Printable grid paper with any cell size: 1 cm, 1 inch, or your own
Choose the paper, the cell size in centimetres or inches, and download a vector PDF at actual size — the paper-side half of the grid method. Free, no signup.
How to use it
Match the paper grid to the photo grid
- Put a grid on your reference photo with the grid maker and note the number of columns.
- Decide how wide the drawing should be on paper. Cell size = drawing width ÷ columns (the Size tab does this for you).
- Enter that cell size here, pick your paper, and download or print at 100 % scale.
- Draw cell by cell, then erase the light grid lines or paint over them.
Tips
Small things that keep it accurate
- Grey lines print light enough to erase and are still visible under thin paper.
- Labels on both grids stop you drawing the eye in the wrong square.
- The grid is centred with 10 mm margins; leftover space stays blank rather than producing a partial column.
- For a grid larger than one sheet, use the main tool’s actual-size tiled print instead.
- Only need the photo itself with a grid on it, for a screen? Add a grid to a photo does that without paper sizes.
Common sizes
Centimetre grid paper, inch grid paper and large grids
Every size below is one preset in the tool. The square counts assume portrait pages with the default 10 mm margins and caption.
Centimetre grid paper (1 cm, 2 cm, 2.5 cm, 5 cm)
Set the unit to cm and pick a preset. On A4 you get 19 × 26 squares at 1 cm, 9 × 13 at 2 cm, 7 × 10 at 2.5 cm and 3 × 5 at 5 cm. One-centimetre grid paper suits small sketchbook studies and maths; 2–2.5 cm squares are the usual choice for an A4 grid drawing with 8–10 columns.
Inch grid paper (½ inch, ¾ inch, 1 inch, 2 inch)
Set the unit to in. On US Letter you get 15 × 19 squares at ½ inch, 7 × 9 at 1 inch and 3 × 4 at 2 inches. One-inch grid paper is the classroom standard for grid drawing on letter-size paper; half-inch squares give a finer 15-column grid for portraits.
Large grid paper for drawing, murals and lettering
Cells up to 10 cm or 4 inches fit on a single sheet. For anything larger — a canvas, a poster or a wall — draw the grid from the numbers (cell size × columns) or print the gridded reference from the main tool at actual size, tiled across several sheets with registration marks.
FAQ
Printable grid questions
- What is this grid paper for?
- Mostly for the grid drawing method: print a blank grid whose cells are exactly the size you need on your paper, then copy your gridded reference photo cell by cell. It also works as plain square grid paper for maths, planning, lettering and pixel art.
- How do I pick the cell size?
- Take the cell size from the grid on your reference photo. In the grid maker’s Size tab, enter your paper size and it tells you the cell size — for example 5 cm for a 30 cm wide drawing with 6 columns. Enter the same number here, or tap one of the presets.
- Will the squares really be 2.5 cm when printed?
- Yes, as long as your printer prints at 100 % scale. The PDF is built at actual size with vector lines; turn off “fit to page” in the print dialog and measure one square with a ruler to confirm.
- Is this the same as graph paper?
- Graph paper usually has small fixed squares (often 5 mm or ¼ inch) with heavier lines every few squares. This generator makes a plain square grid at whatever cell size you choose — 1 cm, 2 cm, 1 inch, 2 inches or anything in between — with optional labels and diagonals, which is what the grid method needs.
- Can I get a grid that matches a photo instead?
- Yes — that is what the main grid maker does. Upload the photo there and use the Blank grid button: it exports a blank grid with exactly the same cells and labels as the photo.
- Which paper sizes are supported?
- A4 and US Letter, portrait or landscape, with 10 mm margins. Larger sheets are on the roadmap; for now you can tile the main tool’s actual-size print across several pages.
- Can I change the colour so the lines are easy to erase or ignore?
- Yes. Grey is the default because it prints light enough to erase under a pencil drawing and still shows through thin paper on a light box. Black, blue and red are available, and the line width has three presets.