Creative Suite

Grid Drawing Basics

May 7th, 2008

Some drawings may require the artist to achieve a higher level of accuracy. This is true when one tries to copy a photograph with a pencil drawing. For the pencil drawing to look great, there is no room for errors. A small error may not give the artist the same result in closely getting the exact replica of the photograph on paper.

 

Artists make use of different way in order to increase the accuracy they have with copying a certain photograph in their pencil drawings. The easiest would be tracing the outlines of the photograph. This is especially ideal for beginners in drawing by tracing some key points of the photograph to achieve better accuracy. Professionals do it by using a projected image of the photograph over the drawing surface and tracing the key points and elements for better accuracy.

 

A less direct way of achieving accuracy in drawing a photograph would be using a grid. The grid is a series of vertical and horizontal lines drawn initially on the drawing surface as well as the photograph to give the artist a sense of relative proportion and shape of the image within each grid square. In essence, the artist is given a means of drawing the image a square at a time. The lines of the grid gives the artist a reference from how each part of the image can be outlined.

 

Having a grid for reference of the outlines of the image on a smaller scale can achieve better accuracy than doing the drawing free hand. This would be an easy way for beginners at drawing to learn how to train their hand and eye coordination. Little by little, 

beginners may have a better feel of how lines can be copied from the grid on the photograph to the corresponding grid on the drawing surface.

 

The important thing about grid drawing is to discern the relative proportion of the image. This is especially important if one is to scale up or scale down a drawing of a certain photograph and yet acquiring the same accuracy. It is not important that the distances of the lines on each grid square is measured to achieve accuracy. It is more of the proportion of the lines between each grid square that is to be achieved. When scaling up, the grid drawn over the photograph to be copied become bigger squares on the drawing surface. When scaling down, smaller grid squares are used on the drawing surface than on the photograph being copied.

Entry Filed under: Drawing