painters, which do you think is better to do for?

I never draw it out first. With a lightly loaded brush and perhaps a bit of solvent ( I prefer sienna or umber for rough-in) I rough in the general volumes (no actual "drawing") to establish the basic composition and then go at it. Has nothing to do with "cheating." It is wholly about keeping the movement of the painting toward completion always looking fresh and vibrant. Overdrawing at the beginning causes one to begin to "protect" the drawing which makes the painting look stiff and awkward at the end.

It depends... Sometimes I actually seriously cheat and I'll take a picture, trace it in photoshop, print it out to the size of the canvas, and then trace it onto the canvas. I am so bad... Sometimes I draw it out on a large piece of paper and then I trace it with tracing paper onto the canvas or whatever. Other times I just draw it directly onto the canvas but that's when I'm in a hurry and don't care about accuracy.

mcspartacus is right, it depends on the painter's style. My painting style is photo-real... soooo... that explains the computer tracing....

I dont think its ever a bad idea to at least sketch out the general placement of your design before you start, that way things may not become distorted. You can even use paint to sketch it out if your afraid pencil will show through.

hey magnolia... it all depends on who. when. why and what...... a Renaissance master would have to spend hours plotting. planning.sketching to be able to recreate it to paint... they wanted to capture classical interpretation......... i cant see rothko for instance doing much before the old paint brush gets wet.... his was more of an emotional engagement... so there is no cheat... except if you copy...do both.. do it in reverse.... inside out..... whatever.... good luck.

there's no such thing as cheating. do whatever you want