How to Draw Using the Grid Method

Difficulty: Easy
About 45 minutes
9 steps

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The grid method is how artists copy a picture at a new size and keep the shapes right. You draw a grid over the picture, draw a grid with the same number of squares on your paper, then copy one square at a time. Each square is a small, easy drawing. Put them together and the whole thing lines up. Rick Mayotte shows it by blowing a small horse sketch up to about 14 inches, too big for a home printer, so he can trace it onto poster board.

What you need

The picture you want to copy, a sketch or a printed photo
A long metal ruler
Sharp pencils, one light and one darker
Drawing paper or a newsprint pad in the size you want
An eraser, ideally a kneaded one that lifts lines gently

How to work out the grid size

The squares on both grids must be the same in number, not in size. The ratio between them is how much bigger the copy gets. Half-inch squares on the original and one-inch squares on the new paper doubles the drawing. Two-inch squares makes it four times bigger. To shrink a large picture, flip it: big squares on the original, small ones on the copy. If you need an exact size, divide the size you want by the width of the original and use that number to pick your square size.

Why it works so well

Most drawing mistakes are proportion mistakes: a head too big, legs too short. The grid breaks one hard drawing into many small ones, so your eye only judges a few lines at a time. Ask yourself where the line enters the square, where it leaves, and how it bends in between. That is all.

Grid method vs tracing

Tracing only copies at the same size, and a projector needs a dark room and a wall. The grid method needs a pencil and a ruler, works at any size and trains your eye while you do it. Many artists find that after a few grid drawings they judge proportions better freehand too.

Keeping grid lines off the finished art

Draw the copy grid very lightly so you can erase it later. Rick leaves his grid in place because he only uses the drawing as a pattern. For a finished piece, draw the grid on a separate sheet, lay it on a lightbox and tape your good paper on top. The lines show through and never touch the art. On a printed photo you can draw the grid straight on the print, or on a clear sheet over it.

Grid method mistakes to avoid

Different square counts. Count both grids before you start. One missing row stretches the whole drawing.
Losing your place. Label the rows and columns, or cover the rest of the picture with a paper window.
Pressing too hard. Grid lines that will not erase spoil the finished piece. Use a light hand and a harder pencil.

Where to use it

Use it for portraits, pet drawings, murals and patterns for wood or fabric. It pairs well with how to draw a horse and how to draw a face, where proportions matter most. Moving a design onto canvas? See how to transfer a sketch to canvas. Once the outline is in place, colored pencils are a good way to finish it.

Quick answer

Use the grid method to copy and enlarge any drawing: grid the picture, draw a matching bigger grid and copy one square at a time. An easy project: about 45 minutes. You need 6 things, including drawing paper or newsprint pad, long metal ruler and pencils. The 9 steps start with start With a Clean Sketch for the Grid Method, measure the Width of the Sketch With a Ruler and mark Grid Lines Across the Original Sketch.

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