Upload your reference image
Choose a JPG, PNG, or WEBP file. Check that the preview is the image you intended to use. Processing starts locally in the browser, so the reference image is not uploaded to an application server.
Drawing grid tutorial
How to Use the Grid Maker for Drawing from a Photo
This step-by-step guide takes a reference photo from upload to a measured paper template. The important distinction is between an image that merely looks gridded and a grid that prints at the physical size you planned.
The grid method divides a reference and a drawing surface into matching cells. Instead of estimating the entire composition at once, compare shapes, edges, and negative space inside one corresponding square at a time. It works for portraits, landscapes, paintings, murals, and other transfers where proportion matters.
Before starting, know the final width and height of your drawing surface and keep a physical ruler nearby. A browser preview can confirm layout, but only a measured test print can confirm that a printer did not silently resize the PDF.
Set the finished drawing size
Enter the real width and height of the paper, board, wall, or canvas that will receive the drawing. You can work in millimetres, centimetres, or inches; the app converts the values without changing the physical target.
Choose Crop or Padding
Choose Crop when the image should fill the entire target, accepting that edges may be removed. Choose Padding when the whole reference must remain visible, accepting blank space where the image and target proportions differ.
Build a useful square grid
Start with cell size mode for predictable physical squares. Alternatively, set rows and columns. If those values create rectangular cells, adjust them or explicitly allow rectangles instead of assuming the cells are square.
Review labels, lines, and page tiling
Set line colour, opacity, labels, and border for a readable reference. Review the PDF page count and tile preview. External labels use a separate annotation gutter and do not reduce the requested drawing plane.
Export the True Scale PDF
Choose A4, Letter, or custom paper and export the PDF. Use PNG only when exact pixels are the goal; a PNG does not guarantee true physical print size because the opening software controls print scaling.
Print at 100% and measure the ruler
In the PDF print dialog choose Actual size or 100%. Disable Fit to page, Shrink oversized pages, and other scaling options. Print a test, measure the 100 mm calibration ruler, and continue only when it measures 100 mm.
Printer dialog rule
Always choose Actual size / 100%. If the printer scales the PDF, the grid will no longer match your paper or canvas.
Assemble a multi-page drawing grid
Large targets are tiled across several sheets without shrinking the drawing plane. Keep every page at the same 100% setting. Use the page and tile labels to arrange the sheets, then trim or overlap edges consistently. Do not scale an individual page to make it line up; a mismatch indicates a print or assembly problem that should be corrected first.
Transfer the reference accurately
Mark the same grid on the final canvas if you printed only a reference sheet, or assemble the full-size template for tracing or comparison. Work cell by cell and use labels to avoid skipping a row. Draw lightly at first, check major intersections across neighbouring squares, and remove or cover grid lines only after the proportions are established.