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bob_8579
Participant
February 2, 2026
Question

Transparency Grid in Brush

  • February 2, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 0 views

The checkered transparency grid appears in chunks of my brush strokes when using the basic round with opacity pressure enabled. I thought it might be my GPU, I wiped it clean and reinstalled drivers–nothing. I’ve re-installed Photoshop, and even downgraded to the 2021 versions, still nothing. It can’t be my monitor because I am able to screenshot the checkers, and others are able to see it. When exporting what’s on screen as an image, the checkers disappear. I’ve tried other basic things such as a new canvas, copy pasting the background color on a layer above, and so on. It seems to be something with the viewer itself and it or some aspect of Photoshop’s relation with my GPU. 

There are two workarounds I have found but neither seem to solve the actual problem. The first and most digestible solution is disabling the grid altogether. It’s not ideal but in my limited use of the toggle, I can paint without the visual disruption. As further proof of it truly being the grid, it scales with my zoom. The second “solution” is disabling GPU acceleration altogether or using old GPU mode. This is not workable as the whole reason I’m using Photoshop for digital painting is because of the performance that feature enables.

That said, it’s a strange clue that I don’t know what to make of. I am extremely confident that my drivers are fine, and again, Photoshop is cleanly installed. I’m running out of ideas as to what could be going on. Hopefully someone has a better idea than I. I will attach screenshots. If they’re not visible try opening them for a closer look. The issue has been visible when sent elsewhere. Thanks.

(Quick edit: Crucially, it seems tied to s a specific value, as shown in the third screenshot.)

Edited for clarity. Tethered to a specific value (used the fade setting.) A

 

    3 replies

    barbara_a7746676
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    February 3, 2026

    I noticed that the brush strokes are a bit lumpy. Although you didn’t ask about that, I thought I’d mention that you can improve the brush smoothness in the Brush Settings panel by lowering the Spacing setting.

    barbara_a7746676
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    February 3, 2026

    You can turn the transparency grid off, as Earth Oliver said. 

    If it is on then the transparency grid will show in areas that have any amount of transparency -- that is it will show everywhere except where there is 100% opacity.

    Earth Oliver
    Legend
    February 2, 2026

    Looks like it’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to do. If you don’t want to see the background transparency grid, either turn it off or add a white base layer to your image.

    bob_8579
    bob_8579Author
    Participant
    February 3, 2026

    My confusion stems from it showing up despite having a solid gray background, as well as it being within my brush strokes when those are additive, again, on top of a solid gray background. I am not using a transparent background nor is there any sort of erasure. I thought the checkers displayed when there is actual transparency and not just within the variance of opacity.

    If this is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do, then what is it even supposed to do here? Genuinely don’t understand.