Default Canvas Grid for new documents
Set initial mode, columns/rows or cell sizes, diagonal mode, independent line and diagonal colors, visibility, and coordinate labels in Settings → Studio → Canvas Grid. These defaults are separate from the Reference Grid. They apply only to new Studio documents; project-specific grids and refinement areas are retained with each saved project.
Purpose
The Canvas Grid is an adjustable grid covering the entire artwork canvas. It helps artists place subjects accurately, maintain proportions, and transfer compositional elements from a Reference to a drawing or painting.
The grid is particularly useful for portraits, complex compositions, architectural subjects, and other work where precise spatial relationships matter.
Unlike the Reference Grid, which belongs to the selected Reference, the Canvas Grid belongs to the artwork canvas. Its origin is the canvas’s top-left corner. The two grids can be used independently.
Main Settings
The eye toggle, Show, displays or hides the Canvas Grid. Hiding the main grid also hides its refinement areas, without deleting their settings.
Choose one of two grid construction methods using Mode.
Divisions
Set the number of 
Columns and 
Rows, from 1 to 100 for each value.
The application calculates the cell dimensions from the current canvas size. If the canvas dimensions change, the grid is recalculated while preserving the selected column and row counts.
Use this mode when you want a fixed number of equal divisions, regardless of each cell’s physical dimensions.
Cell Size
Set 
Cell Width and 
Cell Height. Their physical size can range from 1 to 1000 cm; when inches are selected, the controls display the equivalent measurements in inches.
Grid lines are positioned at the specified intervals, starting at the top-left corner of the canvas. If the canvas dimensions are not exact multiples of the cell dimensions, the cells along the edges may be smaller.
This mode is useful for preparing full-size drawings or maintaining consistent grid spacing across artwork of different sizes.
Diagonals
In addition to horizontal and vertical lines, the grid can display diagonals inside its cells. The 
Diagonals menu provides four options:
- None – no diagonal lines.
- Ascending ↗ – diagonals in one direction.
- Descending ↘ – diagonals in the opposite direction.
- Both ╳ – diagonals in both directions.
Colors
Line Color controls the color of the main horizontal and vertical grid lines.
Diagonal Color is independent of the main line color and appears only when a diagonal mode other than None is selected.
You can choose contrasting colors to make the grid easy to see over References on the canvas.
Measurement Units
Canvas and grid dimensions are based on the artwork’s actual physical size. Measurements can be displayed in centimeters or inches. Changing display units does not change the physical dimensions or geometry of the grid.
Cell coordinates
Turn on Show Coordinates in the View menu, or use the A1 toggle in the Canvas Grid settings, to display labels for the main grid cells. Columns use letters A, B, C … Z, AA, AB …, and rows use numbers 1, 2, 3 …. For example, the third cell in the second row is C2.
Column letters appear in a horizontal strip above the canvas, and row numbers appear in a vertical strip to its left. These strips stay fixed when you zoom or pan the canvas. The labels and their positions update to match the visible cells, but the text itself does not scale with the canvas. When cells become very narrow on screen, some labels are skipped to prevent overlap; cell numbering does not change.
Coordinates appear only when the main Canvas Grid is visible (Show). Hiding the grid also hides the coordinate strips and disables the coordinate toggles; showing the grid again restores the previous choice. The coordinate visibility setting is saved with the project.
Coordinates apply only to the Canvas Grid, not the Reference Grid. Refinement areas have no separate numbering: labels always refer to the main grid cells. In Cell Size mode, smaller cells along the canvas edges are included in the numbering.
Showing and hiding rulers 
Use Show Rulers in the View menu to show or hide the horizontal and vertical rulers independently of the coordinates. Hiding the rulers frees their screen space while allowing the coordinate strips to remain visible. This can make cell labels easier to follow without nearby ruler markings.
Refinement areas
Purpose
Refinement areas let you subdivide main Canvas Grid cells only within selected rectangular parts of the canvas. For example, you might use a coarse grid across an entire portrait while applying finer divisions around the eyes, nose, or mouth.
You can create multiple independent areas. They do not replace the main grid lines: additional lines appear only inside each area. Their positions are calculated from the canvas’s common origin, so moved areas remain aligned with the main grid.
Creating an area
- Turn on the Canvas Grid.
- Select Refine area.
- Press and hold the left mouse button on the canvas, then drag to define a rectangle.
- Release the mouse button. The new area appears in the Refinement areas list and is selected automatically.
A new area must be at least 1 cm wide and 1 cm high. The drawing tool turns off after an area is created; activate it again to create another area.
Subdivision
The Subdivision setting controls how many parts each side of a main grid cell is divided into within the selected area. For example, a 5 × 5 cm main cell with ×5 subdivision produces 1 × 1 cm smaller cells.
The smallest permitted refined cell dimension is 1 cm. The maximum usable factor is calculated from the shorter side of the main cell and is capped at ×10. Thus, a 5 × 3 cm main cell allows at most ×3.
The control becomes available when an area is selected and the main cells are large enough to subdivide. If changing the main grid makes the previously chosen factor too large, the application temporarily uses a smaller valid factor but preserves the earlier choice. Restoring larger main cells restores that factor unless you explicitly change it in the meantime.
Area list, selection, and visibility
The Refinement areas list shows each area’s dimensions and its X and Y coordinates. Values are displayed in the selected unit: centimeters or inches.
Selecting an area in the list displays its dashed outline and four corner handles on the canvas. You can also hold Alt and left-click inside an area to select it. Alt + click outside all areas clears the selection.
Use the eye toggle beside an area to show or hide its fine grid lines. A hidden area is not deleted and can still be selected and edited.
Hiding the main Canvas Grid hides all refinement lines, the selected area’s outline, and its handles. The previous selection and area settings are retained. While the main grid is hidden, areas cannot be selected on the canvas using Alt + click.
Moving and resizing areas
To move an area, hold Alt, press the left mouse button inside it, and drag. Its position changes while its size and subdivision factor remain unchanged.
To resize an area, drag one of the four corner handles on its selected outline. The opposite corner stays fixed. An area cannot extend outside the canvas or become smaller than 1 × 1 cm.
Snap 
The Snap toggle controls snapping refinement area edges to nearby lines of the main Canvas Grid. It applies when creating, moving, or resizing an area. When moving the entire area, its top-left corner is used for snapping.
Hold Shift to temporarily invert the setting: enabled becomes disabled, and disabled becomes enabled. Snapping is not applied while the main Canvas Grid is hidden.
Removing an area
Right-click the area in the list and choose Remove area from the context menu. The area whose menu you opened is removed, even if another area is currently selected in the list.
Notes
- Refinement areas add to the main grid without replacing it.
- Selection outlines and resize handles are editing controls, not grid lines.
- Switching between centimeters and inches changes displayed values, not an area’s physical dimensions.
- Studio Workspace and Controls – keyboard commands and status bar.
