T.C.COR 27 Jul 2008

I use the grid method and no its not cheating your still drawing the piece freehand and its getting done faster. Its still requires drawing skills and I feel its much more gratifying then using the projector or light table. I teach it to a few students and there art has improved greatly. The grid helps you get better at human anatomy and the placements of facial parts.

Becky Daroff 30 Jul 2008

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.

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