The Artfkt collection library
Proof Grid
Step a few cells out of the picture
Proof Grid keeps most of a photograph intact while selected cells become another exposure, an ink sample, or a shaded paper relief.
Use it when a composition needs a measured interruption rather than a complete transformation. The grid provides continuity, and the changing cell becomes the event.
Included in Artfkt for Mac. All collections, one desktop studio.
Let the untouched picture establish the rule
Exposure Cells brightens or darkens sequenced regions, with a paper lift when a cell runs hot. Ink Sample recolors selected cells through light and shadow inks with a small channel offset. Relief Cell shades a region from neighboring contrast and can move it toward ink and paper.
The surrounding image is essential to the effect. If every part is heavily treated before it reaches the grid, a changed cell may no longer feel like an exception. Begin with a photograph whose large forms are clear enough to remain connected across cell boundaries.
Use the grid to pace attention
Cell size and placement affect which details become isolated. A region that catches an eye, a window, or a small object can read as a deliberate observation. The same treatment over an empty background may become mainly an abstract color block.
Focus can hold attention on one cell; at zero, the clock chooses. Compare a held region with the sequenced result before adding another treatment. If you stack a sibling with a different seed, check that the two interventions establish a useful rhythm rather than competing accidentally.
Keep the whole photograph connected
The visual language is related to proof sheets and samples, but this collection transforms cells within an incoming image. It is not a folder-to-contact-sheet tool or a way to import a set of separate photographs automatically.
That continuity makes it useful for editorial covers and moving backgrounds. Leave the main image legible, let one or a few cells signal a change in exposure or material, and keep essential text separate if it should not participate in the grid.
Effects in Proof Grid
3 effects to explore and combine.
Exposure Cells
Brighten or darken sequenced cells from their own seed, with a paper lift when a cell runs hot. The rest of the picture stays put.
Ink Sample
Turn sequenced cells into a photographic ink sample. Accent colors the lights, secondary colors the shadows, and a small channel offset keeps the print from sitting flat.
Relief Cell
Keep the picture inside sequenced cells and shade them from neighboring contrast, with paper grain. Plate fades a cell toward ink and paper without lighting the whole frame.
Creative applications
- Introduce a single colored print sample into an otherwise photographic cover.
- Build a sequenced exposure study in which the full image remains connected.
- Add localized paper relief to a graphic image without lighting the entire frame.
Starting workflow
- For a photographic ink-sample study, choose a source with a clear subject and several distinct details across the frame.
- Apply Ink Sample on its own so the selected cell’s change is easy to identify.
- Choose Accent for the light regions and the secondary color for shadows, keeping enough separation to read the detail inside the cell.
- Adjust the channel offset only after the palette works. Use Focus to compare a held cell with the clock-selected sequence.
- Watch playback and inspect a still frame. Keep the surrounding photograph quiet enough for the sample to remain the focal interruption.
Make it part of your next composition.
Combine Proof Grid with other collections, images, and editable text in Artfkt for Mac.