Free Online Grid Maker for Drawing
A grid drawing tool for the grid method: add a grid to your reference photo, match it to your paper or canvas, then download or print it at full resolution. No signup, and the photo never leaves your browser.
Drop a reference photo here
JPG, PNG or WebP · stays on your device
or try a sample
How it works
How to add a grid to a photo for drawing
- 1
Add your reference
Drop a JPG, PNG or WebP onto the canvas, paste it, pick it from your phone, or try a sample. The photo stays on your device.
- 2
Shape the grid
Square cells by default — just pick the number of columns. Crop to your paper’s shape, choose line colour and labels, and type your paper size to see the cell size.
- 3
Download or print
Full-resolution PNG or JPG, a transparent grid overlay, a matching blank grid, or a PDF on A4 and Letter — fit to page, or actual size tiled across sheets.
Only need the gridded picture, or a transparent grid to drop over it in another app? Add a grid to a photo does just that, without the paper-size steps.
Match your paper
The grid on the photo and the grid on your paper must be the same shape
A grid only works when every cell on the photo maps to a cell of the same proportions on your drawing surface. The tool does that arithmetic for you.
Say your reference photo is 3:4 and you want to draw it on a 30 × 40 cm canvas. Choose 6 columns: the tool makes 6 × 8 square cells on the photo, and tells you each square on the canvas is 5 × 5 cm. Draw eight 5 cm rows and six 5 cm columns on the canvas, and every cell lines up.
If your paper is a different shape — A4, Letter, or a square canvas — crop the photo to that shape first, or switch on Margins to keep the whole photo inside the paper’s shape. The tool never stretches the image, because a stretched reference makes every proportion wrong. The grid method guide walks through the whole calculation.
Why square cells
Rows × columns sliders quietly make rectangles
Most grid tools ask for rows and columns separately and default to 8 × 8. On a portrait photo that produces tall rectangles, and if you draw squares on your paper the drawing comes out squashed.
This grid maker starts in Square cells mode: you choose the number of columns and it derives the rows, so every cell is a true square. When the height doesn’t divide evenly you see an honest partial row at the bottom, with a one-switch option to trim the image to whole squares.
Need rectangles on purpose? Switch to Rows × columns. The tool labels the cell proportions so you can reproduce the same rectangles on your paper.
Who it’s for
One drawing grid tool for beginners, teachers and working artists
The same square grid, sized for the paper in front of you — a sketchbook page, a class set of worksheets, a stretched canvas or a wall — on a laptop, a phone or a tablet.
Beginners and students
Start with 6–8 columns on a simple subject. Labels and diagonal guides make each square easy to copy, and the step-by-step guide explains the method.
Read the grid method guideArt teachers
Turn one photo into a two-page worksheet — the gridded reference and a matching blank grid with a name and date line — and print a class set.
Make grid drawing worksheetsPortrait, pet and realism artists
Use 10–12 columns for faces and fur, switch to grayscale to judge values, straighten a tilted photo, and export at full resolution for a tablet next to the easel.
Painters and muralists
Type the canvas size to get the cell size in centimetres or inches, then print the grid at actual size across several sheets or draw it from the numbers.
Print grid paper with that cell sizeArtists drawing on a phone or tablet
A drawing grid for the artist who works from photos wherever they are: open the grid maker online on Android or iPhone, grid a picture from your camera roll, and keep it on the screen next to your sketchbook. Free, nothing to install.
Anyone who just needs a gridded picture
Not drawing it, only need the photo with a grid on it, or a transparent grid to drop over it in another app? The add-a-grid-to-a-photo page skips the paper-size steps.
Add a grid to a photo
What’s included
Everything in the grid maker is free — no account, no watermark, no export cap
Features that other grid makers put behind a signup or a Pro plan are simply switched on here.
- Square cells by default, or custom rows × columns with a clear “not square” warning
- Line colour picked automatically from the photo, with opacity and a width that stays visible at full resolution
- A1 cell labels inside or outside the frame, plus diagonal guides
- Crop, rotate and straighten; grayscale, brightness and contrast
- Paper and canvas size calculator in centimetres or inches, with margins mode instead of stretching
- Full-resolution PNG or JPG download and a matching blank grid
- Transparent grid overlay PNG to drop over the photo in any other app
- PDF and print on A4 or US Letter: fit to page, or actual size tiled across sheets with registration marks
- Two-page worksheets with a name and date line for classrooms
- Projects saved on your device, undo and redo, and links that carry your settings
FAQ
Questions about grid drawing
- What is grid drawing?
- Grid drawing is the grid method: you place a grid over a reference photo, draw the same grid lightly on your paper or canvas, and copy the picture one cell at a time. Because every cell on the photo has a matching cell on the paper, proportions and positions land in the right place. This grid maker makes the photo half of that — the gridded reference — and gives you the numbers for the paper half.
- How do I put a grid on my reference photo?
- Upload, drop or paste the photo into the grid maker above. A square grid appears immediately; set the number of columns, the line colour and the labels, then download the PNG or JPG, save a PDF, or print. Everything runs in your browser — the photo is never uploaded. If you only want the gridded picture or a transparent grid overlay, without the paper-size steps, use the add-a-grid-to-a-photo page. Add a grid to a photo
- How do I keep the grid squares actually square?
- Leave the tool in Square cells mode. It only asks for the number of columns and works out the rows, so every cell is a true square. If the image height doesn’t divide evenly, the leftover strip is shown honestly as a partial row, and you can trim the image to whole squares with one switch.
- What grid size should I use?
- Start with 6–8 columns for simple subjects and 10–12 for portraits or detailed scenes. Fewer, larger cells train your eye; more cells give you more reference points. The tool picks a column count that tiles your image evenly when you load it.
- How do I match the grid to my paper or canvas size?
- Open the Size tab and type your paper width (or height) in centimetres or inches. The tool shows exactly how big each square must be drawn on your paper — for example a 30 × 40 cm canvas with 6 columns needs 5 cm squares. If your paper has a different shape to the photo, crop the photo to that shape, or use Margins to keep the whole photo and pad it to the paper’s shape. It never stretches the image.
- Why did my printed grid come out a different size?
- Printers scale pages unless told not to. In PDF & print, Fit to page shrinks the grid to the sheet and prints the resulting cell size in the caption; Actual size keeps your exact cell size and tiles a grid larger than the page across several sheets, with overlap and registration marks. Either way, keep your browser’s print scale at 100 % and measure one printed square with a ruler.
- Can I print a blank grid that matches my reference?
- Yes. The Blank grid button exports the same grid — same cells, same labels — on a white page, and PDF & print can output the gridded photo and the blank grid as a two-page worksheet with a name and date line. For plain grid paper with a given cell size, use the printable grid paper page.
- Is the downloaded image full resolution? Is there a watermark?
- Downloads are at the full resolution of your image (after any crop), with no watermark and no signup. Very large images are resized to 24 megapixels on import so the tool stays fast, and the tool tells you when that happens. There is also a “Smaller file” switch for sharing on screen.
- Can I download just the grid as a transparent overlay?
- Yes. Choose Transparent grid (PNG overlay) from the More menu to get the grid lines and labels on a transparent background at the same pixel size as your photo, ready to drop over it as a layer in Procreate, Photoshop, Krita or any app with layers. For an overlay-only flow — or a transparent grid for a canvas size without any photo — use the add-a-grid-to-a-photo page. Make a transparent grid overlay
- Is there a grid app for artists, or does this work on a phone?
- This is the grid app: it runs in the browser on iPhone, Android and iPad, so there is nothing to install — add it to your home screen and it opens like an app. Tap Upload image to pick a photo from your camera roll, adjust the grid with the sliders, and save the PNG back to your photos or open it in your drawing app. The action bar stays at the bottom of the screen and you can pinch to zoom the preview. iPhone HEIC photos need to be shared as JPG first.
- Is my photo uploaded anywhere?
- No. The image is decoded, cropped, gridded and exported entirely inside your browser with the HTML canvas, and PDFs are written in the browser too. Nothing is sent to a server. Your grid preferences are remembered in local storage, and a photo is only kept on your device if you explicitly save it as a project.
- Is using a grid to draw cheating?
- No. The grid method has been used since the Renaissance to transfer and enlarge drawings accurately. It trains you to see shapes, angles and proportions inside small areas — skills that carry over to freehand drawing. Read the grid method guide for a step-by-step walkthrough.
- Which image formats are supported?
- JPG, PNG and WebP, up to 30 MB. HEIC photos from iPhones need to be exported as JPG first (on iPhone: Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible, or share the photo as a JPG).