How to copy like a pro

Today I want to teach you a simple technique with which you can "copy" almost a millimeter what you see in a photo on a piece of paper.

To be clear from the beginning, it doesn't solve all the problems on its own, it doesn't turn you into a human xerox overnight, but it can make a huge difference in the results you get when it comes to drawing.

I will answer another question that will surely arise; no, it's not antitrust. It's a technique I've seen in very good artists, in the case of those drawings that are so close to reality that they look like photos.

The first time I heard about this technique was somewhere in high school, at school if I remember correctly. I used it only once and then forgot about it. This is until recently when I was asked if anyone can draw very well without learning everything that teachers are struggling to teach.

Ironically or not, you realize at some point that even a field based on creativity, which seems easy at first glance, has a lot of rules to follow, lessons to learn, techniques to discover and use (things that I have chosen to call them tools).

You might think that a workshop in an art school looks like a kindergarten class, with canvases on easels, piles of scribbled paper, pencils, charcoal and colors scattered everywhere (part on paper, part on the floor, part on small artists). Well, that's how it looks, but that doesn't mean there aren't rules in this mess. ⁇

My conclusion after learning these lessons is that no, you can't go over them, but depending on what you want to achieve, you can find techniques like the one I present today to help you.

The advantage of this technique is that you can have a small photo (or a drawing if you want) and you can copy it in much larger sizes, a wall for example. Size does not matter, but proportions and shape matter.

Let's get started! ⁇

1. For today's article I sacrificed my drawing with the fish. The format of this drawing is an A5. I copied it onto a larger sheet of paper, an A4.

I start by dividing the drawing into squares. No matter the size of the side of a square, it must be square, not rectangle, not rhombus, not trapezoidal.

In the case of my drawing, the side of a square is 2 centimeters. I drew dashes on the edge to see them.

2. This is what my drawing looks like with the lines drawn. On two of the edges the squares are not whole, but as my drawing stops before reaching these squares this detail is not very important.

I got 10 full squares horizontally and 7 squares vertically.

3. I'm done drawing. I go to the sheet of paper on which I want to copy the fish and divide it into exactly the same number of squares as the drawing above.

It doesn't matter the size of the side of a square, but it must be exactly the same number both horizontally and vertically . On an A4, the side of a square was 2.9 centimeters.

TIP: Use a mechanical pencil to draw the lines. When you finish drawing they should not be noticed. A mechanical pencil will restrict you enough so that you do not press on the paper more than necessary.

4. From here things go pretty simple; in each square you draw exactly what you see in the photo / drawing, in that square. It's like splitting a drawing into dozens, hundreds of other smaller drawings.

You can take each square separately and draw inside it down to the smallest detail. Then move on to the next, and next, and next…

Or you can draw the outline to begin with and advance with the whole drawing at the same time.

5. The technique is very good as long as you have a very good quality photo in front of you.

Besides, you need to know something about hatching in order for a hyper-realistic drawing to come out.

6. Even if you don't know anything about drawing, only with this technique can you choose an exact outline of the fish or anything else you want to copy.

7. I stop here with the demonstration.

I hope this technique helps you.

I had another article in mind but I realized that you need hatching and textures only after you manage to get a good construction if not very good.

If you aspire to be able to make a drawing with the same quality as a photo, this technique can bring you very close to realism.

On the other hand, all this can help you draw on the walls if you have already done the drawing on a sheet and you can't keep the proportions when it comes to very large surfaces.

Use it as and when you think it can help.

If you have any questions, I look forward to your comment below this article.

If you have ideas for the following articles, I can't wait to read them in your posts.

I also draw a lot of inspiration.