GRID STEP. You can print out the base construction lines and start drawing on tracing paper, or you can draw the grid layout yourself using the following steps.• Draw the upper border of your drawing. • From the upper border of the drawing, moving downward, tentatively determine the position of the head and draw an oval to represent its size. • Draw a vertical line through the middle of the head. This will be the central vertical line of the figure. • From the upper border of the figure, draw 4 identical segments equal to the height of the head, plus one segment equal to 2/3 of the height of the head. The lines will radiate from the central line to the left and to the right. The last segment will act as the lower boundary of the future drawing. Through the boundaries of the segments, draw horizontal lines. • From the central vertical line of the figure, measure and draw: to the left of the line, 4 segments that are equal to the width of the head, and a fifth segment equal to 2/3 of the width of the head; to the right of the centre line, draw 2 segments equal to the width of the head, plus a third line that is equal to 1/2 of the width of the head. • Draw vertical lines through the boundaries of the segments. The extreme left and right segments will act as the vertical boundaries of your drawing.

STEP 1. Mark off the width and height of the picture. Add guidelines for the main proportions of the figure and for Ariel’s head. Draw a centre line through the figure.

STEP 2. Draw the shapes for Ariel’s neck, body, and tail. Add a smooth guideline for her hair.

STEP 3. Define the places where her arms, fins, and tail will be. Then define where her facial features will be.

STEP 4. Sketch Ariel’s arms, tail fins, eyes, and lips. Define the general shape of her hair.

STEP 5. Draw her nose, ear, and fingers, the seashells on the chest, and her hair. Detail the shapes of her eyes.

STEP 6. Add lines to further show the shape of her hair and the seashells. Draw the ruffle of her fin. Outline the pupils of her eyes.

STEP 7. Work on the whole figure, adding more details.

STEP 8. Contour Ariel, trying to vary the thickness and darkness of the line. Draw the details even more carefully. Add the air bubbles. Erase all the guidelines.