[Discussion] Powermenu et al. and their place in WRTL

So, in light of iPi's most recent [re]releases, it seems like the community is trending toward a much more relaxed attitude towards the use of powermenu and other similar tracing software. It's rarely used, but even so, what are your thoughts on its use?

Why did anyone care in the first place?

HG42 wrote:Why did anyone care in the first place?

People considered to be cheating if you traced from stuff. The work wasn't considered original, I guess? Maybe some of the older people could offer some context

I think using tracing software loses the artists ability to create stunning environments and essentially renders the person to be a copyist. I feel like it is cheating not because it makes drawing easier but that it removes the line artist's need to improve.

Edit: For animation.

One thing I do see tracing software good for though is the use of Onion Skinning for animation(See this for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onion_skinning). But that would be for fluent animation based on complex geometry and design.

There was a previous thread on this: https://iridethelines.forumotion.com/t11121-the-use-of-power-menu-for-animation-scenery?highlight=power+menu

As I mentioned in that thread, I personally feel standalone monuments are a dated thing because, if they're not integrated with the track, then what does it add to the track in the first place? Tracing pictures into Line Rider produces the same result.

That being said, if you can trace something and make it actually engage with the track (or make it part of the track itself eg circles, and my loopy thing), you should go do it.

FYI I'm calling it tracing because you don't need special software if you have a printer and physically put the drawing on your monitor

BenWubbleyou wrote:I think using tracing software loses the artists ability to create stunning environments and essentially renders the person to be a copyist. I feel like it is cheating not because it makes drawing easier but that it removes the line artist's need to improve.

If I had the option of not having to put effort into improving one particular technique while producing results that meet my standards, I would definitely take that option. If you took a shortcut and don't meet your own standards, I guess you'd be cheating yourself, but you would already know it doesn't meet your standards.

I actually did use powermenu to trace images into LR for LAotW. I now think that this is unacceptable. However, at this point, I use it for animation purposes, which includes track-making. If you think about it, that's really what track-making is, creating a visual animation one frame at a time. Similarly to the onion skin thing, and just like in that simple animation I did, you can draw a frame in a paint program, trace it into LR, move a few things slightly, and then trace that new image onto the next frame. I feel that if the image you are tracing is an original thing that you drew in a different program, there is nothing wrong with that.

Conundrumer wrote:If I had the option of not having to put effort into improving one particular technique while producing results that meet my standards, I would definitely take that option.

This is the main reason I began to use Powermenu in the first place. I have fine motor skill issues, and I could never make my curves smooth. Rather than guessing with trial-and-error, I decided to use a circle as a compass to draw my curves more smoothly. That way, I could meet my own standards on what I wanted the track to look like.

Powermenu seems totally fine to me under (almost) any context, as long as you're open about its usage.

It might also be useful to, say, take a screenshot of the current track, trace/draw things on top of it in photoshop, then redraw it with the line tool and the image underneath. That way you control the creative process entirely, and it's very efficient.

Another thing that I just thought of is if you wanted, you could use it to create a sense of deja vu, taking a screenshot of a previous section of track, and tracing it exact, having him ride through it again somewhere else.

I was strongly against anything that made the game easier/faster for a long time. I don't know what changed my mind, but as long as it's used as assistance instead of tracing art into the game, i no longer care.

as long as you credit its use, its perfectly fine

Commandercoke wrote:I was strongly against anything that made the game easier/faster for a long time. I don't know what changed my mind, but as long as it's used as assistance instead of tracing art into the game, i no longer care.

Chuggers wrote:as long as you credit its use, its perfectly fine

Basically this.