There is nothing wrong with tracing!

When you're working from a photograph, I really see nothing wrong with tracing. I find it helps me understand the lines better, and what makes a particular picture interesting. Without the tracing, I find that I get distracted by all the details in a picture. Tracing a picture, whether it's with tracing paper or using the Wacom tablet, helps me see what's beautiful in it. The picture here is the tracing I took of the lilly. I just added the orange centre afterwards. I love the contrast between the pure white and the loud orange.