How to Grid and Enlarge a Picture to Draw

A drawing pencil and a good eraser is important in the outcome of enlarging your picture.

Employing an opaque projector, slides and projectors, transfer paper, computers or copiers to enlarge pictures is common. Every artist has their preferred method. Another common method is by using a grid. A grid is a good tactic if you will be adding color to the drawing, such as with painting or pastels. If the drawing will not be completely filled in, ensure you use a water soluble pencil on a water-resistant surface or have a good eraser available to erase the grid lines.

Things You'll Need

• Original picture
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Paper
• Eraser

Instructions

1. Start at the top of the picture and draw a horizontal line using a ruler and pencil every one inch until you reach the bottom of the page.

2. Repeat this process drawing vertical lines across the picture. You now have a 1-inch by 1-inch grid on the picture.

3. Repeat the grid process on the paper on which you are drawing, making your grid boxes larger than on the original picture. The size of the grid will determine how much larger your final drawing is than the original. To double the size of the image, simply double the size of the boxes to 2 inches by 2 inches.

4. Start at the top left (or right, if you are left-handed), and draw what you see in each box on the original onto the corresponding box on the larger grid.

5. Erase the grid lines once your drawing is complete.

References

• Art is Fun: The Grid Method
• Fountain Studio: Enlarging Drawings