Effects — Overlay
Grid overlay effect
Overlay a customisable grid on your photo: columns, rows, line style, colour, opacity, border and A1 or number labels.
- Status
- Live
- Category
- Overlay
- Settings
- 8
What is the Grid overlay effect?
A grid overlay divides your photo into equal cells. Artists have long used grids to transfer drawings accurately, photographers use them to check composition, and social media creators use them to plan multi-post layouts.
Choose the number of columns and rows, the line width, colour, opacity and style, and decide whether to add an outer border. Cell labels can be off, numbered, or an A1 chart-style reference like a spreadsheet or map.
Grid overlay settings
- Columns
- Rows
- Line width
- Colour
- Opacity
- Line style
- Outer border
- Cell labels
Best photos for it
- Drawing and painting reference photos
- Composition checks
- Planning multi-post grid layouts
Tips for better results
- Tip 01
Use 3 columns by 3 rows for the rule of thirds.
- Tip 02
Choose a thin, semi-transparent line to avoid hiding detail.
- Tip 03
Use A1 labels when you need to refer to cells by name.
Common questions
What do the cell labels do?
They add a reference label to each cell: none, numbers, or A1-style letters and numbers.
Similar effects
- MosaicRebuild photos as brick-style blocks, beads, cross-stitch, an LED matrix or tiles with adjustable cell size and gap.Available
- PixelateTurn your photo into chunky pixel blocks. Adjust the pixel size and reduce the colour levels for a retro mosaic look.Available
- MirrorMirror your photo left to right, right to left, top to bottom or in four quadrants for symmetrical designs.Available
Also searched as: Photo grid, Drawing grid, Rule of thirds overlay.