Grid Maker Pro vs Earth In Spoon — Loomis Head tool comparison

The two tools at a glance

Earth In Spoon's Loomis Method Interactive Guide is hosted at earthinspoon.com. It is a single-page interactive Loomis method tool that visualises the head construction — the ball and plane of the cranium and jaw — with adjustable proportions and x, y, z axis tilt. There is no upload, no export, and no other overlays — it is purpose-built as a Loomis construction visualiser for studying how the brow line and side plane shift as you draw the head from any angle.

Grid Maker Pro is at gridmakerpro.com. The Loomis Head overlay is one of 82 overlays in the app; users can apply it on top of any uploaded reference photo, layer it with other overlays (Asaro plane breakdown, perspective grids, golden ratio), and export the result as PDF, PNG, JPG, or SVG.

Feature-by-feature comparison

Where Earth In Spoon wins

• Narrower scope = less initial overwhelm. If your goal is purely to understand the Loomis construction itself — sphere, side-plane, ear-line, brow-line — without distractions, Earth In Spoon's single-purpose page is faster to get started with.
• Older, more discoverable. Earth In Spoon's interactive guide has been online since 2018 and ranks well in Google for "loomis interactive." It is the tool most online tutorials link to.
• Adjustable internal proportions. Earth In Spoon lets you adjust head proportions (sphere size, jaw drop, eye spacing) in isolation, which is useful for understanding how each parameter affects the head shape.

Where Grid Maker Pro wins

• Reference image overlay. Grid Maker Pro applies the Loomis construction on top of your reference photo. Earth In Spoon visualises the construction in isolation. For real-world drawing practice (where you are working from a model or photo), this is the deciding feature.
• Export formats. Grid Maker Pro exports the gridded reference as PDF, PNG, JPG, or SVG at 4× resolution. Earth In Spoon does not export — you would have to screenshot.
• 81 other overlays. Grid Maker Pro's Loomis overlay can be layered with Asaro plane breakdown, perspective grids, golden ratio composition, or any of 78 other overlays without leaving the app. Earth In Spoon is Loomis-only.
• Tilt-up and tilt-down presets. Grid Maker Pro includes one-click front, three-quarter view, and profile presets plus labelled 15°, 30°, and 45° tilts, so you can set the portrait construction angle without hunting along a slider. Earth In Spoon's slider supports any angle but offers no labelled positions.
• iPad-optimised. Grid Maker Pro's controls are sized for touch and tested on iPad Safari and Chrome.
• Companion 13-step pillar guide. Grid Maker Pro's tool comes with a 5,000-word step-by-step pillar covering three-quarter, profile, tilt-up, tilt-down, common mistakes, and female/male variations.
• Privacy-first architecture. Image processing happens locally in your browser; no upload, no server, no tracking of your reference photos.

Learning vs production — when each tool fits

The Earth In Spoon Loomis page is fundamentally a learning resource — an interactive demonstration that lets a student manipulate the Loomis sphere-and-jaw construction and see how the proportional relationships behave at different angles. As a learning resource it works well: the focused single-construction interface keeps the student's attention on the Loomis logic without the distraction of secondary features.

Grid Maker Pro's Loomis overlay handles a different use case: applying the construction to actual reference work. A portrait artist uses the overlay on a client photograph, an instructor uses it to demonstrate the construction on student-submitted references, a commission painter uses it to ensure proportional accuracy on the final canvas. The Loomis overlay is one of 82, integrated into the broader workflow rather than presented as a standalone interactive lesson.

The two tools therefore complement each other in a typical learning-to-production sequence. A student new to the Loomis method might learn the construction on the Earth In Spoon page, then move to Grid Maker Pro when they start applying it to their own reference work. This is the same pattern many craft traditions follow — learn the technique in a controlled context, then apply it to real material once internalised.

What each tool does not cover

Earth In Spoon Loomis covers only the Loomis head construction; for the related head methods (Reilly rhythms, Asaro plane head, Bargue plates), the artist needs a different resource. Grid Maker Pro covers all four head methods — see the artist-guide overlays for the Loomis, Reilly, and Asaro siblings — plus the broader figure-drawing vocabulary. Earth In Spoon also does not handle reference-image overlay, which is the central use case for proportional transfer in commission portrait work. Grid Maker Pro does handle reference-image overlay; the artist drops in a client photo and applies the Loomis construction on top.

Which tool to pick

• Pick Earth In Spoon if you want to study the Loomis construction in isolation, you do not have a specific reference to draw from yet, and you do not need to export anything. It is the cleaner choice for pure learning.
• Pick Grid Maker Pro if you want to apply the Loomis construction to a real reference photo (paid commission, life model, project work), if you want to export the gridded reference for paper or digital tracing, if you want to layer Loomis with other overlays, or if you want a long-form companion guide and presets for non-trivial angles.
• Use both for the first week of practice. Earth In Spoon for understanding the construction; Grid Maker Pro for actually drawing from references.

Frequently asked questions

Other Grid Maker Pro comparisons

vs PhiMatrix

For golden ratio overlay work — the phi grid, spiral, and triangle.

vs GridMyPic

For proportional transfer — squaring a reference onto canvas.

vs GriDraw

For general grid drawing — square and triangular overlays.

References

1. Earth In Spoon — Loomis Method Interactive Guide. earthinspoon.com. The stand-alone Loomis construction visualiser compared here — verify its current feature set at earthinspoon.com.
2. Loomis, Andrew. Drawing the Head and Hands. Viking Press (1956). The source text for the Loomis head-construction method.
3. Loomis, Andrew. Figure Drawing for All It’s Worth. Viking Press (1943). The companion volume integrating the constructed head with the figure.

SC

Sarah Chen

Founder of Grid Maker Pro. Classical portrait painter (BA Fine Arts). Writes these tool comparisons to be checkable against the other tool’s own site — every factual claim links out so you can verify it independently.

Updated May 15, 2026 · Methodology