Guides / Getting started
Welcome tour
The first launch opens a painting that already moves; here is where everything on the screen lives.
- Free
- Everything in this guide works in Free.
The first time you open Doodly Doodle, it opens A quiet breeze, a small study that is already moving. Every part of it is a stroke you could paint yourself.
The first time you open Doodly Doodle, it opens A quiet breeze, a small study that is already moving. Every part of it is a stroke you could paint yourself.
Then a short tour opens over it, Motion Brushes, paint by number, the three choices in every stroke, what you can make and whether you'd like music, ending with how you'd like to start. Every page can start right away, by number or in the Studio.
Then a short tour opens over it, Motion Brushes, paint by number, the three choices in every stroke, what you can make and whether you'd like music, ending with how you'd like to start. Every page can start right away, by number or in the Studio.
Start in the Studio, and one card asks what you'd like to do. Paint on this painting, start a fresh page, or paint a picture by number, and say whether you draw with your finger and which hand you draw with.
Start in the Studio, and one card asks what you'd like to do. Paint on this painting, start a fresh page, or paint a picture by number, and say whether you draw with your finger and which hand you draw with.
Tap Paint on this, and the card goes. It won't come back.
Tap Paint on this, and the card goes. It won't come back.
Click Paint on this, and the card goes. It won't come back.
Top left is the painting as a document. Gallery holds all your paintings, the title shows which one is open, Actions holds everything else, and Share sends it on.
Top left are Actions and Pages. Actions holds everything about the painting and the app, including Share and Sound on iPhone, and Pages turns a painting into a book.
Tap Actions for a new painting, opening and saving project files, Export, playback, Hide interface, the lessons, Free and Plus, and Settings.
Tap Actions. On iPhone, Gallery lives here too, with a new painting, project files, Export, playback, the lessons, Free and Plus, and Settings.
Click Actions for a new painting, opening and saving project files, Export, playback, Hide interface, the lessons, Free and Plus, and Settings.
In the middle of the bar, Play and Pause run the painting's motion. Pause it, then tap Show timeline, and a scrubber drops beneath to move through time.
In the middle of the bar, Play and Pause run the painting's motion. Pause it, then click Show timeline, and a scrubber drops beneath to move through time.
Top right is the surface. The Canvas menu holds paper, canvas size, the ruler, symmetry and guides; the percentage is the zoom menu; and Layers opens every layer's settings.
Top right is the surface. The Canvas menu holds paper, canvas size, the ruler, symmetry and guides; the percentage is the zoom menu; and Layers opens every layer's settings.
Bottom left is the stroke wheel. It holds the medium, brush, colour, size and motion of your next mark, with Undo, Redo and Tools under your thumb.
Bottom left is the stroke wheel, folded to its centre on iPhone. Tap it to unfold the medium, brush, colour, size and motion of your next mark.
Down the right side, the layer strip lists the painting's layers. Tap one to paint on it, or the plus to add another.
Tap the page to fold the wheel, then tap Layers. On iPhone there's no room for the layer strip, so the layers open as a sheet.
Down the right side, the layer strip lists the painting's layers. Click one to paint on it, or the plus to add another.
The first launch
The first time you open Doodly Doodle it shows A quiet breeze, a finished study that is already playing. After about two seconds, unless you've started painting, the welcome tour opens over it: Motion Brushes, paint by number, the three choices in every stroke, what you can make (coloring books to paint by number or colour freely, moving illustrations, moving comics and books, and learn and practise, each card starting it), achievements, music, then how you'd like to start: Paint by number opens the coloring books, and Studio offers three brushes to start with. Every page of the tour has Paint by number and Studio too, to start without the rest. In the Studio, one card then offers Paint on this, Start a fresh page (the New painting sheet) or Paint by number (the coloring books, which start by number), with two switches: I draw with my finger (Settings → Finger draws) and Left-handed (Settings → Controls on right). It shows once. A quiet breeze is an ordinary painting: pause it, scrub it, paint on it, or open the Gallery and start your own. It stays in the Gallery until you delete it. The tour is in Actions → Motion Brushes tour any time (see Motion Brushes tour).
After the first launch, Doodly Doodle opens on the start screen: continue your last painting, paint a book by number, or start a new painting.
Tip: With Reduce Motion turned on in the Settings app, paintings open paused. Tap Play when you want them to move.
The top bar
The bar runs across the top of the page. Document controls hug the leading corner, the painting's clock sits in the middle, and the surface controls hug the trailing corner.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gallery 1 | All your paintings, templates and a custom size. See Gallery. |
| Title | The painting's title, with the layer you're painting on beneath it; in a book, the page too, as Page 3 of 12. Rename a painting in the Gallery. |
| Actions 2 | Get Plus… first without Plus, then Gallery (below 600 points of width), Share and Sound… (below 480), New painting…, Open project…, Coloring books…, Save project as…, Export… (images, movies, and the painting or book as a PDF, ebook or web page), Draw together…, Playback (Living paint settings…, Play from the start, Replay drying), Read book (in a book), Hide interface, Motion Brushes tour, Learn and practise, Achievements, Free and Plus (once you own Plus) and Settings…. |
| Share 3 | Share image, Share loop and Export…. On narrow screens it's in the Actions menu. See Share and export. |
| Pages | The painting's pages: add one to make a book, go to a page, read or export the book. In a book, arrows either side go to the previous and next page. See Books and pages. |
| Play / Pause | Runs or holds the painting's motion. While paused, the bar shows the time in seconds. |
| Sound | Beside Play (in the Actions menu on narrow screens): stylus sound, music while painting, and this painting's style and mood (see Stylus sound and music). |
| Show timeline | Drops a bar beneath: the Playback time scrubber (while paused; Living paint while playing) and Living paint settings. |
| Canvas and paper (named Canvas on a wide screen) | Surface: Paper…, Canvas size…, Flip canvas view. Drawing aids: Symmetry (one tap on or off), Symmetry options, Ruler, Panel layouts…, Guides, and Inside the lines and Choose area when the painting has a colouring page. It's highlighted while any aid is on. |
| Zoom (the percentage) | Zoom in, Zoom out, 100%, Fit canvas, Reset rotation and Rotate 15° either way. See Gestures and the view. |
| Layers | Every layer's visibility, lock, opacity, blend mode, adjustments and groups. |
The Actions and Share menus wait while a stroke is still being drawn, and Share needs at least one stroke on the page.
On iPhone the bar keeps only what fits: Actions and Pages on the left, Play in the middle, and Canvas and paper, Zoom and Layers on the right. Gallery, Share and Sound move into the Actions menu, and there's no timeline in the bar. Paintings still play as they open, and Actions → Playback → Play from the start plays from the start.
The stroke wheel
The wheel in the bottom corner is everything about your next mark: the seven media, the Eraser and the Eyedropper around its rim, the Size, Strength and Water gauges for the stroke and Amount, Speed and Pattern for its motion, and the corner under your thumb with Undo, Redo and Tools (where Hand, Select and Fill live). Its centre shows the next stroke in the current colour; tap it for colours. Your first painting walks through it.
On iPhone the wheel rests folded to its centre. Tap it to unfold. Picking a colour, brush, mark or motion folds it again; so does a tap on the page, and a stroke drawn over the open wheel paints and folds it. Undo sits beside the folded wheel.
Squeeze or double-tap Apple Pencil to bring the wheel beside the pencil; see Apple Pencil and touch.
A secondary click on the page brings the wheel to the pointer; see Mouse, trackpad and keyboard.
Tip: Settings → Interface & input → Controls on right moves the wheel to the bottom-right corner and the layer strip to the left, for left-handed painting.
The layer strip
On the side opposite the wheel, the strip shows the painting's layers with thumbnails. Tap a layer to paint on it, drag to reorder, and tap New layer to add one. The button at its top (Hide layer strip) collapses it, and Show layer strip brings it back. Each layer holds one medium; see the Layers guide for everything else.
Below about 420 points of width, as on iPhone, the strip is hidden to leave the page clear. The Layers button in the top bar opens the same layers as a sheet.
Hiding everything
Actions → Hide interface, or a four-finger tap, clears the screen for looking. The Show interface button in the top corner brings it all back. See Gestures and the view.
Try it in the app.
Download on the App Store Free for iPad, iPhone and MacSomething not behaving as expected?
Visit support or write to support@doodlydoodle.app.