The 30/60° technical grid, in the browser.

The 80-word answer up top, in case you're scanning

The Isometric Grid tool draws a true 30°/60° (or 2:1 pixel) parallel-projection grid on any canvas, suitable for game art, axonometric architecture, technical illustration, and pixel art. Cell size adjusts 5-200 px; angles flip between true isometric, dimetric, and trimetric in one click; export as transparent PNG or SVG. No signup, free, runs entirely in browser, image stays local. Works at any zoom level for both pencil-and-paper printing and digital pixel-snap workflows.

What "isometric" actually means (and why the angle matters)

Isometric projection is one of the three parallel-projection systems used in technical drawing — alongside dimetric and trimetric. The defining property: all three axes are drawn at equal angles to the picture plane, which means a unit measurement along any axis projects to the same screen length. A 1 cm cube reads as exactly 1 cm along every visible edge. This is why isometric became the dominant convention in engineering drawing, video game art, and mathematical visualization — measurements survive the projection.

The "30/60° grid" terminology refers to the angles between the projected axes and the horizontal. In a true isometric grid, the two diagonal axes sit at 30° above and 30° below horizontal (60° apart from each other), with the vertical axis straight up. The ratio of unit-width to unit-height for each rhombus cell is 1 : √3 ÷ 2 = 1 : 0.866 — meaning every cell is slightly taller than wide, by a precise mathematical factor. Most "isometric grids" you find online are rough approximations; this tool draws the geometrically exact ratio.

If your reference material is video-game pixel art (Diablo, Habbo Hotel, classic SimCity), be aware those games used a 2:1 pixel approximation — not true isometric — because integer pixel ratios were easier on early hardware. The 2:1 ratio gives axis angles of approximately 26.57°, not 30°. Switch our grid to "pixel isometric (2:1)" mode if you're working in that aesthetic. For modern game engines (Unity, Godot, Unreal) using vector or 3D rendering, true 30° isometric is correct.

True isometric vs 2:1 pixel isometric — which to choose

The decision between true 30°/60° isometric and 2:1 pixel-art isometric (the 26.57° "fake iso" of classic SimCity and Diablo) depends entirely on your output medium.

Choose true 30°/60° isometric when: you are working in a vector tool that supports floating-point coordinates (Illustrator, Affinity Designer, Figma); your output is vector or high-resolution print where pixel boundaries are invisible; you are creating architectural axonometric drawings, infographics, or assembly diagrams where dimensional accuracy matters; you are working in a modern game engine (Unity 2D, Godot, Unreal) that handles arbitrary rotations without pixel snapping.

Choose 2:1 pixel isometric when: you are creating pixel-art for a retro-style game where every pixel placement is intentional; you want crisp pixel boundaries without sub-pixel antialiasing; you are emulating the classic isometric game look (Habbo Hotel, Diablo II, classic SimCity, Stardew Valley); your tile assets are 64×32 or 128×64 pixel rectangles where the 2:1 ratio is structural to the asset format.

The angles are visibly different — true isometric reads as slightly more "tall" than 2:1 pixel iso — but both are valid choices for the right context. Mixing them within one project produces inconsistent visual rhythm; pick one and stay with it.

The tool defaults to true 30°/60° isometric because that is the right choice for the majority of contemporary work, but the 2:1 pixel mode is one keyboard shortcut away when you need it. The grid renders correctly in both modes at any cell size from 5 to 200 pixels.

Common workflows that use the isometric grid

Game art and tile design

Lay out the grid at your target tile size (commonly 64×32 px or 128×64 px for 2:1 pixel iso; 100×87 px for true 30° iso). Snap tile assets to grid intersections. Export as SVG for direct import into Unity's Tilemap or Godot's TileSet. The SVG export preserves the geometric ratios so your in-engine tile snapping aligns to the same grid you designed on.

Architectural axonometric drawings

Axonometric is the architectural term for isometric (and its dimetric / trimetric cousins). Used since the 1920s in International Style and Bauhaus drawings, axonometric became the default for technical architecture illustration because it preserves measurement along all three axes — letting the drawing serve as both a presentation render and a measurable construction document. Print our grid at A3 or 11×14 in for analog drafting, or use as a Procreate guide layer on iPad.

Product and industrial design

Patent drawings, exploded-view assembly diagrams, IKEA-style instructions — all use isometric projection because it preserves the proportions a manufacturer or assembler needs to read off the drawing. Set the grid to small cell size (10–20 px) for fine product detail; large (50–100 px) for assembly overviews.

Mathematics and crystallography

The isometric grid is the planar projection of the simple cubic lattice — the most common arrangement of atoms in a crystal. Used by math teachers for visualizing 3D coordinate systems, and by chemistry instructors for crystal structure diagrams.

Why artists and designers reach for the isometric grid

Isometric projection occupies a distinctive niche between strict orthographic plans (which lose depth) and full one- or two-point perspective (which complicate measurement). The reason it remains popular across game art, illustration, technical drawing, and architectural communication has less to do with realism — isometric scenes do not look like photographs — and more to do with the unique combination of three properties.

Measurability. Because all three axes share the same scale, a designer can read dimensions directly off the drawing without applying perspective foreshortening corrections. A 2-metre wall is twice the length of a 1-metre wall on the page, not "twice the length minus the foreshortening factor at this distance from the vanishing point." For technical illustration this is invaluable; the drawing IS the measurement document.

Compositional flatness. Isometric scenes have no single focal vanishing point pulling attention to one spot on the canvas. Every region of the composition reads with equal weight. This makes isometric ideal for designs where multiple parts of the scene need to be equally legible — game-board overviews, exploded assembly diagrams, multi-room building layouts, infographic illustrations.

Predictable repeatability. Isometric grids tile cleanly across any canvas size. A tile drawn for one game level fits into a larger composition without scaling distortion. A wall section detailed in one drawing fits into a full-building view without rework. The repeatability is what enables the tile-based game art and pattern-design traditions that dominate the isometric aesthetic.

The three properties together explain why isometric has survived in active practice for over a century despite the rise of 3D rendering, real-time perspective tools, and AI image generation. For projects where measurability and clarity matter more than photographic realism, isometric remains the right tool.

Isometric in Grid Maker Pro vs alternatives

For most users the choice comes down to whether you're working in a drawing app already (use its built-in guides) or need to print/share/snap to a true-geometric grid for technical work (use this tool).

Frequently asked questions