When your artwork questions your skills and imagination, the reasons lie on the opposite side of the canvas, not on it.
Grids are a solution when you have to paint exactly like the source and are short of time. Its an asset for the beginners. It's is not very well-taken in blue-blood though because it makes the sketching portion drive up to the dump. Sketching holds a high space as far as diptych paintings are considered. But adhering to the timeline makes up for a good artist too.
What is the Grid?
The word is self- explanatory. Horizontal and vertical parallel lines meshing up the canvas with personalized dimensions are termed as grid. This forms multiple squares or rectangles on canvas or drawing base. You may relate it metaphorically to pixels.
How to transfer the source with the grid?
This process helps you to transfer the image from the source like a photograph to the canvas with a provable resemblance. Concepts like photorealism are well-conceptualized by grid usage. It goes by the points before:
Grid the source: Begin with laying a grid on the source or photograph. Although it can be done manually, like making a grid on a plastic sheet and placing it on the source. There are several apps (apple and android) that let you form a grid on any photograph on your phone with desired dimensions.
Grid the canvas/drawing board/the base: Consider the dimensions of the lines which you used to form a grid on the source and proportion them according to the size difference to lay on the canvas.
It's tricky to understand the process. Frequently asked questions are:
How many lines to draw to form a standard grid? There is no such thing as a standard grid. The number of lines drawn is directly proportional to the sketching skills and inversely proportional to the square or rectangle size formed by the grid. If you need a grid only for verification of a few main points in the painting, four quadrants should be enough. If its a very complicated source for e.g.field, you will need several lines to replicate every tiny portion from the source.
Are several horizontal lines the same as vertical lines? It need not be the same. If the sketching base is a rectangular paper, the length of the sides will decide the number of the lines. Depending on the orientation of the painting, the horizontal or vertical lines will have a different number.
Can we transfer from a square-shaped source to a rectangular-shaped source? It is nearly impossible. It may leave your artwork elongated or out of shape. So the shape must be the same.
Can we make a bigger artwork than the source? It is possible and is one of the most amazing use of grids. The shape of the source and canvas should be the same but dimensions may differ keeping the shape intact. By using the same number of lines on source and canvas you just need to start sketching block by block and the result is a bigger image to seize the show.
Grids make life of busy artists and beginners easier, just a tad :)