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Great question, and it generated a really interesting discussion. I don't think it's cheating, and I use it all the time. I think it's silly to ignore the very simple tools and methods that are at our disposal. I prefer to make large grids so I can still use my drawing skills, but also have guides to help me get a good start on my painting - it all depends on a good start! The image below is half-an-hour into a 3ft painting - I made small marks at the edges to break it down into 8 sections (with a measuring tape), and I made the same marks on the photograph I was working from, then made my drawing. In another painting, I deliberately traced an enlarged photo onto the canvas, then painted it - for me, that's cheating, and I'll own up to it. I could have drawn it by hand, but I didn't want to - I just wanted to dig in and focus on color.

Original Post: Grid method - cheating or useful tool?

Do you consider using the grid method in drawing and painting from photos cheating or a useful tool? I don't use it often, but I have used the Grid Art tool kit to do a couple of paintings in order to get them done faster and make them more accurate. I told the people I did the paintings for that I used the grid method (neither of those are on this website; all the pictures I have uploaded to Artwanted.com were done w/o the grid method).

What do you think? Thanks!