When drawing on my iPad, I do a lot of "traced drawings."
Is it cheating? I don't think so: as long as I am up front about it.
A traced drawing can take just as much time as an original drawing. But it definitely takes less skill. Traced drawings have two important "cheats:"
Tracing allows me to get the proportions right. I have a hard time drawing faces. While tracing does not assure an exact likeness, it gives me a chance of getting something recognizable in a short amount of time. I will never be a portrait artist. But for Black History Month, I did quite a few traced ATCs.
The unlimited "undo" capability of digital drawing is the biggest "cheat" of all. But it is also a valid way for me to learn techniques (such as "ink" strokes" ) without wasting a lot of physical materials like paper and real ink!