My point in saying that artists do this all the time is to say that there is a very long legal tradition which says that artists doing this does not violate copyright, rather than tediously listing the relevant cases.

My point is not that the process is the same. That’s not relevant to the law. What’s relevant is whether or not the material is a reproduction that substantially infringes upon the original.

I’m also not making an ought argument. If you want to change the law, write your congressman. What I’m arguing is that existing legal doctrine on copyright law very clearly does not protect mere ideas or styles.