Grid drawing worksheet maker
Upload a picture, choose a grid, print. Pupils get the empty grid — not the picture.
What this tool does
Turns any picture into a grid drawing exercise. Upload a photo or a drawing, choose anything from a gentle 4×4 up to a demanding 16×16, and print. There are three ways to lay it out: reference on the left with an empty grid on the right, reference on top with the grid below, or two full pages — a teacher reference page followed by a blank pupil page. The blank page never prints the picture, and that is deliberate: if the picture is on the page, children trace instead of looking. Columns are lettered and rows are numbered, so you can say “look at B3” and every child in the room finds the same square. If the cells are small you can also print A1, B3 and so on inside each one. Cropping and resizing happen in your browser; the picture is never uploaded.
How to use it
- 1Choose a picture
Anything with clear shapes works — a photograph, a drawing, a page from a book. It is cropped to the grid's shape automatically.
- 2Set the grid and the layout
4×4 for younger or less confident children, 8×8 for most of the class, 16×16 when you want them working at detail. Use two pages for a hard picture so the cells stay big enough to draw in.
- 3Print and point
Print at Actual size / 100%. Give pupils the blank page and work across it together using the cell references.
FAQ
- Why doesn't the pupil page have the picture on it?
- Because putting it there turns the task into tracing. The skill being taught is looking — comparing what you see in one square with what you have drawn in yours. That only happens if the pupil has to look across at a separate reference.
- What are the letters and numbers for?
- They let the whole class work on the same square at the same time. Say “look at B3” and everyone knows where to look, which is how you move a class through a picture together instead of one child at a time.
- What size grid should I use?
- 4×4 or 6×6 for Early Years and less confident children, 8×8 for most of Key Stage 1 and 2, 12×12 or 16×16 for older pupils working on detail. If the cells drop below about 8mm they get frustrating — the tool will tell you when that happens.
- Does my picture get uploaded anywhere?
- No. It is read, cropped and resized in your browser, and the print is built on your own machine.
- Can I use a photograph?
- Yes, though high-contrast images with clear shapes work better than busy photographs. A simple subject on a plain background is the easiest place to start.