How Do I Add Gridlines in Canva? - Adventures with Art (2024)

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you decide to purchase through my links.

If you’re neurotic like I am, you like for everything to be perfectly aligned and straight. And, if it’s not, you want it to be intentionally crooked, perfectly crooked. This is why gridlines are so important. If you use Canva for your graphic design, you can use the power of gridlines to help you make perfectly straight or crooked art.

Canva does not have gridlines, but there is a workaround to add your own gridlines. Import a transparent image of graph paper and stretch it across your Canva canvas in front of your background, but behind your elements. Lock it and move your elements around. When finished, delete the grid image.

If you like to actually see gridlines as you place elements, Canva can be a frustrating tool to use. Let’s dive into a trick for adding gridlines to your Canva designs that gives you the freedom to appreciate all of those straight lines.

But, Gridlines Used to Be a Feature in Canva…

Yes, gridlines in Canva used to be a thing. After a recent update, you were able to hit cmd/ctrl+; to make the gridlines appear across your design. Sometime before March 2019, this capability went away and never came back. Hopefully this feature is still in the works, but given that it’s a year later as of this writing, I think it’s time to embrace a workaround.

Even when Canva DID offer gridlines, they weren’t perfect. One of the biggest drawbacks of their gridlines was that they didn’t show through backgrounds. This can make it hard to see how your design is coming together overall, since backgrounds are an important part of a design.

Hi Keryn, this feature is temporarily unavailable, but we’re working on bringing it back soon. Thanks for your feedback and stay tuned for updates! ^ma

— Canva (@canva) March 1, 2019

What Canva Offers Instead of Gridlines

Even though Canva doesn’t have gridlines right now, they still give you ways to align your pictures or elements. I mean, it wouldn’t be considered the amazing design program that it is without this basic feature.

When you rotate an image or element, you’ll see the angle it’s positioned at. If you need multiple images or elements to mirror each other, this makes it easier to make sure that they’re all in the same positions.

How Do I Add Gridlines in Canva? - Adventures with Art (1)

Yes, you can have 100 squares and turn them all to exactly 34 degrees. But, this would take forever. It’s doable though. Instead, just make one square at 34 degrees and make 100 copies of it.

Also, you can make sure that images and elements are aligned vertically or horizontally. As you move one element close to another, you’ll see horizontal or vertical lines snap into place telling you when they are perfectly aligned.

The solid lines tell you when objects are aligned straight through the middle. The dotted lines tell you when objects are aligned at the tops and bottoms. If objects are the same size, you may see 3 lines — a straight line through the middle and two dotted lines at the top and bottom.

If the objects are different sizes, you’ll only see one line at a time, as it isn’t possible to be aligned on all 3 planes at the same time. Use the solid line to align the objects through the middle, or use the dotted lines to align them either bottom to top or top to bottom.

How Do I Add Gridlines in Canva? - Adventures with Art (2)

How to Add a Grid to Your Canva Design

Firstly, let’s be clear that Canva’s alignment abilities are good. There’s technically no reason that you need visual guidelines, as you can make sure that objects are perfectly angled and aligned with the tools they have. The problem is that Canva’s guidelines disappear once you’re done moving your objects. Also, you only can see one per object as you’re moving it. Some of us just really like having visual guidelines that perpetually show up on the paper.

1. Upload transparent graph paper.

Do a Google search for transparent graph paper and download a free version. You’ll want to actually download a transparent png and not take a screenshot so that you keep the transparency. Here’s one that I have used: https://www.freeiconspng.com/images/grid-png

Once you’ve downloaded a transparent graph paper image, drag and drop it into your Canva work space.

2. Stretch your grid across the background of your design.

Depending on when you add your graph paper image to your design, it might end up in front or behind your other elements.

3. Bring your grid in front of your background and behind your elements

You want to make sure that your grid image is in front of your background. Otherwise, your grid will be hidden by your background.

Make sure that your graph paper is behind all of your other elements though so that you can move them around on top of your grid. Basically, your layers will look like this: Background → Grid image → All Other Elements

4. Lock your grid image

Be sure to lock your grid image so that you’re not accidentally moving it all over the place and screwing up your lines.

5. Move your elements around as needed

With your grid locked and behind your elements, you can now move things around with a static and stable grid to reference.

When you’re done aligning all of your objects, just delete the image of the graph paper and you’re all done!

How Do I Add Gridlines in Canva? - Adventures with Art (3)

A Few Things to Keep In Mind

As with many workarounds, this isn’t a foolproof solution. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you’re using this technique.

1. Your graph paper is a static image. You’ll want to look around for graph paper that has the size of boxes that you want. Even if you find graph paper that looks like it will work, consider that you’ll probably have to stretch across your whole design, which will enlarge it. To avoid this, you can line up a couple of copies of the graph paper.

2. Sometimes gridlines mess with how you view your design. The nice thing about Canva’s alignment features is that they’re invisible unless you’re using them. This lets you see what your finished product is looking like before it’s done. Even though we consciously know that gridlines will be deleted, they put a lot of “stuff” into our work. When we delete them, you may feel like your design is emptier than it was before. To avoid this, try deleting and re-adding your gridlines every once in a while so that you can see what your actual finished product is looking like.

Canva is an amazing tool that lets all of us become skilled graphic designers without having to spend the energy and money on Photoshop or Illustrator. Many of us love that we can avoid the complication! This means, though, that you won’t always get all of the features that you would get with a professional, paid program. That’s why it’s great to have some workarounds that let us customize Canva to our needs without having to dive into the complications of learning another platform.

How Do I Add Gridlines in Canva? - Adventures with Art (4)

Try Canva Pro Today

How Do I Add Gridlines in Canva? - Adventures with Art (5)

Diana

Diana has been an artist for over 26 years and has training in drawing, painting, digital drawing and graphic design. Diana’s latest obsession is digitally drawing with Procreate and creating t-shirt designs with Canva. Diana has experience selling her art across a number of platforms and loves helping other artists learn how to make money from their art as well.

How Do I Add Gridlines in Canva? - Adventures with Art (2024)

FAQs

Can you add grid lines to Canva? ›

Adding grids to your design

From the editor side panel, click Elements. Use the search bar and enter “grid.” The grid options will load. Click on a grid you want to use to apply it on the page.

How do I add line guides in Canva? ›

From the menu above the editor, click File. Select Show rulers and guides. Rulers showing dimensions in pixels will appear on the top and on the side of your design.

How can you display the grid on the canvas? ›

To add a canvas grid or layout to your experience, navigate up to the View dropdown in your toolbar. Here, you can choose to toggle on a canvas grid or canvas layout. For both canvas grids and canvas layouts, you have some additional settings to adjust the grids and layouts to your preference.

How do I create a grid post in Canva? ›

To make a grid post, you first need to create a new Canva project. Then, add the images that you want to use to the project. Once you have all of the images that you want to use, go to the “Layout” tab and select “Grid.” From there, you can choose how many images you want in your grid, and how big each image should be.

How do I make my grid lines appear? ›

  1. Select the worksheet.
  2. Click the Page Layout tab.
  3. To show gridlines: Under Gridlines, select the View check box. To hide gridlines: Under Gridlines, clear the View check box.

How do you add guide lines? ›

Create a Guide: Hover your cursor over either the left or top Ruler. Click on the Ruler and drag it as if you were trying to move it onto your document. You will see a thin line appear as you drag from the Ruler and this is your Guide.

How do you customize guides or margins in Canva? ›

To use margins in Canva, create or open an existing design. Then, go to the 'File' option from the menu above the editor. Then, click the 'Show margins' option to select it. A checkmark will appear to indicate that the option is selected.

How do you make a grid in art? ›

In a nutshell, the grid method involves drawing a grid over your reference photo, and then drawing a grid of equal ratio on your work surface (paper, canvas, wood panel, etc). Then you draw the image on your canvas, focusing on one square at a time, until the entire image has been transferred.

How do I use guides in Canva? ›

Adding guides to your Canva design is a great way to ensure everything is aligned perfectly. To add a guide, simply click on the “Add Guide” button in the top toolbar. Then, click on the point in your design where you want the guide to appear and drag it to where you want it to end.

How do you put grid lines on a picture? ›

To add grid to photo on Android, you can try Drawing Grid Maker. After opening a picture on it, you need to set the number of rows and columns, the color of the grid, and the line width. And if you're an iPhone user, the best tool is Grid # - Add grid on image.

How do you grid a post? ›

To do this, tap the grid icon at the bottom right of the image you're uploading. From the pop-up menu, choose which format you'd like the posts split into. Then tap Split at the bottom of the screen. If the split preview looks okay, tap Upload to add the image (now multiple posts) to your account.

How do I add a solid line around text in Canva? ›

Search 'frames' or 'borders' in Canva to navigate different options. If you want to add a border around a section of text as seen in this example, use the Alt + Shift + B shortcut to add a solid line around your text.

How do I add rows and columns in Canva? ›

Tip: Type “/table” anywhere on your design to add a table and to specify how many rows and columns you need.
  1. On the bottom corner of the editor, tap the .
  2. Tap to select the Elements tab.
  3. Under the Tables section, tap on a table to add it to your design.

How do I add margins in Canva? ›

How to add Margins, bleed, and crop marks in Canva
  1. From the menu above the editor, click File. If you have the View menu, click on it instead.
  2. Select Show margins. A border of broken lines will appear on your design pages.
  3. Edit your design, and keep important elements inside the margin.

How do I change grid mode? ›

Click on “Grid” to select the Grid Mode:

It will turn blue green indicating it is active. It can be seen that the eight note value is selected as the grid. In order to turn ON/OFF the grid, you can click on “Grid”. If it appears light green, it is ON.

How do I change grid settings? ›

Change the guides and grid settings
  1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid.
  2. Under the Guides or Grids area: ...
  3. For Gridline Every, enter a number value, and then choose the unit of measurement to define the spacing of major grid lines.
Jan 12, 2022

How do you draw free lines in Canva? ›

Can You Draw Lines in Canva?
  1. Step 1: Log into your Canva account.
  2. Step 2: Choose a template or create a design from scratch.
  3. Step 3: Go to the left side of the screen and click on the “Shapes” icon.
  4. Step 4: Select a line from the shapes. ...
  5. Step 5: Move the line to the desired area of the design.
Dec 13, 2022

Where can I find line tool? ›

From the toolbar, click and hold the Shape tool ( ) group icon to bring up the various shape tool choices. Select the Line tool.

How do you adjust lines in Canva? ›

Select “Lines” from “Elements.”
...
To create thin lines in Canva:
  1. Open your project.
  2. Select “Elements”
  3. Select the first line available.
  4. Resize the line to your desired thinness.
  5. Extend the line to your desired length.
Aug 30, 2019

What is grid lines in art? ›

INTRODUCTION. grid noun (PATTERN/STRUCTURE): a pattern or structure made from horizontal and vertical lines crossing each other to form squares.

What are grid lines used for in art? ›

Grid drawing allows you to improve your accuracy without compromising your freehand drawing in the long-term. The idea is that the grid provides common reference points between the reference photo and your canvas. You can use this to judge the relative position of your subject.

What is gridding used for in art? ›

The grid method is a method of defining proportion as you create your art. By drawing on a grid, the artist maintains correct proportions of a chosen subject. In a nutshell, the grid method involves placing a grid of squares over a reference photo and placing an identical grid of squares on your drawing paper.

How do you set Layout guides? ›

Structure the page with layout guides
  1. Click Page Design > Guides > Grid and Baseline Guides.
  2. Click the Margin Guides tab.
  3. Under Master Pages, select the Two-page master check box.
  4. Under Margin Guides, enter the amount of space that you want for the page margins in the Inside, Outside, Top, and Bottom boxes.

Which app is used to make photo grid? ›

Make your photo grid for free on the Adobe Express app.

Adobe Express enables you to quickly and easily make standout content from thousands of beautiful templates on mobile and web. No design skills needed and it's FREE to get started.

What is Post grid? ›

Post Grid is the top popular plugin for creating the most elegant grids for any website with Shortcode or Post Grid Elementor Addons. It would be great for displaying blogs, menu items, and whatever else your website is meant to showcase.

Should you post a grid all at once? ›

Posting Tips

Some people post the grid all at once consecutively, which will flood your followers' feeds. This is effective in driving curious followers to your profile in that moment and can be useful to drive engagement around a specific launch, but it also may feel a bit spammy to your audience.

How do you make a grid on Instagram with Canva? ›

First, log in to your Canva account or create a new one. Then, click on the “Create a design” button and select the “Instagram Post” template. Next, you'll see a blank canvas with an Instagram grid overlay. This is where you'll start creating your design.

Are there guides in Canva? ›

Yes, you can add guides in Canva to help align your design elements. To add a guide, click on the “Add Guide” button in the top toolbar and then click on the point in your design where you want the guide to appear. Drag it to where you want it to end.

How do you make cells in Canva? ›

Go to the side bar and select 'Elements' → Square. Click the square once to bring it up onto your template. The square will be the 'cells' within your table. Drag the corner buttons to re-shape the square so that you create the correct size for each cell.

Can you Create columns in Canva? ›

There is only one way to create columns in Canva. That is to create text boxes. To do this, simply select the “Text” option on the left and then click on the “Add a text box” button. This will insert a text box onto your canvas.

How do I use a guide in Canva? ›

  1. Turn on Your Rulers on Canva From “File” Select a design of your choice with two or more elements on it. ...
  2. Select the “Show Rulers” Option from the Drop Down Menu. ...
  3. Align the Elements with the Help of Rulers. ...
  4. Turn on Guides by Selecting “Show Guides” ...
  5. Align the Elements with the Help of Guide Lines. ...
  6. Use The Smart Guides.
May 31, 2022

What tool draws freehand lines? ›

2) The painttool is used to make freehand drawing. 3) The shapes tool is used to draw differentshapes.

How do you do freehand lines? ›

7 Tips for getting straighter lines
  1. Straight Lines. ...
  2. Loosen your grip. ...
  3. Press lightly. ...
  4. Use your arm muscles instead of your fingers. ...
  5. Draw faster. ...
  6. Practice the line before drawing it. ...
  7. Position yourself so that your arm has free movement to make the line. ...
  8. Guide your hand.

Does Canva have a line sheet template? ›

The Canva Line Sheet Template pack is now inside the Maker Marketplace, you can check it out here. Inside my Canva Line Sheet Template pack you'll find: Downloadable templates for both vertical and horizontal line sheet page options (24+ layouts total!).

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Van Hayes

Last Updated:

Views: 6673

Rating: 4.6 / 5 (66 voted)

Reviews: 81% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Van Hayes

Birthday: 1994-06-07

Address: 2004 Kling Rapid, New Destiny, MT 64658-2367

Phone: +512425013758

Job: National Farming Director

Hobby: Reading, Polo, Genealogy, amateur radio, Scouting, Stand-up comedy, Cryptography

Introduction: My name is Van Hayes, I am a thankful, friendly, smiling, calm, powerful, fine, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.