How Copying Artwork Affects Students’ Artistic Creativity

Abstract

30 undergraduates participated individually in a threeday-drawing experiment. It was explored whether an experience copying others ’ drawing facilitated subjects’ artistic creativity. Results showed that drawings by subjects who previously had copied others ’ drawings were rated more creative than the drawings of subjects who had not copied. Two further analyses revealed how subjects could produce creative drawings. First, in the examination of constraint relaxation processes, subjects were initially constrained by a belief that they should draw things realistically. Then, they relaxed this constraint by means of copying abstract pictures. Second, according to protocols of the copying process, copying forced subjects to explore their original expression through a comparison with other artwork. It seemed that copying enabled them to generate new drawing ideas.