Sometimes typing on a tiny mobile keyboard is too slow, or you need to quickly sketch a diagram to explain a complex layout to a coworker. While Google Keep is primarily a text-based note-taking application, it features a surprisingly robust, hidden drawing canvas that allows you to handwrite notes, highlight text, and sketch freehand illustrations using your finger or a stylus.
How to Access the Drawing Canvas
You can create a brand new drawing note from scratch, or you can inject a drawing canvas into an existing text note.
- Open the Google Keep mobile app on your smartphone or tablet (the drawing feature works best on touchscreens, though it is fully available on the desktop web version using a mouse).
- Look at the main bottom toolbar. Do not tap the standard “Take a note” bar. Instead, tap the Paintbrush icon located on the far right side of the toolbar.
- The screen will instantly transition into a blank, full-screen white canvas.
If you want to add a drawing to an existing text note, simply open the note, tap the Plus (+) icon in the bottom left corner, and select Drawing from the pop-up menu.
How to Use the Drawing Tools
At the bottom of the drawing canvas, you will see a simple toolbar containing four primary instruments.
- The Pen: The first tool is a standard ink pen, perfect for writing cursive text or drawing sharp, solid lines. If you tap the pen icon a second time, a small menu will pop up allowing you to change the ink color and the thickness of the line.
- The Marker: The second tool is a thick, semi-transparent marker. This is ideal for coloring in large shapes or drawing bold, softer lines.
- The Highlighter: The third tool is a square-tipped highlighter. It applies highly transparent, neon-colored ink that perfectly overlays and highlights any existing text or drawings underneath it without obscuring them.
- The Eraser: The fourth tool allows you to wipe away mistakes. If you tap it twice, you can select “Clear canvas” to instantly nuke the entire drawing and start over.
Selecting and Moving Sketches
Google Keep’s drawing engine uses vector-style selection logic. The fifth tool on the toolbar is the Selection Tool (it looks like a dotted square). If you draw a complex house, and you realize the roof is slightly off-center, you do not need to erase it. Simply tap the Selection tool, draw a quick circle around the roof, and you can now drag the entire roof object to a new location on the canvas, or use two fingers to scale it up or shrink it down.
When you are finished drawing, simply tap the back arrow in the top left corner. The sketch will automatically save and embed itself at the very top of your Google Keep note.