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Grid Maker Pro app features

Every feature in the AR drawing app.

The free web tool gives you 82 composition grids in the browser. The app adds AR tracing — it locks a reference photo over your real paper or canvas through the camera so you can draw the proportions by hand. This is the full tour of what it does, feature by feature.

82 pro grids no tracing app has Your photo, free every month On-device, no account to start
AR trace studio Reference glued to the canvas — adjust opacity and trace. IDLE ClassicProjectorBreakdown OpacityScaleRotate ImageGridsFreezeLock GrayscaleMirrorDimAuto RecordSplit
The Grid Maker Pro app is an augmented-reality drawing app. Its features come down to a short, honest list: lock a reference photo over your real surface with the camera, draw over any of the 82 composition overlays, control opacity and scale, keep the reference anchored as you move, record a time-lapse on a paid plan, and do all of it on the device without an account. It also carries the photo tools from the website. This page walks through each one.
Illustration: a phone held above a sketchbook on a gooseneck arm, the AR trace studio showing a bird reference locked over the drawing in progress
Every feature serves one moment: the reference holding steady over the page. Photos on this page are illustrations, not app screenshots.

The feature tour

The core of the app is six things. Nothing here is a browser trick — it is the part of drawing that only a camera pointed at real paper can help with.

The core

AR tracing onto real paper, canvas, or a wall

This is the feature the whole app is built around. Aim the phone at your paper, canvas, or wall, and your reference appears as a translucent layer floating over the real surface in the camera view. You draw the proportions straight onto the paper by hand — no projector, no light box, no copying a grid square at a time. It is the one thing the free browser tool physically can't do, which is exactly why the app exists.

If you want the background on the older analog methods and where AR fits among them, the guide on how to trace a photo onto paper covers it.

AR trace studio Locked to the paper — trace at your own pace. IDLE ClassicProjectorBreakdown OpacityScaleRotate ImageGridsFreezeLock GrayscaleMirrorDimAuto RecordSplitthe reference locked over real paper
Your reference

Trace your own photo, free every month

Pick any photo from your camera roll and trace it. The free tier includes three AR traces of your own photo every month, so you can feel the result on a reference that matters to you before you decide to pay for anything. Plenty of tracing apps lock importing your own image behind the paywall on the very first open — this app does the opposite.

The full breakdown of what the free tier covers versus the paid plans lives on the pricing page.

YOUR CAMERA ROLL AR trace studio Your photo, brought in — scale it and lock it down. IDLE ClassicProjectorBreakdown OpacityScaleRotate ImageGridsFreezeLock GrayscaleMirrorDimAuto RecordSplityour own photo, free every month
The library

All 82 composition and drawing overlays

The app carries the complete Grid Maker Pro overlay library — golden ratio, Loomis head, dynamic symmetry, perspective, sacred geometry, and the rest of the eleven categories. No other tracing app ships a composition set this deep. You can draw over a grid on its own, or lay a grid on top of your own reference photo and use both together.

The same 82 overlays run free in the web tool; browse them by type in the grid library.

AR trace studio Overlay live on the reference, not the paper. IDLE ClassicProjectorBreakdown OpacityScaleRotate ImageGridsFreezeLock GrayscaleMirrorDimAuto RecordSplit82 OVERLAYSgrids ride along with the reference
The controls

Opacity, scale, and rotation you set by hand

Fade the reference down so you can see both the image and your own pencil marks at once, then push it back up to check your outline. Scale it to fit a small sketchbook page or a large canvas, and rotate it to match the angle you are drawing at. These are the adjustments that turn "a photo held over paper" into something you can actually work against for an hour.

25%55%90%OpacityScaleRotate AR trace studio Fade it back to check your own marks. IDLE ClassicProjectorBreakdown OpacityScaleRotate ImageGridsFreezeLock GrayscaleMirrorDimAuto RecordSplitfade it back to check your own marks
The tracking

Lock-in-place tracking that holds when you move

Tap once to anchor the reference. From then on it stays pinned to your real surface using the device camera and motion sensors, so it keeps its position and scale when you shift the phone or lean in for detail. This lock-in-place tracking is the difference between AR tracing and just holding a photo steady — it is what makes the proportions stay true across a whole drawing session. Move too quickly and tracking can drop; the app says so and asks you to move slowly back toward the surface. No headset and no external hardware are involved. Automatic anchoring needs a phone that supports Google Play Services for AR; on other phones the app offers manual tracing instead.

MOVE THE PHONE — IT STAYS PUT AR trace studio Anchored — move freely, the reference stays put. IDLE ClassicProjectorBreakdown OpacityScaleRotate ImageGridsFreezeLock GrayscaleMirrorDimAuto RecordSplit AR trace studio Anchored — move freely, the reference stays put. IDLE ClassicProjectorBreakdown OpacityScaleRotate ImageGridsFreezeLock GrayscaleMirrorDimAuto RecordSplitanchored to the surface, not the screen
The record

Recording of the whole session

Record while you trace and the video is saved on the device, ready to share to Reels, Shorts, or TikTok. Real time is the default, and you can also record a time-lapse that compresses a long session into a short clip. A camera recording holds the paper and your drawing only — your reference and grids stay on screen and never appear in the video. Turn the microphone on for a take if you want to narrate; recordings are silent otherwise. It is the natural way to show process work without setting up a separate camera rig. Recording is part of the paid plans.

recordingthe whole session, ready to post
Illustration: a sketchbook page with a composition grid drawn over a portrait study, beside a phone showing the same grid overlay in the app
The 82 overlays ride along in the app — grids as well as photo references.

Creative tools in the app

Beyond AR tracing, the app carries the photo tools from the website, running natively on the phone. They're free; PDF printing and 600 DPI export need a paid plan.

Coloring pages

Turn a photo into clean line art, with detail, line-weight and cleanup controls.

Paint by number

Numbered regions, an editable palette and a printable pack.

Collages & contact sheets

Arrange photos in five layouts, with captions.

Image splitter & Instagram grid

Cut a photo into tiles, with overlap, and export a ZIP in posting order.

Mandala drawing

Draw with symmetry and mirroring, with undo.

Grid Finder & Composition Analyzer

The website's Grid Finder and Composition Analyzer, on the phone.

Six art calculators

Grid transfer, golden ratio, proportion, aspect ratio, canvas fit and mural scaling.

Graph paper

Measured patterns at true paper size, exported as SVG or PDF.

The features at a glance

Every capability, and which tier it belongs to. The web tool stays free forever; the app adds AR tracing on top.

Feature What it does Free tier Paid plans
AR tracing Locks a reference over real paper, canvas, or a wall through the camera 3 traces / month Unlimited
Advanced AR modes Projector, Breakdown, Strobe compare and Large drawing, on top of classic AR tracing Classic mode All modes
Your own photo Import and trace a photo from your camera roll Included Included
82 composition grids The full Grid Maker Pro overlay library, draw over any of them All 82 All 82
Opacity, scale, rotation Set the reference exactly against your surface and your marks Included Included
Lock-in-place tracking Anchors the reference so proportions hold as you move the phone Included Included
Recording Real time or time-lapse; saved on the device Paid Included
PDF & printing PDF export and direct printing, including print packs from the creative tools None Included
Export resolution PNG and JPG export, SVG vectors, and a transparent grid-only PNG Up to 300 DPI + SVG Up to 600 DPI
Creative tools Coloring pages, paint by number, collages, image splitter, mandala drawing, calculators, graph paper All All
On-device processing Your reference photo stays on your phone; no account to start Included Included

Free covers three AR traces of your own photo each month, all 82 grids and the creative tools. Unlimited tracing is $29.99 a year, $6.99 a month, or $79 once for Lifetime, and every paid plan also adds the advanced AR modes, real-time and time-lapse recording, PDF export and printing, and 600 DPI export — see the pricing page for the detail and auto-renew terms.

Why this feature set

The AR core is kept focused on purpose. Every feature earns its place at the easel — nothing is here to pad a store listing.

Built by a real artist

Fifteen years at the easel decided this list. Each feature is one Sujith Puthran wanted while drawing, not a checkbox a software studio guessed at.

Private by design

Reference photos are processed on the device for the overlay, and no account is required to start drawing. There is nothing to sync and nowhere to upload.

Android first, iOS planned

The app launches on Android through Google Play first; an iOS build is planned. Until then the free web tool runs the 82 grids in Safari on iPhone and iPad.

Feature questions, answered plainly

What are the main features of the AR drawing app?

The app locks a reference photo over your real paper or canvas through the camera so you can draw the proportions by hand, carries all 82 overlays in the grid library, lets you adjust opacity, scale and rotation, holds the reference in place as you move the phone, records a time-lapse of the session on paid plans, and processes your photo on the device. You can start with no account.

Can I trace my own photo, or only built-in images?

Both. You can trace a photo straight from your camera roll — the free tier includes three AR traces of your own photo every month — or draw over any of the 82 built-in overlays. Tracing your own reference is the feature many apps lock behind the paywall on the first open; here it's part of the free tier. See the pricing page.

Does the reference stay in place while I draw?

Yes. Once you tap to lock the reference, it anchors to your real surface using the device camera and motion sensors, so it holds its position and scale when you shift the phone or lean in. That lock-in-place tracking is what makes AR tracing usable rather than a photo you have to hold perfectly still. If you move too quickly and tracking drops, the app tells you and asks you to move slowly back toward the surface.

Do the 82 grids from the web tool work in the app?

Yes. The app ships all 82 composition and drawing overlays from the free Grid Maker Pro web tool — golden ratio, Loomis head, dynamic symmetry, perspective, sacred geometry and the rest. You can draw over a grid alone, or over a grid combined with your own reference photo.

Is my reference photo uploaded anywhere?

Your reference photos are processed on your device to build the overlay, and no account is required to start. The app privacy policy sets out exactly what is and isn't collected.

Does the app include the website's photo tools?

Yes. Beyond AR tracing, the app carries the photo tools from the website, running natively on the phone: coloring pages, paint by number, collages and contact sheets, the image splitter and Instagram grid, mandala drawing, Grid Finder and Composition Analyzer, six art calculators, and graph paper. They're free; PDF printing and 600 DPI export need a paid plan.

Grid Maker Pro the AR app

See the features on your own photo.

Free includes three AR traces of your own photo every month. No account to start.

COMING SOON TO Google Play