Perspective, Modulor & structural grids, in the browser.
Eleven architectural grids — 8 perspective systems (1, 2, 3-point, isometric, dimetric, trimetric, 5-point fisheye, anamorphic) plus 3 architecture grids (Structural, Le Corbusier Modulor, Tartan). For practising architects, students, restoration specialists, and architectural illustrators. Free, no signup, image stays local.
Grid Maker Pro is a free browser tool used by working architects, students, and restoration specialists to apply perspective grids and architectural proportion systems to drawings, photographs, and competition documentation. The tool covers 8 perspective systems (1-, 2-, 3-, 5-point linear plus isometric, dimetric, trimetric, anamorphic) and 3 architectural grids (Structural, Le Corbusier Modulor, Tartan). Image processing happens locally — designs and client photos never leave your device.
Eleven overlays for the working drawing board.
Eight linear and axonometric perspective systems and three architectural-proportion grids — Structural, Modulor, Tartan.
Perspective systems (8)
1-Point
Single VP. Hallways, head-on views.
2-Point
Two VPs. Most common architectural perspective.
3-Point
Three VPs. Skyscrapers, dramatic angles.
Isometric
30/60° technical drawing standard.
Dimetric
Two equal angles, one different.
Trimetric
Three different angles. Most flexible.
5-Point Fisheye
Curvilinear wide-angle.
Anamorphic
Distorted projection for projection art.
Architecture grids (3)
Three places overlays fit into practice.
Pre-design proportional planning, perspective rendering, existing-building documentation.
1. Pre-design proportional planning
Apply the Modulor proportion grid overlay or Tartan grid to early sketches to organise structural and proportional decisions before any walls are placed. The Modulor overlay gives you canonical human-scale measurements (door heights, ceiling heights, corridor widths) that align early design choices with proven proportional systems.
2. Perspective rendering
Apply one-point, two-point, three-point, or 5-point fisheye overlays to client visualisation drawings. The drag-vanishing-point workflow lets you set the horizon line and place each vanishing point against an existing site photograph, producing renderings that integrate with the surrounding context. A two-point perspective grid for architecture covers most street-level and corner-view rendering; for axonometric work, switch to an isometric grid for architectural drawing.
3. Existing-building documentation
Apply Structural Grid overlays to photographs of existing buildings during retrofit, restoration, or competition documentation. Reading the original structural grid from surviving construction is essential for accurate preservation and any modification work.
Workflow guides specific to your practice.
Students, perspective drawing & rendering, Modulor & proportion — three guides for the different surfaces architects work.
Recommended pillar reads
How working architects use the overlay set.
A residential architect, a restoration architect, an urban planner — on which overlay lives on the drawing board day-to-day.
Modulor for residential. Door heights, sill heights, ceiling clearances — pull them from Le Corbusier before any wall goes down on the plan. Clients don't know what they're seeing, but the room reads as resolved instead of arbitrary, and that's the difference.
Structural grid is the first thing I read on any existing building. Drop a site photograph in, apply the overlay, and the column rhythm jumps out — that tells you what's load-bearing, what's not, and what you can move without a structural engineer's bill.
Tartan grid for urban masterplans. Two-direction rhythm carries across blocks the way single-axis grids never do — Palladio understood this in the sixteenth century and the planning literature has been rediscovering it ever since. I lay it over satellite photos in the early diagnostic stage.
Frequently asked questions
How do architects use Grid Maker Pro?
Three primary workflows. (1) Pre-design proportional planning — apply Modulor or Tartan grids to early sketches to organise structural and proportional decisions. (2) Perspective rendering — apply 1-point, 2-point, 3-point, or 5-point fisheye overlays to client visualisation drawings. (3) Existing-building documentation — apply structural grid overlays to photos of existing buildings during retrofit, restoration, or competition documentation. The bulk overlay mode lets you process multiple drawings at once.
Is Grid Maker Pro suitable for professional architectural work?
Yes. The overlays are constructed from canonical Renaissance and modern perspective methods (Alberti's De Pictura, Farish's isometric projection, Le Corbusier's Modulor) and are geometrically correct. SVG export lets you bring overlays into Illustrator, AutoCAD, or any vector workflow. The free pricing and no-signup model make it suitable for evaluation, occasional use, or budget-constrained practice.
Can I use this for client deliverables?
Yes. The 4× export at standard paper sizes (US Letter, A4, A3, 11×14, 16×20) produces print-quality output suitable for client presentations, planning submissions, and competition entries. Image stays local — client photos and confidential designs never leave your device, which matters for NDA-bound competitive work.
Can I use a structural grid overlay for floor plans?
At the sketch stage, yes. Grid Maker Pro overlays a structural grid on top of an image — a scanned plan, a site photograph, or an early sketch — so you can read or block out column placement and structural bay spacing. It is a drawing-overlay tool, not CAD: it does not read or edit dimensioned floor-plan geometry, so for measured construction documents you would move the SVG overlay into AutoCAD or your usual CAD workflow.
Is there a free perspective grid for sketching buildings?
Yes. All eight perspective systems — one-point, two-point, three-point, 5-point fisheye, isometric, dimetric, trimetric, and anamorphic — are free with no signup. As a perspective grid generator for architects, it lets you set the horizon line and drag vanishing points over a reference photo or blank canvas, then export the grid for sketching buildings on paper or in another app.
References
- Le Corbusier. The Modulor: A Harmonious Measure to the Human Scale Universally Applicable to Architecture and Mechanics. Harvard University Press (1954). The proportional system underpinning the architecture overlays.
- Ching, Francis D. K. Architecture: Form, Space, and Order. Wiley (4th ed., 2014). ISBN 978-1-118-74508-3. The standard reference on architectural proportion and ordering systems.
- Vitruvius. De architectura (Ten Books on Architecture) (c. 15 BC). Dover reprint, ISBN 0-486-20645-9. The classical source on proportion and symmetry in building.
Eleven architectural overlays, free in the browser.
Eight perspective systems and three architectural-proportion grids. SVG export to Illustrator and AutoCAD, image stays local for NDA-bound competitive work, no signup.
Open the architecture overlays →