I was listening to a very interesting podcast earlier today, a topic came up that asked the question; is realism creative or is it just copying?
The reasoning this artist put forward was that it is essentially just copying and doesn't really entail much creativity. Now, while I can completely see where this artist is coming from, for me I would take a different approach. I think this is a very interesting discussion to have!
The way I would personally define creativity is not by an outcome, I don't see it as a physical thing. To me, it is not the painting or the drawing or the music or whatever else that is the the creative part, it's the feeling, the experience and the expression of the artist that is completely unique to that artist.
Imagine you have 2 artists sat side by side drawing the exact same photograph, Those two pieces may turn out extremely similar, to the point you couldn't tell the difference, but the process that went into those drawings will be totally different. The differences can be anything from the colours that artist sees, to the pencil marks, to the ideas, thoughts and feelings they had throughout the process which are unique to them.
Creativity is a collection of those moments of inspiration, ideas, breakthroughs and problem solving, the thought processes that go into the drawing. In other words, everything below the surface! Whilst the outcome may be the same, it goes much deeper than that, to me, that is creativity.
Hundreds of people could create the same drawing, but it won't be the same way you would create it.
I really believe that creativity is the journey to the end point, not the end point itself. So yes, whilst you may be copying from a reference photo, it is so much more than just picking up a pencil and putting marks on the paper.
A lot of people will say things like "I'm not creative" or I can't draw a stick man" or I have no eye for colour" etc. forgetting that all of those things are skills, they aren't "creativity" creativity isn't a skill, nor just it just relate to drawing or painting. As I said earlier, it's a feeling, an experience or a collection of thought processes that come from feeling inspired. Anytime you set goals for your future, think about how you want your life to be, write a journal entry, cook a meal from scratch, solve a problem, the list is endless, you are thinking in a way unique to you, the process of reaching that goal or striving for that goal will be unique to you... that is what I believe creativity is. It's inbuilt into us. It's the expression, not the final outcome.