<p>Best way I know is just making a cross on both the original and lightly on the paper you will be drawing onto. That stops you getting too technical, and forces you to look at spaces and shapes, which is what drawing is really about. If you start in the middle (for example) and work outwards, copying SHAPES, without trying to identify them as e.g. "nose", "eye" etc, you find that you will get a better likeness. You can do that with photos, but it's not really possible to draw from life like that. The practice should help you start to see like an artist, which side of the Brain, its great, but you have to DO it, not just read about it.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-16T09:10:15.437Z
2016-06-16T09:34:19.620Z
2016-06-16T09:34:19.620Z
Coffie
<p>I've taken art classes in high/middle school where I did a couple of grid drawings and I've even done a couple on my own. I also had an art class in college last semester and everyone there loved my grid drawings and said they were highly detailed or had a photographic quality. </p>

<p>I don't know though if it actually helps, as I'm not sure if it's helping me improve on drawing from imagination. I want to try figure drawing and do concept and anime art, but my skills in that field are like a 50/50 hit or miss and I want to get into more dynamic poses that look good. </p>

<p>Would using grid drawing to draw people and poses help me achieve these goals?</p>

<drawing><sketching><portrait-drawing>
Does grid drawing help with drawing from imagination?
Devin
# Does grid drawing help with drawing from imagination?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-06-16)

I've taken art classes in high/middle school where I did a couple of grid drawings and I've even done a couple on my own. I also had an art class in college last semester and everyone there loved my grid drawings and said they were highly detailed or had a photographic quality.

I don't know though if it actually helps, as I'm not sure if it's helping me improve on drawing from imagination. I want to try figure drawing and do concept and anime art, but my skills in that field are like a 50/50 hit or miss and I want to get into more dynamic poses that look good.

Would using grid drawing to draw people and poses help me achieve these goals?

**Tags:** drawing, sketching, portrait-drawing


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-06-16. Score: 6

Best way I know is just making a cross on both the original and lightly on the paper you will be drawing onto. That stops you getting too technical, and forces you to look at spaces and shapes, which is what drawing is really about. If you start in the middle (for example) and work outwards, copying SHAPES, without trying to identify them as e.g. "nose", "eye" etc, you find that you will get a better likeness. You can do that with photos, but it's not really possible to draw from life like that. The practice should help you start to see like an artist, which side of the Brain, its great, but you have to DO it, not just read about it.


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