diff --git a/renderer/artboard.ts b/renderer/artboard.ts
index c7e3229..d6a8116 100644
--- a/renderer/artboard.ts
+++ b/renderer/artboard.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 import type { Artboard } from "@core/artboard";
 import type { ViewportState } from "@editor/state";
-import { renderCheckerboard } from "./checkerboard";
+import type { CheckerboardRenderer } from "./checkerboard";
 import { documentRectToScreenRect } from "./screen-rect";
 import type { WebGlRendererContext } from "./types";
 
-export function renderArtboard(context: WebGlRendererContext, artboard: Artboard, viewport: ViewportState) {
+export function renderArtboard(context: WebGlRendererContext, artboard: Artboard, viewport: ViewportState, checkerboardRenderer: CheckerboardRenderer) {
   const rect = documentRectToScreenRect(context.canvas, artboard.bounds, viewport);
 
   if (artboard.backgroundColor === "transparent") {
-    renderCheckerboard(context, rect, Math.max(4, Math.round(12 * viewport.zoom)));
+    checkerboardRenderer.render(rect, Math.max(4, Math.round(12 * viewport.zoom)));
   }
 }
diff --git a/renderer/checkerboard.test.ts b/renderer/checkerboard.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..100509e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/renderer/checkerboard.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+import { describe, expect, test } from "bun:test";
+import { createCheckerboardRenderer } from "./checkerboard";
+import type { WebGlRendererContext } from "./types";
+
+type FakeGlCall = {
+  name: string;
+  args: unknown[];
+};
+
+type FakeUniformLocation = {
+  name: string;
+};
+
+describe("checkerboard renderer", () => {
+  test("renders a clipped checkerboard with one draw call", () => {
+    const fake = createFakeGl();
+    const renderer = createCheckerboardRenderer(createFakeContext(fake.gl, 100, 80));
+
+    renderer.render({ x: -5, y: 3, w: 30, h: 20 }, 12);
+
+    expect(fake.calls.filter((call) => call.name === "drawArrays")).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(fake.calls.find((call) => call.name === "scissor")?.args).toEqual([0, 57, 25, 20]);
+    expect(fake.uniforms.get("u_origin")).toEqual([-5, 3]);
+    expect(fake.uniforms.get("u_squareSize")).toEqual([12]);
+    expect(Array.from(fake.bufferData.at(-1) ?? [])).toEqual([0, 3, 25, 3, 0, 23, 0, 23, 25, 3, 25, 23]);
+  });
+
+  test("skips fully clipped checkerboards", () => {
+    const fake = createFakeGl();
+    const renderer = createCheckerboardRenderer(createFakeContext(fake.gl, 100, 80));
+
+    renderer.render({ x: 120, y: 0, w: 20, h: 20 }, 8);
+
+    expect(fake.calls.filter((call) => call.name === "drawArrays")).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  test("disposes WebGL resources", () => {
+    const fake = createFakeGl();
+    const renderer = createCheckerboardRenderer(createFakeContext(fake.gl, 100, 80));
+
+    renderer.dispose();
+
+    expect(fake.calls.filter((call) => call.name === "deleteBuffer")).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(fake.calls.filter((call) => call.name === "deleteProgram")).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+});
+
+function createFakeContext(gl: WebGL2RenderingContext, width: number, height: number): WebGlRendererContext {
+  return {
+    gl,
+    canvas: { width, height } as HTMLCanvasElement,
+  };
+}
+
+function createFakeGl() {
+  const calls: FakeGlCall[] = [];
+  const uniforms = new Map<string, number[]>();
+  const bufferData: Float32Array[] = [];
+  const shader = {};
+  const program = {};
+  const buffer = {};
+  const noop = () => {};
+
+  const gl = {
+    ARRAY_BUFFER: 0x8892,
+    BLEND: 0x0be2,
+    COMPILE_STATUS: 0x8b81,
+    DYNAMIC_DRAW: 0x88e8,
+    FLOAT: 0x1406,
+    FRAGMENT_SHADER: 0x8b30,
+    LINK_STATUS: 0x8b82,
+    SCISSOR_TEST: 0x0c11,
+    TRIANGLES: 0x0004,
+    VERTEX_SHADER: 0x8b31,
+    attachShader: noop,
+    bindBuffer: noop,
+    bufferData: (...args: [number, BufferSource, number]) => {
+      const data = args[1];
+      if (data instanceof Float32Array) bufferData.push(data);
+    },
+    compileShader: noop,
+    createBuffer: () => buffer,
+    createProgram: () => program,
+    createShader: () => shader,
+    deleteBuffer: () => {
+      calls.push({ name: "deleteBuffer", args: [] });
+    },
+    deleteProgram: () => {
+      calls.push({ name: "deleteProgram", args: [] });
+    },
+    deleteShader: noop,
+    disable: (capability: number) => {
+      calls.push({ name: "disable", args: [capability] });
+    },
+    disableVertexAttribArray: (index: number) => {
+      calls.push({ name: "disableVertexAttribArray", args: [index] });
+    },
+    drawArrays: (mode: number, first: number, count: number) => {
+      calls.push({ name: "drawArrays", args: [mode, first, count] });
+    },
+    enable: (capability: number) => {
+      calls.push({ name: "enable", args: [capability] });
+    },
+    enableVertexAttribArray: (index: number) => {
+      calls.push({ name: "enableVertexAttribArray", args: [index] });
+    },
+    getAttribLocation: () => 0,
+    getProgramInfoLog: () => null,
+    getProgramParameter: () => true,
+    getShaderInfoLog: () => null,
+    getShaderParameter: () => true,
+    getUniformLocation: (...args: [unknown, string]) => ({ name: args[1] }),
+    linkProgram: noop,
+    scissor: (x: number, y: number, w: number, h: number) => {
+      calls.push({ name: "scissor", args: [x, y, w, h] });
+    },
+    shaderSource: noop,
+    uniform1f: (location: FakeUniformLocation, value: number) => {
+      uniforms.set(location.name, [value]);
+    },
+    uniform2f: (location: FakeUniformLocation, x: number, y: number) => {
+      uniforms.set(location.name, [x, y]);
+    },
+    uniform4fv: (location: FakeUniformLocation, value: Iterable<number>) => {
+      uniforms.set(location.name, Array.from(value));
+    },
+    useProgram: noop,
+    vertexAttribPointer: (index: number, size: number, type: number, normalized: boolean, stride: number, offset: number) => {
+      calls.push({ name: "vertexAttribPointer", args: [index, size, type, normalized, stride, offset] });
+    },
+  } as unknown as WebGL2RenderingContext;
+
+  return { gl, calls, uniforms, bufferData };
+}
diff --git a/renderer/checkerboard.ts b/renderer/checkerboard.ts
index 11677b1..ff46177 100644
--- a/renderer/checkerboard.ts
+++ b/renderer/checkerboard.ts
@@ -1,26 +1,148 @@
-import { clearScreenRect } from "./clear-rect";
-import type { ScreenRect, WebGlRendererContext } from "./types";
+import type { RgbaColor, ScreenRect, WebGlRendererContext } from "./types";
 
-const darkChecker = [0.82, 0.82, 0.86, 1] as const;
-const lightChecker = [0.94, 0.94, 0.97, 1] as const;
+const darkChecker: RgbaColor = [0.82, 0.82, 0.86, 1];
+const lightChecker: RgbaColor = [0.94, 0.94, 0.97, 1];
 
-export function renderCheckerboard(context: WebGlRendererContext, rect: ScreenRect, squareSize: number) {
-  const clampedSquareSize = Math.max(1, squareSize);
-  const canvasWidth = context.canvas.width;
-  const canvasHeight = context.canvas.height;
+export type CheckerboardRenderer = {
+  render(rect: ScreenRect, squareSize: number): void;
+  dispose(): void;
+};
 
-  for (let py = rect.y; py < rect.y + rect.h; py += clampedSquareSize) {
-    for (let px = rect.x; px < rect.x + rect.w; px += clampedSquareSize) {
-      const x = Math.max(0, px);
-      const y = Math.max(0, py);
-      const w = Math.min(px + clampedSquareSize, rect.x + rect.w, canvasWidth) - x;
-      const h = Math.min(py + clampedSquareSize, rect.y + rect.h, canvasHeight) - y;
-      if (w <= 0 || h <= 0) continue;
+export function createCheckerboardRenderer(context: WebGlRendererContext): CheckerboardRenderer {
+  const { gl } = context;
+  const program = createProgram(gl);
+  const positionLocation = gl.getAttribLocation(program, "a_position");
+  const canvasSizeLocation = gl.getUniformLocation(program, "u_canvasSize");
+  const originLocation = gl.getUniformLocation(program, "u_origin");
+  const squareSizeLocation = gl.getUniformLocation(program, "u_squareSize");
+  const darkColorLocation = gl.getUniformLocation(program, "u_darkColor");
+  const lightColorLocation = gl.getUniformLocation(program, "u_lightColor");
+  const positionBuffer = gl.createBuffer();
 
-      const checker =
-        (Math.floor((px - rect.x) / clampedSquareSize) + Math.floor((py - rect.y) / clampedSquareSize)) % 2 === 0;
-
-      clearScreenRect(context, { x, y, w, h }, checker ? darkChecker : lightChecker);
-    }
+  if (
+    positionLocation < 0 ||
+    !canvasSizeLocation ||
+    !originLocation ||
+    !squareSizeLocation ||
+    !darkColorLocation ||
+    !lightColorLocation ||
+    !positionBuffer
+  ) {
+    if (positionBuffer) gl.deleteBuffer(positionBuffer);
+    gl.deleteProgram(program);
+    throw new Error("Failed to create checkerboard renderer");
   }
+
+  return {
+    render(rect, squareSize) {
+      const drawRect = intersectScreenRectWithCanvas(rect, context.canvas);
+      if (!drawRect) return;
+
+      gl.enable(gl.SCISSOR_TEST);
+      gl.scissor(drawRect.x, context.canvas.height - drawRect.y - drawRect.h, drawRect.w, drawRect.h);
+      gl.disable(gl.BLEND);
+      gl.useProgram(program);
+
+      gl.uniform2f(canvasSizeLocation, context.canvas.width, context.canvas.height);
+      gl.uniform2f(originLocation, rect.x, rect.y);
+      gl.uniform1f(squareSizeLocation, Math.max(1, squareSize));
+      gl.uniform4fv(darkColorLocation, darkChecker);
+      gl.uniform4fv(lightColorLocation, lightChecker);
+
+      gl.bindBuffer(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, positionBuffer);
+      gl.bufferData(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, screenRectVertices(drawRect), gl.DYNAMIC_DRAW);
+      gl.enableVertexAttribArray(positionLocation);
+      gl.vertexAttribPointer(positionLocation, 2, gl.FLOAT, false, 0, 0);
+
+      gl.drawArrays(gl.TRIANGLES, 0, 6);
+      gl.disableVertexAttribArray(positionLocation);
+    },
+    dispose() {
+      gl.deleteBuffer(positionBuffer);
+      gl.deleteProgram(program);
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+function intersectScreenRectWithCanvas(rect: ScreenRect, canvas: HTMLCanvasElement): ScreenRect | undefined {
+  const x1 = Math.max(0, rect.x);
+  const y1 = Math.max(0, rect.y);
+  const x2 = Math.min(canvas.width, rect.x + rect.w);
+  const y2 = Math.min(canvas.height, rect.y + rect.h);
+  if (x2 <= x1 || y2 <= y1) return undefined;
+
+  return { x: x1, y: y1, w: x2 - x1, h: y2 - y1 };
+}
+
+function screenRectVertices(rect: ScreenRect) {
+  const x1 = rect.x;
+  const x2 = rect.x + rect.w;
+  const y1 = rect.y;
+  const y2 = rect.y + rect.h;
+
+  return new Float32Array([x1, y1, x2, y1, x1, y2, x1, y2, x2, y1, x2, y2]);
+}
+
+function createProgram(gl: WebGL2RenderingContext) {
+  const vertexShader = compileShader(
+    gl,
+    gl.VERTEX_SHADER,
+    `#version 300 es
+    in vec2 a_position;
+    uniform vec2 u_canvasSize;
+    out vec2 v_screenPosition;
+    void main() {
+      vec2 clip = vec2((a_position.x / u_canvasSize.x) * 2.0 - 1.0, 1.0 - (a_position.y / u_canvasSize.y) * 2.0);
+      gl_Position = vec4(clip, 0.0, 1.0);
+      v_screenPosition = a_position;
+    }`,
+  );
+  const fragmentShader = compileShader(
+    gl,
+    gl.FRAGMENT_SHADER,
+    `#version 300 es
+    precision highp float;
+    uniform vec2 u_origin;
+    uniform float u_squareSize;
+    uniform vec4 u_darkColor;
+    uniform vec4 u_lightColor;
+    in vec2 v_screenPosition;
+    out vec4 outColor;
+    void main() {
+      vec2 cell = floor((v_screenPosition - u_origin) / max(1.0, u_squareSize));
+      float parity = mod(cell.x + cell.y, 2.0);
+      outColor = mix(u_darkColor, u_lightColor, parity);
+    }`,
+  );
+  const program = gl.createProgram();
+  if (!program) throw new Error("Failed to create checkerboard shader program");
+
+  gl.attachShader(program, vertexShader);
+  gl.attachShader(program, fragmentShader);
+  gl.linkProgram(program);
+  gl.deleteShader(vertexShader);
+  gl.deleteShader(fragmentShader);
+
+  if (!gl.getProgramParameter(program, gl.LINK_STATUS)) {
+    const message = gl.getProgramInfoLog(program) ?? "Unknown checkerboard program link error";
+    gl.deleteProgram(program);
+    throw new Error(message);
+  }
+
+  return program;
+}
+
+function compileShader(gl: WebGL2RenderingContext, type: number, source: string) {
+  const shader = gl.createShader(type);
+  if (!shader) throw new Error("Failed to create shader");
+
+  gl.shaderSource(shader, source);
+  gl.compileShader(shader);
+  if (!gl.getShaderParameter(shader, gl.COMPILE_STATUS)) {
+    const message = gl.getShaderInfoLog(shader) ?? "Unknown shader compile error";
+    gl.deleteShader(shader);
+    throw new Error(message);
+  }
+
+  return shader;
 }
diff --git a/renderer/renderer.ts b/renderer/renderer.ts
index 5100eba..1d0d9d4 100644
--- a/renderer/renderer.ts
+++ b/renderer/renderer.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import type { ImageDocument } from "@core/document";
 import type { EditorState } from "@editor/state";
 import { renderArtboard } from "./artboard";
 import { createBrushPreviewRenderer } from "./brush-preview";
+import { createCheckerboardRenderer } from "./checkerboard";
 import { createImageTextureRenderer } from "./image-textures";
 import { renderLayers } from "./layers";
 import { renderSelectionOverlay } from "./selection";
@@ -31,6 +32,7 @@ export function createRenderer(canvas: HTMLCanvasElement, backend: RendererBacke
   }
 
   const rendererContext: WebGlRendererContext = { gl: context, canvas };
+  const checkerboardRenderer = createCheckerboardRenderer(rendererContext);
   const brushPreviewRenderer = createOptionalBrushPreviewRenderer(rendererContext);
   let lastFrame: RenderFrame | undefined;
   let rerenderQueued = false;
@@ -58,7 +60,7 @@ export function createRenderer(canvas: HTMLCanvasElement, backend: RendererBacke
       context.enable(context.SCISSOR_TEST);
 
       for (const artboard of frame.document.artboards) {
-        if (artboard.visible) renderArtboard(rendererContext, artboard, frame.editor.viewport);
+        if (artboard.visible) renderArtboard(rendererContext, artboard, frame.editor.viewport, checkerboardRenderer);
       }
       imageTextureRenderer.syncAssets(frame.document.assets);
       renderLayers(rendererContext, frame.document, frame.editor, imageTextureRenderer);
@@ -72,6 +74,7 @@ export function createRenderer(canvas: HTMLCanvasElement, backend: RendererBacke
       context.disable(context.SCISSOR_TEST);
     },
     dispose() {
+      checkerboardRenderer.dispose();
       imageTextureRenderer.dispose();
       brushPreviewRenderer?.dispose();
     },