How to Draw Portraits Using the Grid Method

1. Use a denser grid for faces

Portraits reward more reference points than landscapes. Start around 8 × 10 squares and add more for tight detail around the eyes, nose and mouth.

Keep a vertical center line through the face. It helps you place features symmetrically and check that the nose, mouth and chin line up.

2. Work in grayscale first

Switch the reference to grayscale. Removing color lets you focus on values — the light and shadow shapes that actually make a face read as three-dimensional.

Squint at the reference to simplify the values into a few big shapes before you worry about detail.

3. Check proportions with the Loomis head

The Loomis method maps the head as a ball plus a jaw, with the brow, nose and chin on evenly spaced lines. Overlay it to sanity-check the angle and proportions of your reference.

The eyes usually sit halfway down the head, and the space between them is about one eye wide — easy to verify against the grid.

4. Build up the likeness

Block in the head shape and feature placement square by square before rendering. Likeness lives in placement and proportion far more than in fine detail.