Guide
How to Turn a Photo into a Grid
A simple process for converting a reference photo into a gridded image for drawing, painting, and classroom practice.
6 min readphoto to gridadd grid to photo
Crop before you grid
Cropping fixes the final composition before grid lines are added, which keeps the drawing surface aligned.
Match line weight to image contrast
Dark images need brighter or higher-opacity lines, while pale images often work better with thinner lines.
Export a study copy
Keep the gridded image separate from the clean reference so both can be used during drawing.
Quick answers
Yes. Phone photos work well when the subject is sharp and the image is cropped to the final ratio.
Black-and-white mode helps with value studies when color distracts from proportion.