When it comes time to work on an actual illustration, planning ahead is key. First, establish the correct size and dimensions of your finished art — you'll need to work at about twice that size. This has two purposes. First, it makes it much easier to include the small details that can make your illustration that much more effective. Second, everyone's hand shakes a little bit as they draw. These natural trembles disappear when the art is reduced, resulting in sharp, distinct line work. You can easily figure out proportionate enlargement with this simple five-step process:

The steps for enlarging an illustration grid

• Lightly draw a rectangle using the final dimensions of your illustration on the upper left-hand corner of your paper.

• Multiply the length by two. Extend the line for the doubled dimension to the new length.

• Starting in the upper left-hand corner of the rectangle you drew in step 1, draw a diagonal line that passes through the bottom right corner of the rectangle.

• Starting at the end of the line you drew in step 2, draw a vertical line that intersects the diagonal line.

• Complete the larger rectangle and erase the unnecessary lines.

This process can also be used in reverse to figure out proportionate reduction.