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How a stroke works

Every stroke is Paint, Marks and Motion, and a brush is your recipe for all three. The idea behind the wheel, the brush settings and the library.

Free + PlusiPad · iPhone · Mac

Free
Paint, Marks and Motion in every medium, with every motion, nineteen effect looks, every parameter and brush files.
Plus
All 156 effect looks.
Narrated walkthrough, recorded in the iPad Simulator.
Narrated walkthrough, recorded in the iPhone Simulator.

  1. Every stroke you paint has three parts. Paint is what you paint with, Marks is what the stroke leaves, and Motion controls movement of the stroke and its marks. The wheel is laid out the same way. The rim and the centre are paint, and so is the first half of the ring. The second half is motion.

    Every stroke you paint has three parts. Paint is what you paint with, Marks is what the stroke leaves, and Motion controls movement of the stroke and its marks. Unfold the wheel. The rim and the centre are paint, and so is the first half of the ring. The second half is motion.

  2. Paint first, on its own. Watercolor's Round, a plain Line, and no motion. Paint a stroke.

    Paint first, on its own. Watercolor's Round, a plain Line, and no motion. Tap the page to fold the wheel, and paint a stroke.

  3. Now motion. Tap Amount on the motion half of the ring, and the suggested motions unfold. Choose Wave.

    Now motion. Tap Amount on the motion half of the ring, and the suggested motions unfold. Choose Wave.

    Now motion. Click Amount on the motion half of the ring, and the suggested motions unfold. Choose Wave.

  4. Paint a second stroke. The same paint, and the same line, but the finished stroke now moves as a whole.

    Paint a second stroke. The same paint, and the same line, but the finished stroke now moves as a whole.

  5. Now marks. Tap Amount again. Marks are on the same ring as motion, after the motion families. Line is the plain stroke; then come Shapes, Hatching, Liquid marks and effects. Choose Sky, then Clouds.

    Now marks. Tap Amount again. Marks are on the same ring as motion, after the motion families. Line is the plain stroke; then come Shapes, Hatching, Liquid marks and effects. Choose Sky, then Clouds.

    Now marks. Click Amount again. Marks are on the same ring as motion, after the motion families. Line is the plain stroke; then come Shapes, Hatching, Liquid marks and effects. Choose Sky, then Clouds.

  6. Paint a third stroke. The same paint again, but it leaves soft clouds instead of a line, and the clouds move on their own. Motion controls both whole-stroke and individual-mark movement.

    Paint a third stroke. The same paint again, but it leaves soft clouds instead of a line, and the clouds move on their own. Motion controls both whole-stroke and individual-mark movement.

  7. A brush is a recipe for all three. In the brush library, Save current brush keeps the paint, marks and motion in hand as your own brush, and the library is sorted the same way, with Brushes, Marks and Motions.

    A brush is a recipe for all three. In the brush library, Save current brush keeps the paint, marks and motion in hand as your own brush, and the library is sorted the same way, with Brushes, Marks and Motions.

Paint, Marks and Motion

Every stroke in Doodly Doodle has three parts, and a brush is a saved recipe of all three.

Part What it is Examples
Paint What you paint with The medium (watercolor, ink, pen, marker, pencil, pastel, charcoal), colour, size, strength, water, the paint's material and the Pencil tip
Marks What each stroke leaves A Line, or Shapes, Hatching or an Effect laid along what you draw, with their shape, spacing and joining
Motion How the stroke, its marks and their interior move Wave, Wind, Heartbeat, Random redraw and more, how far and how fast, anchors and combined motions

Marks chooses the shape; Motion controls movement. Whole stroke moves the path; the contextual mark-movement row moves its marks; Inside the marks moves colour. A cloud stroke with Wave motion sways as a whole while each cloud billows on its own.

Build things in layers, like paint. Each stroke is one colour. A fire is a red flame, then an orange one over it, then a small yellow core, each with its own strength. Change one part between strokes and keep the others.

Where each part lives

Paint Marks Motion
The wheel The rim (media) 1, the centre (colour) 2, and the first half of the ring: Size, Strength, Water 3 Tap Amount, Speed or Pattern 4 to open Marks and motion: Line, Shapes, Hatching, Liquid marks and the effect categories follow the motion families on its ring of groups. Its inner ring lets you choose which component the gauges control The second half of the ring: Amount, Speed, Pattern 4. Tap one to open Marks and motion, then a family on its ring of groups to browse its motions
The brush's settings (tap a gauge) The Paint section The Marks section The Motion section
Brush Studio The Paint page, with the tip and material The Marks page The Motion page
The library Brushes: each medium's own Marks: every mark, for the brush in hand Motions: every motion, for the brush in hand
A painted stroke (Tools → Select stroke) Paint Marks Motion

Each section of the brush's settings has More, which opens Brush Studio on that part's page.

Your brushes

Change any part, then keep the result: Save current brush in the library, or Save copy in Brush Studio. Your brushes are in My brushes, and on the wheel with the medium's own. A brush you save keeps its colour; a built-in brush takes the colour in hand.

Words

Word Meaning
Medium The kind of paint, and the kind of layer it paints on. See The seven media.
Brush A recipe of paint, marks and motion, with a name.
Tool A brush that works on paint already down instead of adding it: Lift, Smudge, Water. The Eraser is a tool of its own, on the wheel's rim.
Marks What a stroke leaves: a Line, Shapes, Hatching or an Effect. See Marks.
Effect Marks that live on their own: fire, smoke, clouds, snow, water and more. See Effects.
Look One version of an effect, such as Torch or Gas flame for fire.
Motion How the finished stroke moves. See Add motion.
Select stroke Select strokes already painted to change how they move. See Change how painted strokes move.
Pencil What pressure, tilt, direction and drawing speed do: to the tip in Paint, and to each effect in Marks.
Layer Strokes of one medium, stacked. See Layers.

On iPhone the wheel rests folded. Tap it to unfold it. Picking a choice folds it again, and a stroke drawn over the open wheel paints and folds it.

Plus: Paint, Marks and Motion are Free in every medium, with every motion, parameter and brush file and nineteen effect looks. Plus adds the rest of the effect library.

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Try it in the app.

Download on the App Store Free for iPad, iPhone and Mac

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