How-to

Focus on One Cell at a Time

The reason the grid method works is that a small square is easier to judge than a whole face. Focus mode finishes the thought: it dims every cell except the ones you are drawing, so your eye stops wandering back to the rest of the picture.

  1. Open fullscreen from the canvas toolbar

    Focus lives in the fullscreen view, where the reference has the whole screen and the panels are out of the way. The same toolbar carries the Drag switch, which decides whether dragging moves the grid or the image underneath it.

    The canvas toolbar with Crop, the Drag switch set to Grid, Fullscreen and Replace ImageThe canvas toolbar with Crop, the Drag switch set to Grid, Fullscreen and Replace Image, dark theme
    Fullscreen is where cells can be focused. Drag decides what moves.

  2. Click the cells you are working on

    Select Cells is the mode you land in, so a click marks a cell as focused and a second click releases it. Mark one, or mark the small run you are about to draw. Everything you did not mark fades back.

  3. Set how far the rest fades

    The opacity control decides how much of the picture survives around your cells. Turn it up and the neighbours vanish, which is right for dense detail. Turn it down and they stay faintly visible, which helps when a shape runs across a cell boundary and you need to see where it is going.

  4. Clear the marks and move on

    The control bar counts how many cells are focused and offers to clear them, so moving to the next passage takes one click rather than undoing each cell. Leave fullscreen and the reference is intact: focus changes what you see, never the file or the export.

Try it on your own reference

Drop a photo below. The tool opens and points at the fullscreen button.

…or just open the tool →

Frequently asked questions

Does focus change my export?
No. It is a way of looking at the reference while you draw. The exported PNG, PDF and poster carry the full picture, whatever is focused on screen.
Why do I see no dimming?
Two reasons cover almost every case: no cell is marked yet, or the grid itself is hidden. Focus dims the cells around your selection, so it needs both a visible grid and at least one marked cell.
How many cells should I focus at once?
As few as the passage needs. One cell for an eye or a knuckle, a short row where a line runs on. Focusing a large block brings back the problem the grid was solving.
Can I still move the grid in fullscreen?
Yes, by switching the mode from Select Cells to Drag Grid, or to Drag Image if the picture should move under a fixed grid. Switch back to Select Cells to mark cells again.

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