Realism

Grid Art

Drawing by: Kauryn Karmazinas

Recently, I learned a new technique in my high school Art 2 class. My teacher introduced it to me by calling it grid art. Grid art is an effective way to transfer and/or enlarge an original image to a larger surface, such as canvas. In doing so, you guarantee correct proportions. Although this was my first time using this method, it turned out better than I had expected. Take a look at the top right-hand corner for a visual of my drawing. We were covering a realism unit when this project came up, so I was required to make something look realistic. Options for realism could be animals, buildings, nature, people, and many other things. I went out on a limb and chose people because that is one of my weaknesses. I had trouble in the beginning, trying to figure out sizes and proportions of everything. At first I was overwhelmed. My teacher, Mr. Lugo advised me to take it one square at a time. That is a very vital piece of information when trying to execute art like this. It's easy to lose your patience when things aren't looking right, but I promise it's worth it in the end. Don't give up on your art. To use the grid method yourself, start by finding a picture you're interested in drawing. Take a ruler and measure the original picture's length and height. After finding that, double(multiply) each number by two. For example, if the height was five inches, the height of your drawing paper will be ten inches. Begin to make marks for every inch on every side(that will be where your gridlines come from). Then sketch those lines completely across the paper, very lightly. Number each box one through ten, for example. Now you are ready to draw! Patience and accuracy are key. When you have completed your illustration, you can erase the grid and begin to shade. It will start to come to life! Depending on which picture you choose, you could have the option to use color. Feel free to comment any questions below!