Grid+Portrait

Grid Drawing Preparing your Image: Gridding the Paper: To draw the image, you may wish to work methodically from one side of the image, or just begin with the most obvious features. Now you are ready to start shading your drawing. Take your time, and make sure you use a full range of tone. Good luck!
 * Choose a large, clear image. Please choose an image that was taken with a camera and printed from a computer. The image should have a background. Please do not use an image of a Logo, a Symbol, words, or a character you didn’t invent. The image should fill the page (ie, it should be about 8”x10”)
 * With a ruler, measure off every inch, making a little mark on all four sides of the image.
 * Draw the grid, making sure your lines are fine, straight and clear. Fine black marker works for lighter key images, Mark the center intersection on the grid as a reference point.
 * Get a blank sheet of drawing paper that is roughly double the size of your original image. (16”x20” or bigger would be great)
 * Using a sharp, medium pencil, //lightly// draw a grid on your paper. Measure off every 2 inches and then connect your lines across. You should have the same number of squares on your blank paper as you do on your image.
 * Darken the intersection of the center lines on the grid as a reference point.
 * Edges and strong changes of tone make clear shapes in the photograph. Where one of these shapes crosses a grid-line, count how many grid-lines from your reference point the grid-line is.
 * Judge how far the shape is along the square, then count across and mark this at the same point on the grid-line in your drawing.
 * Do the same again, further along the same shape - for example, the line of the chin in this drawing. Mark the point where the shape meets another grid-line, then join the two, following any bumps or curves in the shape in the photograph.
 * Where a key point is away from a grid-line, you will need to judge the relative distance from the nearest grid-lines.
 * Make sure you have drawn outlines for all the key parts of your drawing. Less defined areas, such as a patch of shade or highlight, may be roughly indicated too.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Carefully erase your grid lines, repairing outlines as you go.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Tips: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Make sure your pencils are sharp, and draw your outlines as lightly as possible. Don't use too hard a pencil, as they will make dents in the paper.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">If you find it confusing knowing which grid square you are on, try numbering or color-coding them, or cover half of your image and only work on a small section at a time.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Use the same method to help draw a still-life, placing a grid drawn on a board behind your objects - but you'll need to close one eye when viewing to remove parallax (distortion caused by the different view from each eye).