Takendrawn

Takendrawn is a term used in digital art and online communities to describe artwork created by starting with a photograph or photographic reference and applying drawing or painting over it. The process blends photographic realism with hand-drawn or painted elements, resulting in images that retain recognizable detail while carrying illustrative or stylized marks.

Techniques vary: artists may import a photo into a graphics program, reduce opacity and trace or sketch atop it, or paint over the image using digital brushes. Some works keep the photo as a texture layer and overlay line art, while others create fully drawn scenes derived from the composition of the original photograph. Traditional media can also be used by printing a photo, tracing, and then adding media like charcoal, ink, or paint.

Usage and scope: takendrawn is common in concept art, portrait work, fan art, and experimental illustration. It is often employed to quickly establish composition from a reference while enabling a high degree of stylization and expressive line work. The style is diverse, ranging from photorealistic derivatives to graphic, line-driven approaches.

Origins and terminology: the exact origin is unclear; the term appears in online forums and social media to describe a method rather than a single technique. There is no single canonical style, and artists may define takendrawn differently based on their workflow.

Ethics and copyright: when using someone else’s photograph, practitioners should consider copyright and permissions, especially for commercial work or derivative displays.