Guides
Step-by-step help for every tool feature, with real screenshots.
Getting started
- Get started with your first referenceA practical route from photo to drawing plan, with help finding the controls.
- Keyboard shortcuts and accessible navigationKeep track of focus and distinguish field editing, image movement and saved-version navigation.
- Use Drawing Grid on a phone or tabletFind compact controls, move your reference with touch, and save or print your study.
- How to recover local work in your browserCheck the restored photo and settings, and protect work before discarding it or clearing browser data.
- Photo privacy: browser and account storageDistinguish your local editing session from account copies, and clear the right data when you finish.
- Transfer a portrait with a drawing gridPrepare a portrait, match the grid to your surface and transfer the main features with a checked enlargement example.
- How to upload, paste or replace your reference photoStart with a photo from your device or clipboard. No account is needed to add a drawing grid; this guide also explains what happens when you change the reference.
Image
- How to rotate or mirror your reference photoSee the composition with fresh eyes and distinguish turning the photo from changing canvas dimensions.
- Zoom, pan and fullscreen for your referenceMove from the whole composition to a small detail, then recover your view without changing the photo or its canvas dimensions.
- Pick colours from a reference photoRead a displayed pixel, copy its HEX or RGB value, and keep digital samples separate from paint recipes.
- Adjust brightness, contrast and saturationCorrect a reference in small steps without losing the detail you need to paint.
- How to view your reference at actual sizeSet the drawing dimensions, return to the physical-size baseline and check a known distance on your own screen.
- How to crop a photo to your canvas sizeMatch the reference to your painting surface before you rule the grid. Keep the important shapes, check the edges and commit the composition.
Grid
- How to set up a drawing grid over your reference photoA drawing grid splits your reference photo into equal cells, so you can copy it onto a matching grid on your canvas one cell at a time. Turn on the grid, then type how many columns and rows you want.
- How to focus on one grid cell at a timeDim the rest of your reference, study one shape, and move from cell to cell without losing the whole picture.
Black & white and values
- Make a black and white value studySee the large light and dark shapes, choose useful tonal steps and read value ranges without losing sight of your composition.
- How to turn a photo into a line drawingFind useful contours, reduce distracting detail and prepare an outline you can draw from.
- Make a watercolour value studyTurn the orange boat reference into a simple plan for light, middle and dark washes.
Print and display
- Print a reference at the correct sizeChoose physical dimensions, download a tiled PDF and join the sheets without changing the scale of your drawing reference.
- How to calibrate your screen for actual-size viewingMatch the display to a real ruler or card, save the screen and check a known distance before relying on its physical size.
My Artworks
- Save artworks and check what is safely storedMake your first account save, recognise its result and understand local recovery, cloud sync and limited version history.
- Browse and use artwork version historyCompare saved stages, keep current edits safe and understand what history can retain.
- Find and organize your saved artworksSearch your library, resume a study and understand what copying or deleting an artwork changes.
- Organize your saved artworks into projectsGroup related references, move them safely and keep artworks when deleting a project.
- Tag, filter and manage artworksOrganise references across projects and understand what each tag action changes.
Account
- Keep saved artwork up to date with autosyncLearn when autosync saves, when it waits and how to check that your changes reached your account.
- Configure Settings and reusable defaultsPrepare your usual canvas and grid, organise favourite sizes and understand what each setting saves.
- Manage your account, storage and passwordCheck your account’s usage, manage your password and understand what deleting an account removes.
- How to send feedback, report a bug or request a featureWrite a useful message, keep a copy of your draft and understand what the confirmation means.
- Choose your interface and account languageLearn which language choice changes the page and which is saved to your account.
- Create an account, log in and recover accessChoose a login method and understand what happens to your account and current work.