Most popular
On a stand
Steadiest lines. Best for longer drawings, portraits and anything with fine detail.
How Pencilbloom works
Your phone shows the picture. Your hand draws it.
Pencilbloom is a tracing app: prop your phone over the paper, pick a picture and trace the lines you see on the screen with a real pencil. No drawing skill is needed: the app shows the lines one part at a time and saves a time-lapse of your drawing as you go.
Updated
How it works
Three steps, no talent required.
How AR drawing works: the camera keeps the picture lined up with your paper, so you can follow it with a pencil.
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Pick a picture
Choose a drawing from the app, turn your own photo into clean lines, or imagine something new.
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Prop up your phone
Rest it on a cup, a stack of books or a stand, about a hand’s width above the paper.
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Trace, then color
Follow the lines with a real pencil, one part at a time. Your drawing is saved as a time-lapse.
Tracing modes
Two ways to trace.
Use it like a tracing projector with your phone on a stand, or hold it in your hand and let AR keep the picture pinned to the page.
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AR mode
Hold your phone
No stand needed. AR pins the picture to your paper even when your hand moves.
Pictures
Trace anything you like.
Start from the library, or turn any photo into a clean line drawing in a few seconds.
- 176 drawings Flowers, animals, faces, places, anime and more, sorted by difficulty.
- Your photos, as lines Pets, people, places: we turn the photo into clean outlines you can trace.
- Imagine Describe a picture and we draw the lines for you.
Is tracing cheating?
Artists have traced for centuries, with grids, projectors and the camera obscura.
Tracing trains your hand and your eye. Pencilbloom’s lessons slowly hand the work back to you: more guide at first, less every time, until you draw it on your own.
Your first drawing takes about ten minutes.
Free on iPhone, iPad and Android.
Coming soon to iPhone, iPad and Android.