The 30-Day Grid Drawing Challenge
Thirty guided grid drawings in four weeks. One printable page and one technique tip a day, from a 3×3 puppy to a final piece you plan, draw and sign.
- 1
Print the page
Each day names one worksheet page or one free tool.
- 2
Draw one square at a time
Twenty minutes, one subject, one tip to focus on.
- 3
Tick the day off
Keep your streak, finish the month, print your certificate.
30 days · 4 weeks · one method
Draw every day for a month
Week 1 is free for everyone. Already have an account? Sign in
Week 1 · First squares
FreeSimple 3×3 subjects from the free starter packs. The only goal this week: draw what is inside one square at a time, and finish every page.
0/7 done
1
Up nextDay 1: Your first grid drawing
Puppy · 20 min · Starter: Easy Animals
Print the puppy page and draw it square by square, starting from the top-left cell. Outline only - no shading yet.
Tip. Look at where each line enters and leaves the square, not at the puppy. The grid is doing the proportion work for you.
Free with accountStarter: Easy Animals
Find the Puppy page (5-page PDF, 3x3 grid)
2
Day 2: Straight lines and simple shapes
House · 15 min · Starter: Simple Objects
Draw the house. Place every corner on the grid first, then connect the corners with one confident line each.
Tip. Sketch lightly until every shape is placed, then press harder. Light lines are cheap to fix.
Free with accountStarter: Simple Objects
Find the House page (5-page PDF, 3x3 grid)
3
Day 3: Organic curves
Oak tree · 20 min · Starter: Nature
Draw the oak tree. Mark the point where the outline crosses each grid line, then join the marks with a curve.
Tip. A curve is easier to draw through points you have already placed than to invent in one go.
Free with accountStarter: Nature
Find the Oak tree page (5-page PDF, 3x3 grid)
4
Day 4: Symmetry check
Rocket · 15 min · Starter: Simple Objects
Draw the rocket. Use the middle column of the grid as a mirror line and check each side against the other.
Tip. If the two halves disagree, trust the grid, not your eye - the eye is what the grid is correcting.
- Free with account
Starter: Simple Objects
Find the Rocket page (5-page PDF, 3x3 grid)
5
Day 5: Curves and overlap
Goldfish · 20 min · Starter: Easy Animals
Draw the goldfish. Start with the body as one big oval, then add the fins and tail where they overlap it.
Tip. Draw the big shape first and the small ones on top. Details never fix a wrong body.
- Free with account
Starter: Easy Animals
Find the Goldfish page (5-page PDF, 3x3 grid)
6
Day 6: Grid your own photo
A photo of your choice · 30 min · Photo Grid Maker
Upload any simple photo to the Photo Grid Maker, set a 3×3 grid, and draw it onto a printed 3×3 grid of the same shape.
Tip. Pick a subject with a clear outline and plain background - a mug, a leaf, a shoe. Save the portraits for later.
7
Day 7: Week 1 review: erase the grid
Bumblebee · 25 min · Starter: Easy Animals
Draw the bumblebee, then erase the grid lines carefully and add a little shading to the stripes.
Tip. Erase with a kneaded eraser, dabbing rather than rubbing, so the drawing underneath stays crisp.
- Free with account
Starter: Easy Animals
Find the Bumblebee page (5-page PDF, 3x3 grid)
Weeks 2 to 4 are included with Pro
The exercises from day 8 on come from the Pro worksheet packs and the six illustrated handbooks. Start a free 14-day trial to unlock week 2 today - no charge, cancel anytime.
🛡️ 30-day money-back guarantee on your first payment - one email, full refund.
Week 2 · Square by square
Pro (trial included)Up to 4×4 grids with the handbook open beside you. Cleaner lines, smaller decisions, and your first drawing scaled to a new size.
0/7 done
8
🔒Day 8: How the method really works
Apple · 25 min · Easy Beginner Objects
Read the setup and square-by-square chapters of the Grid Method Handbook, then draw the apple exactly the way the handbook describes.
Tip. Number the rows and letter the columns on your paper. Naming the square you are in stops you drifting.
ProEasy Beginner Objects
Find the Apple page (10-page PDF, 3x3 grid)
ProThe Grid Method Handbook
Read: Setting up grids and working square by square
9
🔒Day 9: Moving to 4×4
Cat · 25 min · Animals Vol. 1
Draw the cat on a 4×4 grid. Find the square where the ear meets the head and start there.
Tip. More squares mean smaller decisions. Each cell should feel too easy - that is the point.
ProAnimals Vol. 1
Find the Cat page (10-page PDF, 4x4 grid)
10
🔒Day 10: Clean, confident lines
Sneaker · 20 min · Easy Beginner Objects
Draw the sneaker with as few lines as you can. Trace each line in the air twice before touching the paper.
Tip. One confident line beats three hesitant ones. Move from the shoulder, not the wrist, for long curves.
- Pro
Easy Beginner Objects
Find the Sneaker page (10-page PDF, 3x3 grid)
11
🔒Day 11: Fur and texture
Dog · 30 min · Animals Vol. 1
Draw the dog. Keep the outline broken along the furry edges instead of a hard continuous line.
Tip. Fur reads as fur when the edge is a series of short strokes in the direction the hair grows.
- Pro
Animals Vol. 1
Find the Dog page (10-page PDF, 4x4 grid)
12
🔒Day 12: One long flowing curve
Dolphin · 25 min · Sea Life
Draw the dolphin. Find the single long curve of the spine first, then hang everything else from it.
Tip. Every animal has one line of action. Get that right and the rest falls into place.
ProSea Life
Find the Dolphin page (8-page PDF, 4x4 grid)
13
🔒Day 13: Detail inside a square
Owl · 30 min · Animals Vol. 1
Draw the owl. Place both eyes before any feathers, checking their squares twice.
Tip. The eyes anchor everything - if they sit right, small mistakes elsewhere go unnoticed.
- Pro
Animals Vol. 1
Find the Owl page (10-page PDF, 4x4 grid)
14
🔒Day 14: Scale it up
Butterfly, twice the size · 35 min · Animals Vol. 1
Use the Proportion Calculator to work out the square size for a grid twice as big, print a matching grid, and redraw the butterfly at that size.
Tip. Scaling changes the square size, never the number of squares. The drawing inside each cell is identical.
Week 3 · Proportion, form and value
ProLiving subjects and machines, then shading. You start reading values with the grid instead of only outlines.
0/7 done
15
🔒Day 15: Long necks and balance
Flamingo · 30 min · Birds
Draw the flamingo. Before drawing the legs, drop a vertical line through the body and check which square the foot lands in.
Tip. Balance is a vertical question. If the weight is not over the foot, the bird looks like it is falling.
ProBirds
Find the Flamingo page (8-page PDF, 4x4 grid)
16
🔒Day 16: A five-step value scale
Rose · 35 min · Flowers & Plants
Read the value scale chapter of Shading & Value Mastery, draw a five-step scale in the margin, then draw and shade the rose using only those five values.
Tip. Squint at the page. The petals collapse into three or four flat shapes of tone - draw those, not the petals.
ProFlowers & Plants
Find the Rose page (8-page PDF, 4x4 grid)
ProShading & Value Mastery
Read: The value scale and pencil grades
17
🔒Day 17: Mechanical accuracy
Vintage car · 35 min · Vehicles
Draw the vintage car. Mark the centre of each wheel on the grid first, then draw the wheels as ellipses around those points.
Tip. Machines forgive nothing. Use the grid crossings as measuring points and check the wheels against each other.
ProVehicles
Find the Vintage car page (8-page PDF, 4x4 grid)
18
🔒Day 18: Animals in motion
Galloping horse · 35 min · Horses & Farm Animals
Draw the galloping horse. Place a dot for every leg joint on the grid before drawing any outline.
Tip. Legs go wrong at the joints. Dots first, lines second - the same trick works for hands and figures.
ProHorses & Farm Animals
Find the Galloping horse page (8-page PDF, 4x4 grid)
19
🔒Day 19: Big forms first
T-rex · 30 min · Dinosaurs
Draw the T-rex. Block the body and head as two large masses across their squares, then refine.
Tip. Whatever the subject, find its two biggest shapes and get their sizes right before anything else.
ProDinosaurs
Find the T-rex page (8-page PDF, 4x4 grid)
20
🔒Day 20: Light on form
Sunflower · 35 min · Flowers & Plants
Draw the sunflower and shade it from a single light source, using the five elements of light from the shading handbook.
Tip. Decide where the light is before the first shading stroke and write an arrow in the margin. Never move it.
- Pro
Flowers & Plants
Find the Sunflower page (8-page PDF, 4x4 grid)
- Pro
Shading & Value Mastery
Read: The five elements of light
21
🔒Day 21: Week 3 review: your own reference at 4×4
A pet or plant photo · 45 min · Photo Grid Maker
Grid a photo of a pet or plant at 4×4 in the Photo Grid Maker, draw it, and shade it with your five-value scale.
Tip. Crop tight before you grid. The crop tool is free - a well-framed reference is half the drawing.
- Open →
Photo Grid Maker
Free tool - works in your browser
ProDrawing Pets & Animals
Read: Gridding and constructing any animal
Week 4 · Faces, still life and the finish
Pro5×5 grids, portrait features, glass and ellipses, and a final piece from your own reference that you plan, draw and sign.
0/9 done
22
🔒Day 22: The eye
Eyes · 30 min · Portrait Practice
Read the head and feature placement chapter, then draw the eyes page. Shade the iris and leave one clean highlight.
Tip. The eye is a ball under two lids. Draw the ball first, then the lids wrapping around it.
ProPortrait Practice
Find the Eyes page (8-page PDF, 5x5 grid)
ProProportions: Face & Figure
Read: Head and feature placement
23
🔒Day 23: Nose and lips
Nose and lips · 30 min · Portrait Practice
Draw the nose and lips pages. Draw the shadow shapes, not the outlines - a nose has almost no lines.
Tip. Where you are tempted to draw a line, look for a value change instead. That is what the grid cell is showing you.
- Pro
Portrait Practice
Find the Nose page (8-page PDF, 5x5 grid)
- Pro
Portrait Practice
Find the Lips page (8-page PDF, 5x5 grid)
24
🔒Day 24: The front face
Face, front view · 40 min · Portrait Practice
Draw the front-view face on its 5×5 grid. Before shading, check that the eye line sits halfway down the head.
Tip. Nearly every beginner places the eyes too high. Measure - the grid makes it a two-second check.
- Pro
Portrait Practice
Find the Face, front page (8-page PDF, 5x5 grid)
- Pro
Proportions: Face & Figure
Read: Head and feature placement
25
🔒Day 25: The profile
Face, profile · 40 min · Portrait Practice
Draw the profile. Find the square the ear sits in first - it is further back than you think.
Tip. In profile the skull is as deep as it is tall. The ear sits behind the halfway line between eye and back of head.
- Pro
Portrait Practice
Find the Face, profile page (8-page PDF, 5x5 grid)
- Pro
Proportions: Face & Figure
Read: The profile
26
🔒Day 26: Glass and reflections
Bottle and glass · 40 min · Still Life Studies
Draw the bottle and glass still life. Treat every reflection as a flat shape with its own value and draw it with the grid.
Tip. Glass has no outline - only the shapes of what it reflects and distorts. Draw the shapes, the glass appears.
ProStill Life Studies
Find the Bottle and glass page (8-page PDF, 5x5 grid)
27
🔒Day 27: Ellipses in perspective
Teapot · 40 min · Still Life Studies
Read the ellipses and cylinders chapter, then draw the teapot. Check that every ellipse is level and its near half is fatter than the far half.
Tip. An ellipse is a circle seen at an angle. Its widest line is always horizontal, even when the object leans.
- Pro
Still Life Studies
Find the Teapot page (8-page PDF, 5x5 grid)
ProPerspective & Depth
Read: Ellipses and cylinders
28
🔒Day 28: Imagination on a grid
Dragon · 45 min · Mythical Creatures
Draw the dragon at 5×5, then change one thing - the wings, the pose, the expression - without losing the proportions.
Tip. The grid gives you a correct skeleton; invention is safe once the skeleton is there.
ProMythical Creatures
Find the Dragon page (8-page PDF, 5x5 grid)
29
🔒Day 29: Plan your final piece
Your own reference, composed · 40 min · Composition & Design
Choose the reference for your final piece. Crop it with the crop tool, place the focal point on a rule-of-thirds line, and print the grid at the size of your paper with the Poster Splitter.
Tip. Read the focal point chapter first. The best drawing of a badly framed photo is still a badly framed drawing.
30
Day 30: The final piece
Your final drawing · 60 min · Photo Grid Maker
Draw your final piece from yesterday's plan at 5×5 or finer. Erase the grid, shade with your value scale, and sign it.
Tip. Stop before you think it is finished. The last ten percent of fiddling is where drawings get muddy.
- Open →
Photo Grid Maker
Free tool - works in your browser
The month at a glance
- Week 1 · First squaresDays 1 to 7
- Simple 3×3 subjects from the free starter packs. The only goal this week: draw what is inside one square at a time, and finish every page.
- Week 2 · Square by squareDays 8 to 14
- Up to 4×4 grids with the handbook open beside you. Cleaner lines, smaller decisions, and your first drawing scaled to a new size.
- Week 3 · Proportion, form and valueDays 15 to 21
- Living subjects and machines, then shading. You start reading values with the grid instead of only outlines.
- Week 4 · Faces, still life and the finishDays 22 to 30
- 5×5 grids, portrait features, glass and ellipses, and a final piece from your own reference that you plan, draw and sign.
Questions
- Do I need to be good at drawing already?
- No. Week 1 starts with 3×3 grids and bold, simple subjects. The grid method exists so beginners can draw accurately from day one, and the difficulty rises one small step at a time.
- What do I need?
- A printer, a pencil, an eraser and about 20 minutes a day. Every exercise is a printable worksheet page or one of the free tools, so there is nothing to buy.
- Is it free?
- Joining is free and week 1 uses the free starter packs. Days 8 to 30 draw on the Pro worksheet packs and handbooks, which are included in the free 14-day Pro trial (week 2) and in every Pro plan (weeks 3 and 4).
- Do I have to do a day every day?
- No. The days are numbered, not dated. Draw at your own pace, tick a day off when you finish it, and the tracker keeps your streak for consecutive days.
- What happens when I finish?
- You get a printable completion certificate with your name and date, and a month of finished drawings you can lay side by side to see how far you came.
New to the method? Read the grid method guide first, or browse the full worksheet library the 30 days are drawn from.