Drawing Grid Maker: Square Grid Over Your Photo

How to use it

Click Choose a photo or drop a photo on the box. It is read on your device.
Choose Set the grid by: Columns and rows for an exact count, or Cell size for squares of a size you can measure.
Choose the Sheet or canvas you will draw on, and check the Summary line for the size of each cell.
Choose the Line colour, the Line width and the options, then Download the grid (PNG) or Print at sheet size.

How the grid method works

The grid method is an inexpensive, low-tech way to copy or enlarge a picture. A grid is laid over the reference photo, and a grid of the same proportion is drawn on the sheet or canvas. You then copy what is in each square of the photo into the matching square of the sheet, one square at a time, as described by Art is Fun.

The sheet must have the photo's proportion, so the grid lines match up. This page therefore fits the photo inside the sheet you choose, turned to match the photo, and draws the grid over the picture itself.

Cell width on the sheet = picture width on the sheet ÷ columns
Cell height on the sheet = picture height on the sheet ÷ rows
Columns from a cell size = picture width ÷ cell size, rounded

With columns and rows, the cells cover the picture exactly, so they are square only when the counts match the photo's proportion.
With a cell size, the number of columns and rows is rounded, and the cells are stretched a little to cover the picture.

Sheets, numbers and the PNG

The sheets offered are A4, A3 and A5 (ISO 216, whose A-series sheets are 210 × 297 mm, 297 × 420 mm and 148 × 210 mm) and common canvas sizes. Any size can be typed in.

The numbers for columns and rows help you find a square quickly. The PNG download is drawn at the photo's own size, up to 16 megapixels, so it prints sharp; the preview is a smaller picture of the same grid.

Your photo is read on your device and never uploaded. The grid is drawn in your browser.
The print view puts the picture at the size it has on the sheet, so the cells print at the size shown in the summary. Check that the print dialog is set to actual size.

Worked example: a 3:2 photo on an A4 sheet

A landscape photo of 3:2 fits an A4 sheet at 21 × 14 cm, centred 7.85 cm from the top. With 3 columns and 2 rows, each cell is 7 × 7 cm: the cells are square because the counts match the photo.

With a cell size of 3.5 cm the picture has 6 columns and 4 rows, so the cells are exactly 3.5 cm square. With a cell size of 4 cm the picture has 5 columns and 4 rows, and the cells are 4.2 × 3.5 cm.

Setting	Columns × rows	Each cell on the sheet
3 columns, 2 rows	3 × 2	7 × 7 cm
Cell size 3.5 cm	6 × 4	3.5 × 3.5 cm
Cell size 4 cm	5 × 4	4.2 × 3.5 cm

Frequently asked questions

Why are my cells not square?

The grid covers the whole picture, so each cell is the picture's width divided by the columns and its height divided by the rows. Make the counts match the photo's proportion, or use a cell size, which keeps the cells near square.

How do I transfer the grid to my canvas?

Draw a grid on the canvas with the same number of columns and rows, or the same proportion, as the photo, then copy one square at a time. Lightly pencilled lines are easy to erase later.

What size should the sheet be?

Choose a sheet with the same proportion as the photo, then the cells keep their shape. The tool turns the sheet to match the photo's orientation for you.

Is my photo uploaded?

No. The photo is read in your browser, the grid is drawn there, and the PNG is made on your device.

Why is the printed grid a different size?

The print view sets the picture to the size it has on your sheet. Browsers may scale a page to fit the paper, so set the print dialog to actual size or 100 % to keep the cells at the summary size.

Sources

Figures and text last checked on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.