Tips for budding artists using a grid

I wish I learned this in Jr high art classes or after school  art classes. Free hand drawing is good but the projector or the grid method for putting a design on canvass is okay.  Its not cheating   I free hand draw because I can after much practice. But if I really want to get things right I will use the grid method. I never used a projector I cant comment on it.  But historically  the principle was know back to 400 bc.  camera obscura.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_obscura
 Some dutch masters thought to have used them.

Grid method

Grid method  this concept has been around for centuries .  I remember seeing a sketch from the 1500,s it showed a artist drawing from a model posing with a grid made of string dangling between  the artist and his subject . and had the grid sketched   on his easel. 

The grid is basically graph  paper .  You draw lines over a photo reference  equally spaced  horizontal and vertical . Example a 8x10 and you want to put it on a larger canvas.  Draw parallel horizontal line a inch apart. Now do the same vertically  a inch apart.  Now assuming  we have a 16x20 canvas. very lightly draw the grid on the canvas with each line being 2 inches apart. 

Now on the reference label the spaces right and left across the top as 1 threw 8 and the up and the side as  a threw j.  

You reference should resemble this.  Do the same on the canvas.  You just plot the shape  out on the canvas . The cardinal's eye is at middle of C and 3/4 of 4 

You always divide the boxes even more if needed . You can easily change the scale of a reference this way.  You don't have to use those  divisions use what you feel is necessary.