{"title":"How to Draw Using the Grid Method","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/drawing/how-to-draw-using-the-grid-method","category":{"slug":"drawing","name":"Drawing"},"creator":{"name":"Rick Mayotte","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnO_SxssKo5Y2aHuwwTiEIg","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiuDL9CX6j8"},"tldr":"Use the grid method to copy and enlarge any drawing: grid the picture, draw a matching bigger grid and copy one square at a time.","quickAnswer":"Use the grid method to copy and enlarge any drawing: grid the picture, draw a matching bigger grid and copy one square at a time. An easy project: about 45 minutes. You need 6 things, including drawing paper or newsprint pad, long metal ruler and pencils. The 9 steps start with start With a Clean Sketch for the Grid Method, measure the Width of the Sketch With a Ruler and mark Grid Lines Across the Original Sketch.","totalDurationSeconds":334,"videoDurationSeconds":334,"difficulty":"easy","project":{"difficulty":"easy","projectMinutes":45,"waitMinutes":null,"totalMinutes":45,"estimatedCost":null,"yield":null},"tools":["long metal ruler","pencils","kneaded eraser","lightbox (optional)"],"materials":["the picture or sketch to copy","drawing paper or newsprint pad"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Start With a Clean Sketch for the Grid Method","text":"Pick the picture you want to copy. Rick uses a simple running horse outline he drew on printer paper and went over in darker pencil so the lines are easy to see. Clear, dark lines make the copying much easier. If you are working from a photo, print it in black and white so the shapes and edges stand out."},{"number":2,"title":"Measure the Width of the Sketch With a Ruler","text":"Lay a ruler across the widest part of the drawing. The horse is a little under 7 inches across. Decide how big you want the copy. Rick wants 13 to 14 inches, about double. Halving the 7 inches into half-inch squares gives 14 squares across. On the new paper, one-inch squares make it 14 inches wide."},{"number":3,"title":"Mark Grid Lines Across the Original Sketch","text":"Use the ruler to tick off half-inch marks along the top and side of the drawing. Then join the marks with straight pencil lines, across and down, so the whole picture sits under a grid of even squares. Keep the ruler flat and pressed down so the lines stay straight and the squares stay the same size."},{"number":4,"title":"Finish the Half-Inch Grid Over the Whole Drawing","text":"Carry the grid past the edges of the drawing until every part of it sits inside a square. Count the squares. Rick has 14 across and 9 down. Write those numbers down. They are the only numbers that matter, because the new grid has to match them exactly, however big its squares are."},{"number":5,"title":"Draw a Larger Grid on the Big Drawing Paper","text":"Take the big paper. Rick uses a 12 by 18 inch newsprint sheet from the dollar store. Draw the same number of squares, 14 across and 9 down, but make each one an inch. Bigger squares mean a bigger drawing. Inch-and-a-half or two-inch squares would make it larger still. Keep these lines light."},{"number":6,"title":"Number and Letter the Grid Rows and Columns","text":"Write numbers along the top of both grids and letters down the side, in the same order. Now every square has a name, like C7. Find C7 on the original, find C7 on the big sheet, and copy what is in it. This matters most on detailed pictures, where it is easy to drift a square to one side without noticing."},{"number":7,"title":"Copy the Drawing Square by Square Onto the Large Grid","text":"Start at one corner of the picture and work across. For each square, look at where the line enters, where it leaves and how it curves in between. Draw that inside the matching big square. Rick starts with the horse's head and works along the neck. Do not think about the horse. Think about the lines in the square."},{"number":8,"title":"Keep Copying Each Grid Square Across the Drawing","text":"Keep moving square by square across the back, the hindquarters and down the legs. Keep the original beside you so you can glance back and forth. If a line looks wrong, check that you are in the matching square before you erase. Most mistakes come from copying the right line into the wrong square."},{"number":9,"title":"Compare the Enlarged Drawing With the Original","text":"Lay the original on top of the enlargement and compare. The proportions should match: the same head size, the same leg length, only bigger. Go over the outline to refine it if you want. Rick keeps the grid lines because he is tracing the horse onto poster board as a pattern. For finished art, erase them."}],"commonProblems":[],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-11-01T14:07:34.994Z","published":"2026-11-01T14:07:34.762Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit Show Me Step by Step with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure. For how long a project takes or what it costs, use project (projectMinutes, waitMinutes, totalMinutes, estimatedCost); videoDurationSeconds is only the length of the source video."}