Disclaimer: This is purely my opinion and takes this article as a grain of salt. Please don't leave your salt here or I'll have high blood pressure.
When browsing social media, there's much dispute between "copying" and also "referencing." As much as these words get tossed interchangeably, they are two different words and meanings. Hopefully, as an artist, this will be able to clear up the misconceptions.
Referencing is using inspiration for many different resources (pictures, real life, a movie, basically anything) to create a work of art. Sometimes referencing can be only one source but taking elements: color, composition, movement, or the gesture as a base aesthetic to creating artwork. Some examples are from sci-fi where technology from real life is blended to create a new machine, or building various of trees based on a specific breed of oak or spruce, or even creating a new set of armor by referencing the armory of Turkish Armies and Knights of an English King. Some works of art do leave parts of the reference, but it all depends on the subject matter. If the topic were a creepy English Castles, then the artist would look up a whole bunch of English castles, maybe some ruins, a few refs of maybe mountains or forests, and decay, a color pallet or textures of rocks, or a picture with dramatic or somber lighting to create the mood.
There are a few gray areas when referencing. Referencing can also mean taking a piece of the work and create a whole new artwork. A few pop art artists use bits and pieces or parts of artwork and remix the work, creating something new. In the end, referencing is just an inspiration or just taking an element, but it depends on the artist take depending on their art style aesthetic.
When using one source as a reference, and redrawing the artwork for study for learning purposes would be considered "Direct Study." Many people may not understand this, but artists generally create work because they have the eye of observation. A lot of successful artists saying "study from life" which means, sketch what you see. This saying means analyzing and drawing everything, yes everything. It can be another artist's artwork, a still life, models, or real-life adventures. A direct study is a practice for the artist such as learning drapery, practicing how to draw a pose, studies of hands and feet, composition, and anything where an artist wants to improve.
Last would be copying. Wildly known and taken as 'referencing' is known to be thrown about in the art community ranging from enthusiasts, hobbyists, and even working artists. Copying means the same as a direct study, but instead of using it in the purpose of learning, it's more for marketing. Copying is when an artist is replicating another artist's work and claiming it as their original work, where it looks identical to the original copy. As much as other artists say this is 'referencing' it is no better than taking a picture with a camera and reposting it as his/her work. Copying another person's work is a big "NO," and yet it has been seen almost everywhere. Stolen work end up being copied and used for profit. Copying, counterfeiting, has been noticed by either a business which had taken merch either by a designer who was hired and thought it was 'cute,' or artists who copy the artwork and claim it as their own after changing maybe one element, but not enough where it looks like a completely different artwork.
After learning all three, there is also a gray area in referencing, direct study, and copying, please remember that in all boils down to whether the consumer has a knowledge base of what they're buying. Depending on fandoms, and skill of work can be because of modern aesthetics at the time and how much it is in demand. So for example, there is an artist who recreates a scene but in their style, is that consider copying, referencing, or direct study? If the artist was taking a view of a movie and redrawing it in their style, it's better to take the consideration that the artist DID reference the scene, but the whole technical side of using their aesthetic is what made the artwork theirs. However, there are also artists who take a piece of art and then copies the work but in another medium. In this particular case, the art WAS copied by a different medium because the style aesthetic did not change at all.
In the end, whether you're copying or doing a direct study, it is in best to give credit to the original. If you cannot find the original, do not claim it as your own, and continue building the drawer of references to create new worlds!
