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How to Draw from a Gridded Reference – Tutorial

Aug 19, 2009 Drawing, Tutorials

As an extention of my post about tips on gridding, I have decided to write a more in depth tutorial on how to draw from a gridded reference image. I’ve included pictures to help show what I am talking about. When using a grid to draw, I try to image the squares being divided up even further. In your mind, split the squares in half, or in thirds, to help you judge where lines intersect.

For this I will be using the same reference image I used for my eye tutorial. I am using a B pencil to make it easier to see, but you shoud use an F or H pencil for gridding so that you can erase your lines later. This is the image I am working from:

One way to draw from a gridded reference is to draw one square at a time. This means isolating each square and drawing the shapes within it. Use the edges of the square to judge the placement of the shapes. I will start with the square three in and three down.

Sorry for the pixellation, it can’t be helped when the image is made this large… So first I’ll start with the inner edge of the eyelid. I can see that it starts in the bottom left corner of my square, and ends about one third of the way down the right hand side of the square.

Next I’ll look at the edge of the iris. It starts at the bottom, not quite in the middle of the square, and ends at the eyelid about one third from the edge of the square.

To draw the eyelid, don’t just look at the line of the lid, look at the negative shape created by the edge of the square and the line of the lid. Draw the triangle it creates, instead of drawing the line.

Continue drawing the shapes inside each square and you will see the eye start to develop.

Now you’ve drawn the basic features of the eye, but there is way more information that you can get from your reference image. The more you draw now, the more accurrate your finished drawing will be. Draw the shapes made by the shadows and highlights, using the edges of the square and the lines you’ve already drawn as reference. Remember to look for the shapes created by negative space.

Another way to draw from a grid is to look at the large basic shapes and draw them as they intersect through your grid lines. Instead of drawing everything inside one square, you would draw the outline of the entire eye in one go. Make sure you study the position of the line inside each square as you go or you might be tempted to draw more from your mind than what you see.

Continue drawing in the rest of the features, using the grid to measure where they go.

Here we have the shape and placement of the eye and brow, but let’s get everything we can from the reference. The area around the eye is important to shade correctly if the eye is to appear natural. Because there are no features to judge by, it can be difficult to know where exactly the shadows should go once the grid is erased. For that reason, you should draw the shadows in while the grid is still there.

These lines will be your guides when it comes to shading. They show you the boundaries of the darkest shadows as well as the edges of your highlights.

Tags: better drawings, drawing tips, getting started, proportions, Tutorials

How to Grid a Reference Image and Draw From It

Jul 12, 2009 Drawing

I’ll be the first to admit it: gridding is tedious. It’s boring. It’s the last thing you want to do when you have a great idea for your next drawing. But it’s also one of the most important steps and the best way to get a good, accurate line drawing. The time spent gridding your reference is very much worth it. In fact, if you aren’t currently using the grid for your drawings, I suggest you try it. You will see an immediate improvement in the accuracy of your work!

The great thing about the grid is that it allows you to draw anything! You can apply this technique to any type of image, a car, a face, or a flower. The grid breaks a complicated image into small, manageable chunks. By drawing what you see in each individual square, and using the edges of the square to gauge distances, you get a more proportionate representation.

Some might argue that using a grid is somehow “cheating” and that a true artist shouldn’t need one, however the grid technique has been around for a good long time and many of the great master painters used it. Gridding is a tool used for drawing accurately from an image. It can help teach people to see things they would otherwise miss, but there is also great value in drawing from life. Using both of these techniques will be advantageous to your artwork.

Gridding by Hand

The first method of gridding you can do is by hand. This is the easiest and most accessible: all you need is a fine-tipped pen and a ruler. If you’re working from a copy, simply draw the grid right on top of the image. If you are working from an original, you will need to get some kind of acetate or other clear sheet to grid.

There is some math involved… It all depends on the size of your reference and the size that your drawing will be. Grid your paper into one inch squares. Now take the length of your reference drawing and divide it by the number of squares across the length of your paper. This is the size of the grid squares in your reference. For example, let’s say the length of your drawing will be 10 inches, and the length of your reference is 4 inches.

4 divided by 10=0.4

Now you mark the grid lines on your reference at 0.4 inches, and that should give you ten squares across the top. The tricky part is when your reference isn’t proportionate to your drawing. If your drawing is 8″x10″ and your reference is 4″x6,” you will need to trim some off the edges of your reference. An easy way to do this is to take the dimensions of your drawing and keep dividing them until the measurements will fit inside the reference.

8×10 divided by 2 = 4×5

This tells you that you need to trim an inch off the length of your reference to make it proportionate to your page. What you need to remember is that the squares in your grid should be perfectly square, and that there should be the same number of squares in the reference as in the drawing. If not, you’ve done something wrong!

Making your Grid Digitally

I find this to be a much easier and quicker way to grid, but of course it only works if you have access to a computer, the right software, and possibly a scanner if your image isn’t digital already.

You need some kind of software that allows you to have rulers that show inches. I use Corel Draw. Once you know the dimensions you need your reference to be, drag a guide lines from the rulers to create a box that size. Position your image inside of that box and re-size it as needed. I like this way better because it’s easier to move your grid around to find the best composition in the cases where part of the reference needs to be cropped.

Once you have your image positioned inside the correct sized box, use a line drawing tool to draw in the grid lines. At this point my reference is usually in gray-scale, so I use a mid-tone gray line that will stand out against the lights and the darks. Make sure the lines you use are quite fine. Remember that a wide line will cover up portions of the image that could be important. When you draw your picture on a bigger scale, the missing portions get bigger too.

Print your image and you’re ready to go!

Drawing from the Grid

Once your drawing paper and your reference is gridded, you can start the actual drawing! You can do this by drawing one square at a time, making sure things line up at the edges. You can also do this by drawing the major shapes, but doing it slowly, making sure that your lines pass through the grid at the right points. If I’m drawing the an eyelid, for example, I look at my grid square and mentally divide it in half, and half again if I need to. That way I can see if the eyelid crosses the grid-line at the middle of the square, or in one of its quarters.

When doing your basic line drawing, don’t just draw the nose, eyes and mouth. Look for the shadows around these features as well. Outlining the major shadow shapes will help you big time when it come to the shading. Also, very lightly define the highlights as well, so you know where to shade up to.

The main thing is to use your grid. You spent all that time working on it, make sure you look at it!

Tags: better drawings, drawing tips, getting started, portraits, proportions, shading

Drawing Portraits: Proportions of the Head

Jun 17, 2009 Drawing

Portraits can be one of the most challenging and rewarding things you will ever draw. No two people look alike, and drawing portraits requires that you use your observation skills and pay close attention to detail. Even though every face is different, there are some general guidelines to help you when it comes to the proportions of the human face. This tutorial will take you through the steps of sketching facial proportions.

First, the shape of the head is oval, slightly narrower at the bottom than the top.

Draw a horizontal and a vertical line through the center of your oval. The vertical line will help you place the nose, and the horizontal line tells you where the eyes should go. It is a misconception that eyes are at the top of our heads. There’s actually just as much head above the eyes as below, so we put the eyes in the middle of the oval.

Make four short marks to indicate the corners of the eyes. Keep in mind that the space between the two eyes is the same as the length of one eye. The space on either side of each eye is the length of approximately half an eye (or just slightly more). Draw in your eyes, don’t forget about the tear duct!

For the nose, draw a short line just short of halfway between the eyes and the chin. Another slightly longer line will be the lips, again drawn just short of halfway between the nose and the chin.

Next, to draw the nose, start from the inside corners of the eye and go straight down. These points will be the edge of the nostrils.

The corners of the mouth can be found by drawing a line straight down from the center of the pupils.

To find the placement of the eyebrows, you will use the corners of the eyes and the tip of the nose. Go straight up from the inner corners of the eye to find the inside edge of the brow. Draw a line from the tip of the nose through the outside corner of the eye for the end of the brow. Womens eyebrows are usually higher on the face, thinner and more arched. Men’s brows are thicker, lower, and less arched.

 Ears are actually bigger than you might guess. The tops of the ears line up with the eyebrows and the bottoms of the ears line up with the bottom of the nose.

The hairline generally comes about halfway down the forehead. Also, don’t forget the neck! It’s thicker than you might think. The neck is almost as wide as the head itself.

By keeping these proportions in mind, you will have an easier  time in placing facial features with in the face. However, it’s still very important to pay close attention to your reference. These proportions are guidelines, not rules, as some people may have slightly different proportions. Also, it’s the subtle differences in the shape of the face, the shape of the eyes, nose, and mouth that makes us all unique. These proportions help you figure out where to put the eye, but you still need to observe and draw the unique shape of that eye.

Tags: drawing tips, getting started, portraits, proportions