Perspective, Modulor & structural grids.
Eleven architectural overlays for the working drawing board. Eight perspective systems — one-, two-, three-point, 5-point fisheye, isometric, dimetric, trimetric, and anamorphic — plus three architecture grids: the structural grid, Le Corbusier's Modulor, and the Tartan. Set a horizon, drag the vanishing points over a site photo, and export to Illustrator or AutoCAD. Free, no signup, and the drawing never leaves your device.
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.
Four systems that draw the building.
One-point reads a corridor or a head-on elevation. Two-point handles the street-level corner view — the workhorse of architectural rendering. Three-point adds the vertical convergence a tall building wants. Isometric drops perspective entirely for measured, scale-true axonometric work. Pick the projection and the geometry holds itself true.
1-point
One vanishing point. Corridors, head-on elevations, single-wall interiors.
2-point
Two vanishing points. The most common architectural corner view.
3-point
Three vanishing points. Skyscrapers and dramatic worm's- or bird's-eye views.
Isometric
30/60° axonometric. Measured, scale-true technical drawing — no convergence.
Three places overlays fit into practice.
From the first proportional sketch through the client render to the documentation of an existing fabric, the same overlay engine carries across the project. SVG export brings every grid into Illustrator or AutoCAD; client photos and confidential designs stay on your device throughout.
Pre-design proportion
Lay the Modulor or Tartan grid over early sketches to organise structure and human-scale measure before any wall is placed.
Perspective rendering
Drop a 1-, 2-, 3-point or fisheye grid onto a site photo, drag the vanishing points, and render a view that sits in its real context.
Existing-building documentation
Apply a structural grid over a photograph during retrofit, restoration, or competition work to read the original column rhythm and bay spacing.
The architect's overlay set.
1-point
Single VP. Hallways and head-on views.
2-point
Two VPs. The most common architectural perspective.
3-point
Three VPs. Skyscrapers and dramatic angles.
Isometric
30/60° technical-drawing standard.
Dimetric
Two equal angles, one different.
Trimetric
Three different angles. The most flexible axonometric.
5-point fisheye
Curvilinear wide-angle for immersive interior views.
Anamorphic
Distorted projection for floor and projection art.
Structural grid
Column placement and structural bay sizes.
Le Corbusier Modulor
Human-scale phi proportions.
Tartan grid
Two-direction structural rhythm.
Guides specific to your practice.
What architects actually use it for.
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.
The questions architects ask.
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 proportion grids. SVG export to Illustrator and AutoCAD, image stays local for NDA-bound competitive work, and no signup.
Open the architecture overlays →