01 Focus first
Grid the subject, not accidental empty frame
If the useful design occupies only part of the photo, define a focus region first. The crop remains reversible and the original file is never overwritten.
Free proportion reference tool
Tattoo Reference Grid Overlay
Put a controlled visual structure over one reference before you redraw or adapt it. Focus the part that matters, choose independent rows and columns, inspect relative position with coordinates or landmark guides, then export the same reference you reviewed.
Free to useNo accountNo automatic proportion judgmentYour reference stays in your browser
Reference workspace
Upload one reference to start
Drop a reference here
PNG, JPG, or WebP · up to 30 MB · tap to choose a file
Your reference stays in your browser. The tool reads the image locally, creates a downsampled working preview, and only renders a larger canvas when you export.
Reference, not verdict
Break a complex reference into smaller spatial decisions.
A grid can make relative placement easier to inspect because you can compare one bounded area at a time. It does not decide whether an eye, curve, ornament, or lettering block is artistically correct. The artist still decides what to preserve, simplify, exaggerate, or move.
02 Match the reference
Rows and columns do not need to match
A tall portrait may benefit from more rows than columns. Use rectangular cells when that gives you a clearer visual address system instead of forcing every reference into a square grid.
03 Name landmarks
Use coordinates and guides for handoff
Optional A1-style labels make it easier to point to the same area twice. Dashed manual guides can mark one feature without turning the tool into an alignment or symmetry score.
04 Export the same structure
Keep the gridded reference and a matching blank grid
Both PNGs share the same focused aspect, subdivisions, coordinates, and guides. The blank output is a proportion reference, not a true-size tattoo print specification.
Read the measurements correctly
Percentages describe the reference frame, not the body.
The tool reports the focused source pixels and the relative width and height of each cell. Those numbers help you compare internal proportions inside this image. They do not convert a 2D photo into centimetres on skin.
Cell share
4 columns = 25% of frame width each
This is exact relative geometry for the chosen image region, useful for comparing where a landmark falls horizontally.
Source pixels
Pixels belong to the reference crop
Pixel dimensions tell you how much source image each cell covers. They do not imply a physical tattoo size or print DPI.
Thirds preset
A shortcut, not a composition rule
3×3 is available because it is a familiar visual subdivision. The tool does not recommend placing tattoo features on its intersections.
What the grid cannot tell you
A clean subdivision does not fix a distorted reference.
Perspective, camera tilt, lens distortion, body curvature, and deliberate artistic asymmetry remain in the source image. A grid can expose relative position inside that image, but it cannot recover geometry the photo never captured correctly.
The tool does not correct perspective, anatomy, likeness, or proportions automatically. It does not rate artistic quality, decide whether asymmetry is a mistake, or guarantee that a redraw matches the client once transferred to a curved body.
For a single design that must align to an artist-chosen body axis, use the Centerline Checker. For physical dimensions and true-size output, use Size & Print instead of treating grid pixels as body measurements.
If the source itself needs to become a stencil, the separate photo-to-stencil workflow owns that conversion job. This page intentionally stops at proportion and visual reference.
Related tattoo tools
Use the grid only for the reference job.
Move to alignment, physical sizing, or another tool only after the proportion-reference task is actually finished.
View all tattoo tools01Centerline CheckerMark an artist-chosen body axis on a real photo, place one stencil, compare design-axis angle and photo-relative center offset, then export a placement reference.2-point body axisAngle + center offsetBrowser-local PNG02Version CompareCompare two revisions of the same stencil with side-by-side, overlay, A/B blink, manual alignment, difference view, and a browser-local comparison PNG.Overlay + A/B blinkDifference viewComparison PNG03Size & PrintSet exact physical dimensions or calibrate a known span with two points, preview paper fit, and export a true 1:1 PDF including multi-page layouts.Exact cm / inches2-point calibrationMulti-page 1:1 PDF
Practical guides
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