Slice a variation grid after you know which tiles are worth upscaling
split_image_grid is a deterministic cut on the rows and columns you name. Slicing a sheet you will discard, or slicing before you pick winners, creates tiles you will still have to throw away — often after an upscale.
Plenty of image output arrives as a grid: a 2×2 variation, a four-up sheet, a supplier JPEG with nine SKUs. As one file it is useless as an ad. split_image_grid cuts on an even grid at the row and column counts you supply. It does not detect a grid. It does not understand collages with uneven gutters. It is a lightweight, deterministic slice. The cost that follows is usually upscale_image on every tile. That is the leak if you have not picked winners.
Split a grid image into separate images is the job. Secondary tools: upscale_image, generate_image_from_image. A 1024px 2×2 becomes four 512px images — often too small to publish without an enhance.
Look at the sheet. Then slice the sheet you will actually mine.
If the whole variation is the wrong product, splitting it is four files of the wrong product. Zoom the parent. If one cell is the cell, you might still split to isolate it — then throw three tiles away without upscaling them. The discipline is: slice, pick, enhance. Not: slice, enhance all, pick.
Borders, gutters, and caption strips get sliced into the picture. Trim after if the parent had dividers. Do that on winners.
The photo editor and text-to-image sit next to this. Splitting is not ideation. It is filing.
Order
- Confirm the parent is a real even grid and you have the right row/column count.
- Split.
- Pick. Delete or ignore losers.
- Upscale or cut out only the keepers.
estimate_cost before you upscale "across every tile" — the split itself is the cheap half.
FAQ
It cut through the faces. Can it detect panels?
No. You named 2×2 on a 3×2, or the gutters were uneven. Get the count right on a parent you intend to use. Do not reroll a generate just to make a prettier grid unless the content was wrong.
Should I split before I know which variation I like?
You can split to compare cells as separate files. You should not upscale or cut out until you like one. Comparison is looking. Enhance is finishing.
Can I split a video contact sheet?
This is an image tool. Video frames are extract_video_frames on a locked clip.
Why is this a later step?
Because a grid is a pile of candidates. The later step is isolating keepers. Treating split as the first action of a campaign is how a contact sheet becomes a DAM of leftovers.