The Grid Method -- DaveThePaintingGuy.com internet show

[mrfrenik]

I'm fairly certain that English isn't PRettyWoman281's first language...

[PRettyWoman281]

@drdarrow okkkkkkk I will not argue))) think so. a feather in one's cap you. bye

[Jayjay38]

Hello. I'm a grid addict it's a very useful tool, not only for portraits but for everything ! But I'd like to ask you for advices. How can I draw without it and without having troubles with proportions ? Thanks, and greetings from France.

[patindaytona]

How do you make a screen capture using WINDOWS system?

[drdarrow]

@patindaytona On many Windows keyboards there is a key marked on the side or top with the letters PRNT SCR or Print Screen. When you push that button once, nothing visible happens, BUT it makes a copy of the screen image and holds in the Clipboard (memory). All you need to do is open a Paint program that allows you to create a new, blank document, and Paste (control-v, or Edit (menu) > Paste) and the screen image should be available.

[DIETRICHART]

Using the Photoshop Grid works great, but when I go to print an 8x10 I get the photo but not the grid,... how do I print the grid?

Thanks.

[drdarrow]

@DIETRICHART Do a screen capture and print the screen capture, or use the grid to "snap" lines (using the line/shape tool over the photo to print that photo.

You really only need the grid to get down the basic shapes accurately, and all the detail can be refined by hand/eye.

[LordN3r3v4r]

You should've used the built-in grid within photoshop instead of going through the hard process of creating a grid by adding guide lines. Just go to View -> Show -> Grid and then in the Edit -> Preferences -> Guides, Grid & Slices window you can customize the grid's interval (px, percent, inches, cm, and so on); I hope this helps :)

[drdarrow]

@LordN3r3v4r You are right! I have since learned of that, but did not want to bother with making a new video. You are right though. It's a LOT easier! I either did not know you could edit the grid settings in Photoshop, or it was not available in PS when I did that video. Thanks for mentioning that!

[soulcalibur33]

Thank you! Finally I understand how to start a draw with a grid!

[low72]

normally im a good artist, better then the majority of people. but me being a perfectionist, i use the grid technique, because if I dont I would be spending a lot more time on a picture then i would want, then i would lose interest in it, and it wouldn't get finished

[AmurgAprins]

Folks this is one method , there are many.If you are a smart artist you choose the method depending on the situation.Art is very relative and subjected to criticism by all sides.No one can tell this is art or not.But guess what :it's one method that works for sure.You can use your thumb to measure, the pencil , some even use projectors for the image.The art is more in the subject and the final result than the method ,the rest is just bs for snobs who can't really draw.have fun !

[00hottopic00]

grids help soooo much when im drawing from a portrait but i think theyr kind of like crutches and you need to let go right? but just thinking about letting go is nerve racking to me ha! and it never comes out the way i want it to. what should i do?

[1mcool]

@00hottopic00 first learn about propotions and shape of the head, facial features, etc . then practice , then practice more. drawing people is just really practicing lots and taking a step back and looking at it again and finding your mistakes and correcting, improving and visualizing practice makes perfect in art

[khmerOne303]

srry had to remove last comment (big mistake lol)

i wanted to use the Grid method for a drawing but....

i was wondering how many inches do i make the line apart from each other on the paper im drawing on?

-Copy of picture is on Regular size printing paper

-the drawing is being done on 11"x14" Strathmore bristol paper

i was gonna make the grid on the copy 1 inch apart

but not sure on what to make the one on the paper im drawing on...

[drdarrow]

The larger art surface has to have the exact same number of squares, and they MUST be square on the original and the transfer-to piece.

11 x 14 is the same proportion as 22 x 28, but that's hard to find in ready-made. But your one-inch squares would translate up to 2" squares. and so on. If the transfer-to surface is not the same proportion it makes it trickier.

[khmerOne303]

@drdarrow thx so very much :D i can start doing some practice drawings and then get down to business :)

[JoeBob139]

How are you suppose to use this method for drawing a live model? I mean, what happens when your girlfriend sees the drawings and asks if she can sit for a portrait? Tell her, "Sorry, I don't really know how to draw"

[drdarrow]

@JoeBob139 - Exactly. Then again, if my girlfriend wants me to draw her, it will be a little more difficult since I am married, and I wouldn't want my wife to know. You know how that is... kind of like if your boyfriend saw your drawings and asks to sit for a portrait. That's going to be awkward on so many levels.

Now stop bothering me with your idiotic sophomoric rhetoric. Go back to art school and get a clue.

[drdarrow]

Sorry everyone else, but this JoeBob139 is the same dumbass that's been asking the exact same question over and over for years using different accounts. He's an art snob who doesn't get the point or the message of this video. He also does not point to his own art, which is a clue. Normally I am very patient with any question, but this is just harassment. There's a biblical proverb that advises to "answer a fool in accordance with his folly." This fellow is a fool.

[indogitrust]

@drdarrow Sir, you said a moth full and that idiot deserves it.

[AmurgAprins]

@JoeBob139 JoeBob you can bet your artistic ass this dude can draw without using this method .What happens when your girlfriend asks you to prepare your own oil paint ,"oh , so you're not a real painter".Since you don't have any art posted on your channel you can just fuck off and draw everything how you want.In the meanwhile this video is helping people learn stuff.God damn art snob.

[reibergraphix]

@JoeBob139 thenyou takeher picture in nice lighting and tell her she doesn't have to sit and be bored for 6 hours

[IchigoMe]

@JoeBob139 I have seen a grid frame which sits between the artist and his subject. I saw in a movie about an old master if I remember correctly.

[IchigoMe]

@JoeBob139 "Artists have long aspired to being able to paint pictures with accurate perspective to create a three-dimensional scene. By the late 15th Century a variety of mechanical aids had been developed, ranging from a simple grid frame to Sir Christopher Wren's pantograph. Successful use of these required considerable skill on the part of the user. It was Daniel Barbaro who first recommended the camera obscura as an aid to drawing."

This is a quote from an educational page on BBC website.

[TheValilancea]

@drdarrow if you feel insulted i apologize... but if you disagree my opinion it is no necessary to call me narrow- mind... and it was a question not a criticism (who is the narrow mind?). if you think that the art is copying the 2d image you are total wrong. anyway.. keep copying and believe that what are u doing is art..

it is a term for copying ... kitch i think.. good luck.. and do not be sad.. i am on the other side of earth and i will not burn your work... :))

[drdarrow]

@TheValilancea -- feel free to step up and show me your art. I would love to see the work of someone who is sure what they do is art. I always appreciate keyboard bravado.

[cthomp7280]

The "cheating" comments always amuse the heck outta me. Every artist pays their dues in some form or fashion. I sat through hundreds of hours of figure drawing, still life models, and field studies. While I CAN spends hours at a canvas using training to replicate whats in front of me, unless my aim is to further that craft...IM NOT WASTING MY TIME. I paint. The energy should go there...not in the under-sketch.

[kelby67]

Really liked this video; loved the end result! Also really loved your response to 'cutesame17'. Not only a class-act rebuttal, but I agree with you 100%. Like they say: "there are no rules ~ only TOOLS" I let my self imposed restrictions & standards keep me from embracing my passion for art until I was 40! Now 2 yrs later & I'm doing 30' x 8' murals on businesses! The last commission was for Woody Hayes & the Ohio Stadium (horseshoe)! Thank GOD for having the grid system!! So Thanks Dave!

[lisaJay20]

I use the grid method if i want realism, it's easier to focus on and it's effective. It's not cheating, i'm at uni and one of our sessions was on grids. I think grids are good for some aspects but I wouldn't rely on it all the time.

[crystal91pearl]

Is there another way to create grids on the origional photo without using photoshop?

[drdarrow]

If trying to do it on a computer, yes. You will need any one of several free, downloadable (search on Open Source Photo Editing) photo editing programs that has the ability to 1) set the units of measurement on a ruler/guide and 2) allow you to drag visible "guides" out over the photo.

After that doing a screen-grab is the same for obtaining a gridded image to print out. This way you don;t need to worry about what size it prints, since the perfect breakdown by grid is already accomplished.

[cutesame17]

this is like cheating!!!!

[drdarrow]

I suppose you could look at it that way. Then again, it's cheating if you don't grow your own flax and weave it into linen canvas, and carve your own wood into stretcher bars, mull your own oil paints, or press your own charcoal.

Or maybe it's cheating to hold your thumb up to a pencil to measure the model.

Should we always choose to make art the hard way?

The purist only takes longer to do everything by self-imposed standards that have no basis in actual or practical value.

[MyArtIsLoved731]

the only good thing in gridding is, that u can grow out of it. It's not cheating, it's a easier way, but..still.. Not fair for the artists who draw free handed without grid and yaaa... But still very good shading skills.

[brostomper]

y'know i used to have the same viewpoint that cutesame17 had. but as im getting older im learning to accept different techniques. ultimatly your right, it doesn't matter what techniques or tools you use if it adds to the finished product.

[AscalonGR]

@drdarrow I aggree; Its a mesuring method and the final resault matters. Plus we are all mathematics and numbers in a magic order. In a few lessons I believe every student will learn how to "use" it with out doing it; only by hes/her eyes :) Good work passing the knowledge keep it up!

[yankeegurl62]

Thank you so much about the info on where I can scan and print the grid and picture!! When I was a kid, we did a little of the grafting things...I'm going to try to draw using it again!!

[MrW00dman]

The grid system is good but you then have to remove the grid marks from the canvas or paper. I bought an easy-draw last year which gets around this problem. It has vastly improved my drawing ability.

[drdarrow]

There are circumstances where you may ant to remove the grid marks, yes, but not the way I paint. Everything gets covered.

This video is *not* about the best method for transferring. Nor do I recommend this over obtaining drawing skill or purchasing a good projector.

As stated in the contents, this video is about how to use Photoshop to make a grid, and how to use the grid transfer method. Many people do not kow how to use the grid to enlarge, reduce or transfer.

This explains how.

[Osada77]

Me ha encantado tu video.Gracias y un saludo desde España.

[danlevm]

i like this painting .......it has life to it

[narcovice]

thanks for the tip shes so beautiful

[badfender223]

Very good video. Thank you.

[502amandab]

i use this method, i do not paint but sketch and draw, i found when i didnt my drawings looked much like picaso's, but this helps them almost perfectly

[richardbrompton]

Would You demonstrate the Sight siseing method, with pendulum?

[johnmonk66]

great advice, and wow that girl is pretty

[tracymbuford]

WOW! I was havin problems tryin to learn how to grid but this definately helped me. Im tryin to teach myself to draw. This was very very informative. Especially since u gave so much detail on how to use photoshop to grid the photo as well. Thank u.

[RLTromble]

Never used this method myself. The grid painting has been around since the Egyptians, you can even buy canves with grids on them, but they cost more.

[LateefaArt]

I must say the painting is better than the photograph.

[cjjorgensen]

I can draw, but I completely forgot about this handy short cut! Thanks so much for generously sharing your knowledge. Not everyone has the time or money to go to Art Center. Thanks again.

[Nirvana87]

wow thats amazing the result is so good, its really hard for my to paint in oil,it was oil right?

[mickjenner]

excellent, informative to me as somebody trying to teach myself