Is Tracing Over Art Illegal? What You Need to Know About Art Prints and Copyright

Tracing over art is one of the most common questions among new artists, hobbyists, and even those selling prints online. You find a beautiful image online - maybe a photo, a painting, or a digital illustration - and you think, “I’ll just trace it to practice my lines.” But then you pause. Is that okay? Is it legal? What if you sell it? What if you change it a little?

The short answer: tracing over art can be illegal if you don’t have permission from the original creator, especially if you’re using it for commercial purposes. But the full picture is more layered than that.

What Does “Tracing” Actually Mean in Art?

Tracing isn’t just copying with carbon paper. It includes any method where you use an existing image as a direct guide to recreate its lines, shapes, or composition. This could be:

• Projecting an image onto your canvas and outlining it
• Using a lightbox to trace a printed photo or artwork
• Overlaying a digital image in Photoshop and drawing over it
• Using a grid method to replicate proportions exactly

None of these are inherently bad. Many professional artists use tracing as a tool - especially in illustration, animation, and technical drawing. But the legality depends on what you do with the result.

Copyright Law and Art: The Basics

Art is protected by copyright the moment it’s created in a fixed form - whether it’s a sketch on a napkin or a high-res digital file. In Australia, the U.S., the EU, and most countries, copyright lasts for the artist’s lifetime plus 70 years. That means even if you found the image online, it’s still protected unless it’s explicitly labeled as public domain or under a Creative Commons license.

Copyright doesn’t protect ideas. It protects the specific expression of those ideas. So if you trace a photo of a sunset, you’re not breaking the law by painting a sunset - but you are breaking the law if you copy the exact composition, lighting, and details of someone else’s photo.

When Tracing Is Legal

There are clear situations where tracing is perfectly fine:

• You’re tracing your own work - like refining a rough sketch into a final piece
• You’re tracing artwork that’s in the public domain - like a Van Gogh painting from 1889
• You have written permission from the copyright holder
• You’re tracing under a Creative Commons license that allows derivatives (check the specific terms)
• You’re using it for personal practice, with no intention to publish or sell

For example, if you’re learning to draw hands and you trace a photo from a free stock site like Unsplash (which allows commercial use), you’re fine. But if you trace a photo from Instagram posted by an unknown artist and print it as a poster to sell on Etsy, you’re crossing a line.

When Tracing Is Illegal

Here’s where most people get into trouble:

• Selling prints or merchandise based on someone else’s art - even if you altered the colors or added a border
• Posting traced art as your own original work on social media or portfolios
• Using traced images in commercial projects - logos, ads, book covers, t-shirts
• Tracing from paid stock photos or subscription services like Shutterstock without a commercial license

There’s a myth that changing 10%, 20%, or 30% of the image makes it legal. That’s not true. Courts look at whether the new work is “substantially similar” to the original. If someone can look at your traced piece and recognize it came from the original, you’re at risk.

In 2023, a Sydney-based artist was sued after selling 500 prints of a traced photograph from a Pinterest board. The photographer had never given permission. Even though the artist added a watercolor texture, the court ruled the composition, subject placement, and lighting were too similar. The artist had to pay damages and destroy all remaining prints.

What About Art Prints and Reproductions?

Art prints are a gray area. If you buy an official print of a painting - say, a poster of a Monet water lily - and then trace it to make your own version, you’re still violating copyright. The print you bought gives you the right to hang it on your wall, not to reproduce it.

Many companies sell “tracing-friendly” art prints labeled as “for personal use only.” These are usually low-resolution, mass-produced images meant for coloring books or classroom activities. Even then, selling anything derived from them is almost always against the terms of use.

Some artists intentionally release “tracing templates” for their work - often as paid downloads. These come with clear licenses. Always read the fine print. If it doesn’t say you can sell derivatives, assume you can’t.

How to Trace Ethically - and Legally

You don’t have to give up tracing to be a good artist. Here’s how to do it right:

1. Use only public domain sources - try the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Open Access collection or the Wikimedia Commons
2. Use your own photos - take pictures of your subject and trace those
3. Use licensed resources - sites like Pixabay, Pexels, or Unsplash offer free images with commercial use rights
4. When in doubt, ask for permission - many artists will say yes if you credit them
5. Transform the image - don’t just trace, reinterpret. Change the style, add elements, combine multiple sources. Originality matters more than technique

For example, instead of tracing a single photo of a cat, trace three different cat photos, mix the ears from one, the pose from another, and the lighting from a third. Now you’re creating something new.

What Happens If You Get Caught?

Most artists don’t get sued right away. Usually, the original creator sends a cease-and-desist letter. If you ignore it, they may file a DMCA takedown (if you’re on Etsy, Instagram, or YouTube). If you’re selling prints, they can demand you pay profits, destroy inventory, and sometimes pay statutory damages - which can be thousands of dollars.

In Australia, the Copyright Act allows for damages up to $135,000 per work infringed. While that’s rare for small sellers, the legal costs alone can wipe out a small art business.

Platforms like Etsy and Redbubble have automated systems that scan for copyright violations. If your listing matches a known image, it gets removed - and repeated violations can get your shop shut down.

Alternatives to Tracing

If you’re worried about copyright, there are better ways to improve your skills:

• Draw from life - sketch people, objects, or landscapes in real time
• Use reference libraries - sites like Posemaniacs or Line of Action offer free pose references for artists
• Study composition - break down how artists arrange elements, then recreate the structure with your own subject
• Practice gesture drawing - focus on movement and form, not exact detail

These methods build your eye and hand in ways tracing never can. Tracing gives you accuracy. Drawing from observation gives you understanding.

Final Rule of Thumb

Ask yourself: If I didn’t trace this, would I have created it this way?

If the answer is no - if your version looks almost identical to the original - then you’re not creating. You’re copying. And copying someone else’s art, even with good intentions, isn’t just unethical. It’s risky.

Art isn’t about perfect replication. It’s about seeing the world in your own way - and showing others how you see it. Tracing can be a tool. But only if you use it to learn, not to cheat.