How to Scale Drawings Using the Grid Method

One way of transposing images from one piece of paper to another without the use of a computer is to use the grid method. Only three items are required for this to work: a pencil, a ruler, and an image.

Steps

1. Pick your image. The image that we will be using as an example is this image from a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon.
2. Choose your drawing paper. It should be scaled to the size of your original print.
   
   • For example, if you have an image that's 8.5" x 11" (21.4cm x 28cm), then scale the drawing paper size accordingly (i.e. 17" X 22" (43cm x 56cm) (two times), 4.25" x 5.5" (10.7cm x 14cm) (0.5x)). In this article, you will be making a 1:1 scale drawing (8.5" x 11"/21.4cm x 28cm) for the sake of side-by-side comparison.
   • In the picture on the right, you can see the two pieces of 8.5" x 11" paper. The top is your reference image, and the bottom is your drawing paper.
3. Mark the edges of the reference picture at equal intervals. For this How-To, you'll be using one-inch (2.5cm) intervals. In the end, you should have equally spaced marks along the edges of your paper.
   
   • If you were using one-inch markings, there will be a half-inch (1.27cm) marking at either the upper or lower half of the drawing, since the length (or height, if flipped in the example) is only 8.5"/21.4cm.
4. Connect the opposing marks with a ruler. These connected lines will form a grid pattern, hence the name "Grid method".
5. Make the same exact grid pattern on your drawing paper. In the end, you should have something similar to the image provided.
6. Once this is complete, number each box for both your reference picture and drawing paper, starting with the top left corner. If done correctly, you should have 99 separate boxes. The end product should look like a very long calendar.
7. Now it is time to begin drawing. Begin wherever you want. In this image, you'll see the original artist started in Hobbes's armpit (Box 53).
8. So draw...
9. And draw...
10. Complete the drawing. It may or may not be as exact as you would like. For pictures that are the same size (1:1), you can use a light box. However, if you are making a poster, try making smaller boxes.
    
    • For example, if you're taking this image and making it twice the original size (2:1), you could have 1" (2.5cm) boxes on the original image, and 2" (5cm) boxes on the big poster. You could also make 0.5" boxes on the original image, and then have 1" (2.5cm) boxes on your big poster. The important thing is to keep everything scaled.

Tips

• Pay very close attention as to where the lines cross over into other boxes. These small differences can add up very fast, leading to a very crooked representation of what you are looking for. This is evident in Calvin's mouth, where the artist starts to rush a bit.
• Watch! Focus on where lines begin and end. Is it the top left corner of a box or middle left? If you need to make even smaller boxes, do it! The smaller the boxes, the more information you have, therefore, the more accurate your representation will be.
• Don't shun your ruler! Gentle curves can (and should) be drawn by hand. But straight lines like Calvin's hair or Hobbes's sides can be drawn with a ruler.
• Take a step back every so often to get a look at "the bigger picture". It can be easy to get lost in the little details while ignoring the more important features of a drawing.

Things You'll Need

• An image you want to scale
• Proportionally scaled drawing paper
• A pencil
• An eraser
• A ruler

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