fun'.
I don't care if you draw your own base from hand. I don't care if you look at references to help you with poses.
I care that you're stealing someone else's work, making it naked and pixelly, then telling people to 'CREDIT ME!!"
in the description. I care that you're stopping your own and everyone who uses your bases' improvement.
I care because you're the cause of endless, ENDLESS drama and anger and general hurt from artists everywhere,
everyday.


Deviantart, please start giving a shit about the actual hard-working artists in your community instead of catering to talentless art thieves.
HELP your members improve and grow as artists, don't ignore them and just "let them do what they want".


//rant end