I don’t want to invest too much time judging proportions and having to start all over again when I get it wrong. I use grids to speed up my work, to a certain extent, and more importantly, it almost guarantees that my drawing succeeds. Tracing Art – Is It Good or Bad? When Is Tracing Cheating?.How to Trace a Drawing: 12 Ways to Get Results – Fast!.Many artists use grids as a starting point and use them to draw the basic outline before going on to refine their work freehand once the structure is in place. This might interest you: Is Hyperrealism Art or a Skill? What’s the Point? Be in no doubt, they used the technology that was available to them, including the Camera Obscura, and later on the Camera Lucida, optical tracing devices.įamous artists, like the late portrait artist Chuck Close, employed the grid technique to create his hyperrealistic, large-scale artworks Claims that professional artists don’t use the grid system are claptrap. If you have ever read David Hockney’s book “ Secret Knowledge” he reveals all the tricks of the trade that the old masters got up to. They provide a useful framework to maintain correct proportions and help artists maintain consistency in their work. Grids are practical tools, particularly when translating a reference photo onto drawing paper. If he can do it, I think the rest of us can relax. Many artists of the Renaissance, including old masters such as Albrecht Durer describe using grids as a drawing aid. In reality, the grid method has been used for centuries. They feel the need to protect the “secret sauce” and keep the audience guessing. Many artists try to hide their shortcuts and working methods in an attempt to maintain the mystique around their process. I learned to draw before I ever used a grid. In my opinion, drawing is hard work and years of practice based on a kernel of natural ability. Quite where this fairytale nonsense comes from I’m not sure. They are at best wannabes and at worst, frauds. Therefore, using the same logic, someone who needs to use a grid can’t be a “real” artist. Innate ability handed down from the Gods. There is also a romantic myth that artists are a breed apart, it’s as if they can magically pluck the image from the ether and render the image onto paper or canvas. Lack of ability will still be apparent in the final drawing. The public, and some artists, think that a grid is a substitute for talent. In short, if your drawing skills are badly lacking, using a grid will not help much. A grid will improve your accuracy if that is what you are trying to achieve, but it will not improve your composition, techniques, or the natural flow of your line. It does require a rigid and technical approach and that will inevitably limit your artistic style.īut here’s the rub. I have a certain sympathy with this view and that’s because I have used grids to make my art for so long. There is also a perception that using a grid somehow diminishes an artist’s natural talent and creative abilities. Some people believe that using a grid is cheating because it takes away the challenge of drawing from observation and makes the process of creating art more mechanical. Why Do Some People Think Using a Grid is Cheating? That’s the principle, and it applies equally when adding a grid overlay to a digital image. The grid serves as a guide, helping the artist to see and reproduce the image with greater accuracy. By breaking the image down into smaller, more manageable sections, artists can more easily reproduce the image with accurate proportions. The grid drawing method involves placing a grid over a reference photo and a corresponding grid over the drawing paper. Might as well start by clarifying what I mean by the grid method. However, I only promote products I like and recommend) What is the Grid Drawing Method? (I get commissions for purchases made through affiliate links in this post. So whether you’re a beginner or an experienced artist, the grid drawing method can help you take your skills to the next level. It’s the method I have used to earn a living for the past 20+ years. In this article, I’ll explain how the grid method works with tips for using it effectively. However, relying heavily on the grid method limits an artist from learning to draw with a free, fluid, and expressive style. A grid helps artists create more realistic drawings, but is drawing a grid cheating?ĭrawing with a grid is not cheating, it’s a practical tool used for copying a 2D image accurately. Many artists struggle with drawing accurate proportions and even when they can, it takes too much time.
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