How to draw a larger version of a photo

Getting the proportions correct is the single most important part of creating a drawing that looks like the subject you are drawing.

You can get a book at any local craft store. Michaels has plenty of really good instructional books. I think I've thumbed through most of them. I just could never really get a lot out of the books that I read. So I kept practicing and learned some techniques that work for me.

The first thing you need to do is create a good rough sketch. You need to have all of the important features in place, such as eyes, mouth, nose and general shape of the head. Once you get all of that done, you can begin adding values to make your drawing look 3-D.

Creating a drawing from a photo that is the SAME size isn't nearly as tricky. Making a larger version of a photo can be however. So here are some steps I use when I do this.

1. Create a grid - A grid is a series of squares on the reference photo resembling a checker board.
   
2. Once you have your squares on your reference photo, make a similar one for your drawing paper, only of a larger scale. Do this very lightly on your drawing paper so you can erase the lines easily.
3. You might find it easier to add more squares inside of some of the other squares, especially in the area of the eyes.
4. Have eraser (gummy kind) handy for mistakes or changes.
5. I use a clear ruler to lay out my lines on the page. That way I can see through the ruler as I make my selections.
6. Get comfortable - I like to listen to music when I draw and get a large glass of water or drink with lots of ice.
   

Notice on on Emily's (subject) left eye, I have some smaller squares. The center or cross section of the small squares are where the pupil is located. This makes it easier to get the proper placement on your drawing. You are still drawing freehand, but a much smaller section of the drawing. You will be able to get all of the proportions correct doing it this way. You can also use this method if you were to paint a huge mural on the side of a barn. I painted a 25' lady back in my earlier days on the side of a barn! It turned out pretty good using a grid.

The series of photos (set up in a slide show) below are of the drawing in different stages. I'm not going to get into details about shading. I cover shading in many of my other hubs. If you have any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments below.