How to Draw with a Grid

Some people think that if you learn how to draw using a grid, you are not really drawing.

I'll get into the benefits derived from this drawing technique shortly, but first I want to tell you a little bit about Albrecht Durer.

Albrecht Durer was a well-know Renaissance artist who lived between 1471-1528. This, of course, was before cameras, scanner, and computers.

When he was having a problem with prospective or proportions in his drawing, he used a grid that he designed. He could look through it at his subject and draw what he saw on a paper he had marked with a grid of similar size.

You can read more about him in and see the device he designed in "The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards.

As I mentioned in the introduction, there are definite benefits from using this technique.

One reason I really like it, especially for people who are just learning how to draw, is that a common problem they have is focusing on line relationships. Our brain tends to tell us one logical thing, while what is actual is something less logical.

A chair seat is sort of square, logically. But if we look at it at different angles, it is no longer square. It becomes a four-sided polygon which may or may not have any parallel sides.

Our logical mind does not easily accept this, so if we are going to draw it as it actually is, we have to forget being logical and pay attention to the actual relationship of the lines.

This is where the grid becomes very helpful.

1. It makes you focus on the relationship of lines.
2. It forces you to only look at the lines as they relate to each other within a given square.
3. Because you are focusing only on one square at a time, the overall picture becomes less threatening to you.
4. You practice focusing on line relationships over and over again, developing that skill, with each additional square.
5. When you are all finished, you get two bonuses.
   

What are the bonuses?

• You've learned to focus better on line relationships
• You have a completed drawing that you can pretty pleased with.
  

Although I am an experienced artist, sometimes I have trouble getting proportions just right or the prospective exactly how it should be. This is when I use the grid.

That is the same reason why Albrecht Durer designed the grid.

His drawings were very complex with multiple angles of prospective and naturally inconsistent proportions. Of course, my tools are a camera, scanner and computer.

They definitely simplify matters.

I have produced a video which shows excepts of the entire procedure. If you are like me, I learn better when I see something being done rather than trying to read an explanation.

Feel free to view the entire video and then go on to my website for further explanation.

I was recently using this drawing technique to help a young girl learn to draw. She had a very hard time focusing on just one square at a time. She kept wanting to draw the whole pedal of the flower rather than focusing on line relationships within a given square.

There were two thing I had to do to help her focus more.

1. I had to make two pieces of paper about 4 inches square and cut out a 1 inch square in the center of each. She placed the pieces over the picture and the paper she was drawing on so she could not see anything accept the square she was supposed to focus on.
2. This helped a bit, but she still had trouble figuring out the placement of the lines withing the square. I ended up drawing small lines along the sides of each square opening. I put 3 lines to break up one side into quarters and 2 lines on another side the break up the square into thirds.

Both of these things helped her focus better, but she still has a problem with spacial relationships. My next thought is to approach it from a negative space relationship to see if she can grasp that.

If any of you have other suggestions, I would appreciate hearing from you in the comments section. This girl has talent, and drive, but needs some extra special help.