CopyIt The Grid Drawing Method

Name: CopyIt The Grid Drawing Method
Rating: 4.7 (297 reviews)
Author: Nigel Green

An ancient tool made digital.

Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPad

297 Ratings
Ages

4+
Years
Category

Productivity
Developer

Nigel Green
Language

EN
English
Size

15.3
MB

First released in 2010, CopyIt is the original and most feature‑rich grid drawing app. Trusted by artists, teachers, and students worldwide, CopyIt brings the centuries‑old grid drawing technique into the digital age, making it easier than ever to copy, enlarge, or reduce reference images with precision. Why CopyIt? The grid method, used by masters like Leonardo da Vinci, breaks images into manageable sections so you can focus on lines and shapes square by square. CopyIt eliminates the need to print and mark up photos, offering zoom, filters, and digital tools that enhance accuracy and detail. Whether you’re a beginner or experienced artist, CopyIt helps you achieve results with confidence. Key Features • Universal App: Works on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Silicon Macs • Flexible Grids: 6 grid types, customisable rows/columns, adjustable colors, transparency, and guidelines • Smart Tools: SmartMove zoom, Target mode, digital ruler, perspective lines, Crosshair, MixMap and TubeMatch™ for colour matching • Filters & Effects: Pencil Sketch, Onion Skin overlay, flips, rotations, and multiple image aspects • Import & Export: Capture with front/back cameras, load projects or albums, save and share via AirDrop, email, or social platforms • Customization: Portrait/landscape orientation, fullscreen mode, adjustable zoom (x1–x20), media sizes in imperial/metric • Support: In‑app help and a new tutorial Designed for Success CopyIt transforms the traditional grid method into a modern workflow tool. By working square by square, you can scale images accurately, refine details, and build confidence in your drawing skills. Connect with us: • Facebook: facebook.com/CopyItTheGridDrawingMethod • Twitter: @copyitforios Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Ratings & Reviews

4.7

out of 5

297 Ratings

Fantastic product for oil painting
07/16/2025

Moorlucky
There’s a learning period when you start using this app. I still don’t understand everything this app can do. I use it with most of my oil paintings that are done inside my studio. I use this app with a smaller iPad, with Velcro attached to the back of the iPad . I can place the iPad on top of the easel with the other side of velcro. I can move to different sections of the photo to see details. I think it’s one of the best apps for artists! Update: I’ve been using this app for several years ago! I get my perspective, color values, etc. I share this app to my artist friends. It doesn’t matter where your skill level is, this app can help you. I tell them to play with the app and get familiar with the different ways you can use for your art. Buy it, work with it until you comprehend the tools available for you!
Fantastic product for oil painting
07/16/2025

Moorlucky

There’s a learning period when you start using this app. I still don’t understand everything this app can do. I use it with most of my oil paintings that are done inside my studio. I use this app with a smaller iPad, with Velcro attached to the back of the iPad . I can place the iPad on top of the easel with the other side of velcro. I can move to different sections of the photo to see details. I think it’s one of the best apps for artists! Update: I’ve been using this app for several years ago! I get my perspective, color values, etc. I share this app to my artist friends. It doesn’t matter where your skill level is, this app can help you. I tell them to play with the app and get familiar with the different ways you can use for your art. Buy it, work with it until you comprehend the tools available for you!
This guy knows what he’s doing
08/19/2018

Owensv
The developer has to be an artist, or else he has consulted extensively with a few. This app combines several tools any artist would find useful, with all the features one could ask. And for less than the cost of a single tube of paint, in many cases. Besides being a wonderful drawing aid, this app has some fantastic tools for analyzing a potential photo reference, such as examining a subject’s value range via a black and white posterization filter and a handy gray scale strip chart you can use to overlay your photo. This is incredibly useful. The features are too many to list, and I continue to find nice little touches that just show off the thought that has gone into this. Well done!
This guy knows what he’s doing
08/19/2018

Owensv

The developer has to be an artist, or else he has consulted extensively with a few. This app combines several tools any artist would find useful, with all the features one could ask. And for less than the cost of a single tube of paint, in many cases. Besides being a wonderful drawing aid, this app has some fantastic tools for analyzing a potential photo reference, such as examining a subject’s value range via a black and white posterization filter and a handy gray scale strip chart you can use to overlay your photo. This is incredibly useful. The features are too many to list, and I continue to find nice little touches that just show off the thought that has gone into this. Well done!
Broken app is a project wrecking waste of time and money
04/15/2018

Captainfunpants
Everything works great at first when you load it and start working, but once you take a break after several hours of meticulous, careful work and close the app, you’re doomed. When you reopen the app, the view either sticks in vertical and refuses to flip to horizontal, or if it does flip to vertical, it completely resizes the grid and shifts the alignment, and nothing you can do can get it to go back like it was. It’s a scrambled, glitchy mess. That means that your work is ruined, because you can’t reestablish your reference points, and you have to throw out your freaking canvas and start the ^>¥{¥,!~*] over. I feel like I’m going to vomit. This company has wasted my time, materials and money, and if they know that their junk app is broken and they continue to charge $10, then they’re running a scam, plain and simple. Do not buy this app until the people behind it acknowledge and fix their seriously flawed (read: utterly defective) product.

Developer Response
Hi, thanks for your feedback, but to be fair, I replied to your email within an hour. As discussed in reply to your support email, please try loading your project in the same orientation that it was created in for it to display as expected. There are many reasons as to why the display does not rotate as explained in the CopyIt User Reference Guide within the app and on the support website. When you are zoomed in or the Lock button is enabled, CopyIt will not rotate when you rotate your device. This is by design, so you can move your device around while working without the display accidentally rotating on you. To have CopyIt rotate once again, you must be zoomed out at x1 and make sure the toolbars are Unlocked. I am sorry you experienced such frustration and that you felt you needed to start over, but I would have been happy to help you and get this sorted for you if you had of given me a chance to. I want my customers to be happy with my products, so please feel free to contact me if you require any further assistance. Kind Regards, Nigel Green.
Broken app is a project wrecking waste of time and money
04/15/2018

Captainfunpants

Everything works great at first when you load it and start working, but once you take a break after several hours of meticulous, careful work and close the app, you’re doomed. When you reopen the app, the view either sticks in vertical and refuses to flip to horizontal, or if it does flip to vertical, it completely resizes the grid and shifts the alignment, and nothing you can do can get it to go back like it was. It’s a scrambled, glitchy mess. That means that your work is ruined, because you can’t reestablish your reference points, and you have to throw out your freaking canvas and start the ^>¥{¥,!~*] over. I feel like I’m going to vomit. This company has wasted my time, materials and money, and if they know that their junk app is broken and they continue to charge $10, then they’re running a scam, plain and simple. Do not buy this app until the people behind it acknowledge and fix their seriously flawed (read: utterly defective) product.
Developer Response 04/21/2018
Hi, thanks for your feedback, but to be fair, I replied to your email within an hour. As discussed in reply to your support email, please try loading your project in the same orientation that it was created in for it to display as expected. There are many reasons as to why the display does not rotate as explained in the CopyIt User Reference Guide within the app and on the support website. When you are zoomed in or the Lock button is enabled, CopyIt will not rotate when you rotate your device. This is by design, so you can move your device around while working without the display accidentally rotating on you. To have CopyIt rotate once again, you must be zoomed out at x1 and make sure the toolbars are Unlocked. I am sorry you experienced such frustration and that you felt you needed to start over, but I would have been happy to help you and get this sorted for you if you had of given me a chance to. I want my customers to be happy with my products, so please feel free to contact me if you require any further assistance. Kind Regards, Nigel Green.
CopyIt
10/04/2025

Anszule Designs
I'm a professional painter and work mostly from my own photos. I have found this app great so far and think it is well worth the investment. My recommendations would be for different ratios to be made available or a grid option of standard canvas sizes to use in cropping and then creating a grid for an image. Being able to enlarge each section of an image is great! Also, more detailed instructions would be helpful. So far I have not figured out how to choose a specific number of columns that vary from the standard settings. ??
CopyIt
10/04/2025

Anszule Designs

I'm a professional painter and work mostly from my own photos. I have found this app great so far and think it is well worth the investment. My recommendations would be for different ratios to be made available or a grid option of standard canvas sizes to use in cropping and then creating a grid for an image. Being able to enlarge each section of an image is great! Also, more detailed instructions would be helpful. So far I have not figured out how to choose a specific number of columns that vary from the standard settings. ??

CopyIt has grown so much over the last 15 years, and it’s all thanks to this amazing community of artists, students, and creators who use the app every day. To support ongoing updates, new tools, and bigger features, CopyIt has moved to a new pricing model for new users. If you’ve already purchased CopyIt, you keep full access forever. No subscriptions. No changes. Just our way of saying thank you for being an early supporter. For new users, CopyIt becomes a subscription app with a 7‑day free trial so you can explore everything the app offers before committing. This helps us continue building the features you’ve been asking for — faster updates, smarter tools, and an even better drawing experience. Your support has shaped CopyIt into what it is today, and this change helps ensure it keeps growing for years to come. More exciting updates are already in the works! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out — I’m always here to help. Thank you for being part of the CopyIt journey! --- Introducing MixMap, a paint‑mixing assistant built into CopyIt on the top toolbar. - You tap your reference image to sample colours from any spot. - MixMap then suggests real‑world paint mixes (using selectable palettes of pigments) that best match the sampled colour. - Each sample is marked on the image with a numbered pin, and MixMap shows you a swatch sheet of your sampled colours and the recommended mixes. - You can choose which paints/colours are included for each palette to match the paints you actually own. New Crosshair tool on the right toolbar: - Position a movable vertical and horizontal guide anywhere on your reference image for quick proportion checks, alignment, and precision study. (A CopyIt User Request) - Bug fixes and performance improvements.