Gridded pictures facilitate drawing an image accurately and to scale.
Drawing an accurate representation of an object is difficult to most, so many use drawing techniques to reproduce the image. There are several ways to draw an object, such as drawing the image upside down, simplifying the form to basic geometric shapes and dividing the image into a grid. These techniques fool the brain into drawing what it sees and not what the brain thinks it sees. The mind creates models and definitions of objects, which become apparent when the object is drawn. A grid on an image divides the image into disparate parts that can be drawn separately and accurately.
Instructions
Grid the Picture
1. Measure your image. Divide the shorter dimension of the image by 16. For example, a 9-inch by 12-inch image's short side divides into 16 segments of 9/16 inch each.
2. Divide the longer side of the image into segments equal in length to that determined in Step 1. The longer side may not divide evenly by the module, so note the remainder. For the 12-inch side of a 9-inch by 12-inch image, the 9/16-inch length subdivides the edge into 21 equal segments with a remainder of 3/16 inch.
3. Mark each edge of the image with segments of the determined length. The short edges have 16 equal segments, whereas the long edges have the number of segments determined in Step 2. Ensure any remainder is on the same side of the image.
4. Draw lines connecting the marks on either side of the image. Use a T-square to line up the squares properly and a permanent marker. Ensure all lines are either perpendicular or parallel to the edges of the image. Your image should be divided into a grid of squares. You can keep the remainder as a column of a different width or remove it from the drawing to keep all regions in the grid equal.
In the example, the image would be divided into a square grid with 16 rows and 21 columns, as well as one column that is 3/16-inch wide.
Grid the Drawing Paper
5. Subdivide the short edges of your drawing paper into 16 equal segments. The dimensions of the paper and segments do not have to be equal to those of the image. Mark the endpoints of each of the 16 segments with a pencil.
6. Subdivide the long edge of the drawing paper into segments equal in length to the dimension of the drawing paper's short-edge segments. Make an equal or greater number of segments to that of the long edge on the image. Mark the endpoints of each of the segments with a pencil.
7. Draw lines with a pencil connecting the segment endpoints. Ensure the lines are perpendicular or parallel to the edges of the drawing paper.
8. Draw the image on the drawing paper. Depict one region of the grid at a time. Draw the edges and contours of the image for each square. Add value to create a shaded image and hide the pencil grid.
