Transparent Grid PNG

How to use a transparent grid overlay

A grid with a transparent background is the most flexible kind of grid: it is not tied to one picture, so you can reuse it across a whole project and switch it on or off as a layer. Artists use it to square up a reference in Procreate or Krita, designers use it to check alignment in Canva or Photoshop, and teachers project it over a picture on the whiteboard.

1. Download the PNG closest to your canvas size, or generate one with the exact pixel dimensions.
2. Import it into your app as a new layer (Procreate: Insert a file; Photoshop: Place Embedded; Canva: Uploads).
3. Scale it to cover the canvas, put it at the top of the layer stack and lower the opacity until it is just visible.
4. Hide or delete the grid layer before you export the finished image.

Which grid size do you need?

Printable grids at real size

The Letter and A4 grids above are drawn at 300 dots per inch, so a 300 pixel square prints as exactly one inch and a 118 pixel square as one centimetre (very close to it; 118.11 to be exact). Print them at 100% scale, not "fit to page", to keep true size. If you need a grid that matches a photo and a canvas, the grid drawing tool can export a blank grid PDF in inches or centimetres.

PNG or SVG?

PNG is a raster image with a fixed number of pixels. It works everywhere, including phones, Procreate, Canva and web pages, and keeps transparency. SVG is a vector file: the lines are stored as coordinates, so the grid stays crisp at any zoom level and files are tiny. Use SVG for cutting machines, Illustrator, Figma and Inkscape; use PNG for everything else.

License

All transparent grid images on this page are free for personal and commercial use, no credit required. You can include them in products you make, such as worksheets, planners and art courses. You may not redistribute them as a stand-alone grid pack.