Use the pen tool

Magic pen styles, AutoDraw, and more...

Dan Kemp avatar
Written by Dan Kemp
Updated over a week ago

The pen tool offers a simple but effective way of adding drawings or annotations to your book. In July 2019 we introduced the magic of AutoDraw.

Click the + button and choose Pen

When you start drawing, you basically open up a canvas that appears on top of your book. The drawing you create will be saved as an image once you're done.

Click the black circle to change the pen colour first. You can choose from solid colours or magic inks (which really are magic!).

Next, choose a pen style, here are your options:

  • Pen

  • Paintbrush (not in Book Creator for iPad)

  • Crayon

  • Highlighter

  • AutoDraw

Below these choices you can also choose the thickness of the pen.

When ready, just use your mouse icon (or a finger/stylus on a touchscreen) to draw what you need.

If you make a mistake, click the Undo button or use the select the Eraser with the icon in the toolbar.

When finished, click the Done button. You may have to wait a few seconds for the image to be generated.

When your drawing is added to the page, it can be resized, and you can use the Inspector to add links or an alt tag just as you would when working with an imported image.

Note: you can edit the drawing once it's finished by tapping on the drawing, which will open up the canvas again. You can use the eraser to remove parts of it or add to the canvas.

How to use AutoDraw

Choose the AutoDraw pen (the bottom pen that says 'AUTO' on it. Start drawing and along the top toolbar you will see suggestions for what image you are trying to draw. Simply click on the image you illustration you want, and it will be added to your page.

Using the fill tool

You can use the fill tool to fill in objects or illustrations. Choose a colour first, then click on the paint bucket icon in the toolbar. Then click inside the image you want to fill.

Note: the Fill tool is not currently available in Book Creator for iPad.

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