Decided to finally buckle down and really try this Spanish Grid method today. Heard about it ages ago, figured it might help with getting proportions right, something I always wrestle with.
Getting Set Up
Didn’t need anything fancy. Just grabbed a photo I liked – nothing too crazy complicated, just a clear portrait. Found a cheap plastic ruler, a regular HB pencil, an eraser (knew I’d need that), and a blank sheet of drawing paper, slightly bigger than the photo.
First job: gridding the photo itself. Measured it out, drew lines across and down. Went for roughly one-inch squares. Didn’t have to be perfect, just needed a grid. Used a fine-tip marker so the lines wouldn’t smudge too much on the photo paper.
Next, the drawing paper. This part needs a bit more care. Measured the paper, figured out how big I wanted the final drawing. Then calculated how big each square needed to be to match the grid on the photo, just scaled up. Drew this grid lightly with the pencil. Double-checked I had the same number of squares across and down as the photo grid. That’s crucial, obviously.
The Actual Drawing Part
Alright, grids done. Now the real work. Picked a square on the photo grid, usually started top-left, habit I guess. Looked only at what was inside that single square. What lines? What shapes? Where did they enter and exit the square?
Then, I looked at the matching empty square on my drawing paper and tried to copy just those lines and shapes, in the same relative position. Didn’t think about “drawing an eye” or “drawing a nose”. Just focused on “this line starts halfway up the left side and curves to the top right corner” or “this dark shape fills the bottom left quadrant of the square”.
Went square by square. Some were easy, almost blank. Others were a headache, full of fiddly details. The key thing I kept telling myself was: Don’t think about the big picture yet. Just copy the squares.
There were moments I messed up, lines didn’t quite meet across square borders. That’s where the eraser came in handy. Rubbed out, looked closer at the photo grid square, tried again. It’s slow work. Definitely slower than just diving in freehand.
Finishing Up and Thoughts
After maybe an hour or so, all the squares were filled. The moment of truth. Erased the grid lines on the drawing paper carefully. Or at least, tried to. Some were a bit stubborn.
Stepped back and had a look. Okay, it wasn’t a masterpiece. Some parts looked a bit stiff, a little ‘blocky’ maybe. But honestly? The proportions were way, way better than my usual attempts. The eyes were level, the nose was the right length, things were generally where they were supposed to be.
It really does force you to observe carefully, to break down complex shapes into smaller, manageable chunks. It bypasses that part of your brain that wants to draw the idea of an eye instead of the actual shapes you’re seeing.
So, yeah. The Spanish Grid. It works, for what it is. Good training tool for accuracy. Takes patience, for sure. Not something I’d use for every drawing, but definitely useful practice to improve observation. Worth the time I put in today.
