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Sketch on the canvas with the pencil tool

Written by Figma Man

Updated at June 19th, 2025

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Table of Contents

Use the pencil   Edit pencil sketches Color and stroke properties Dimension Delete pencil sketches

Use the pencil tool to sketch on the canvas or other objects. It's a great way to call attention to something on the canvas or draw something fun.

Use the pencil

By default, the pencil tool sketches with a round 3px stroke weight in black, unless you're sketching on a dark canvas or frame. These properties can be adjusted before or after you start sketching.

To start drawing:

  1. Open the Creation tools menu from the toolbar and select the pencil or use the keyboard shortcut ⇧ P.
  2. Pick a color fill, stroke weight, and end point style from the Stroke section of the right sidebar.
  3. Click and drag on the canvas to sketch.

The pencil tool stays active until you select another tool or press Esc.

Tip: Want to draw in a straight line? Hold Shift while drawing, or try the pen tool.

 

Edit pencil sketches

Color and stroke properties

You can change a pencil sketch's colors, add a color style, end point style, and stroke weight at any time.

  1. Select the sketch on the canvas.
  2. Edit the color fill, stroke weight, and end point style from the Stroke section of the right sidebar. You can also click to change the line style to dashes, or created a custom style.

Learn more about applying paints with the color picker.

Dimension

To change the dimension of a pencil sketch:

  1. Select the layers you want to adjust.
  2. Drag the side or corner of a sketch's bounding box to resize its dimensions.

You can resize proportionally by pressing ⇧ Shift while dragging.

Learn more about editing vector networks.

Delete pencil sketches

To delete a pencil sketch:

  1. Select any sketches you want to remove from the canvas or Layers panel.
  2. Press Delete.

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