About SketchKit
SketchKit is a free, browser-based collection of practical tools designed to support artists, students, and anyone who wants to improve their drawing and sketching practice. Every tool on this site runs entirely in your browser — no downloads, no accounts, no subscriptions.
Why we built this
Learning to draw is one of the most rewarding creative skills you can develop. But many of the tools that help with that journey — grid overlays for accurate proportion, pose timers for gesture practice, image simplifiers for value study — are either locked behind paywalls, buried in complex software, or require you to install apps.
We wanted to change that. SketchKit puts simple, focused tools directly in your browser. Whether you're a student working through a figure drawing course or a professional artist doing a quick warm-up session, these tools should just work — instantly, without friction.
Our tools
Grid Drawing Tool
Upload a reference and overlay a fully adjustable grid to help transfer proportions accurately to your drawing surface.
Pose Timer
Upload your own reference images and practice gesture drawing with customisable timed sessions — from quick 10-second poses to 5-minute studies.
Image Simplifier
Reduce a reference photo to its essential values and shapes. Perfect for value mapping, planning paintings, and removing distracting detail.
Privacy first
Every image you upload to SketchKit is processed locally in your browser using the HTML5 Canvas API. Your images are never sent to any server, never stored in the cloud, and never shared with anyone. When you close the browser tab, they're gone.
We take this seriously because reference photos can be personal — life drawings, client commissions, or private studies. What's on your canvas stays on your canvas.
Coming soon
We're actively building more tools: a Value Checker to audit tonal relationships, a Composition Crop Tool for framing studies, a Colour Palette Picker to extract palettes from references, a Reference Organiser, and a Daily Drawing Challenge system. All of them will be free.
Get in touch
Have a suggestion for a tool? Found a bug? We'd love to hear from you.