iOS 12 Notes App Sketching and Markup Tools Guide

The iOS 12 Notes app integrates a versatile suite of sketching and markup tools, allowing users to draw, handwrite, and annotate directly within their notes or on attachments. This guide breaks down how to access the drawing interface, the specific functions of each tool in the markup palette, and how iOS 12 handles both inline sketches and document annotations on iPhone and iPad.

Accessing the Drawing Canvas

To begin sketching in iOS 12 Notes, tap the pen-tip icon located in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen (on iPhone) or at the top right (on iPad). In iOS 12, drawing is primarily inline, meaning you can sketch directly on the note canvas alongside typed text, rather than being confined to a separate attachment window.

The Markup Tool Palette

Once the markup tray is open, it presents a row of core creative tools:

  • Pen Tool: Produces solid, clean, and opaque strokes ideal for handwriting or precise line art.
  • Marker/Highlighter: Provides a broad, semi-transparent stroke designed to highlight text or color large areas without obscuring underlying lines.
  • Pencil Tool: Simulates a standard graphite pencil, offering a textured appearance. It responds dynamically to tilt and pressure, creating shading when used at an angle.
  • Eraser: Removes strokes. In iOS 12, the eraser operates primarily as an object-based eraser, deleting the entire connected stroke with a single tap rather than just erasing pixels.
  • Lasso Tool: Allows you to draw an outline around any drawn stroke to select it. Once selected, the artwork can be dragged to a new position, duplicated, or removed.
  • Ruler: Places an interactive straightedge on the canvas. You can rotate and position the ruler using two fingers, then run any drawing tool along its edge to create perfectly straight lines.

Color Customization

A dedicated color circle in the tool palette opens the color picker. iOS 12 includes a set of standard color swatches for quick selection, along with a full palette grid and spectrum slider, allowing for custom shades across any of the drawing utensils.

Markup on Attachments and Scans

Beyond blank canvas drawing, the iOS 12 Notes app enables markup on images, PDFs, and freshly scanned documents:

  1. Tap an image or scanned document within a note to open the full-screen preview.
  2. Tap the Share button or the dedicated Markup icon.
  3. Use the same set of pen, marker, and pencil tools to write notes, circle items, or sign documents.
  4. Tap Done to save the annotations directly onto the file within the note.

Hardware and Input Integration

For iPad users, iOS 12 pairs the markup tools with the Apple Pencil. The app supports palm rejection, allowing you to rest your hand on the screen while sketching. The software actively reads both the pressure and the tilt angle of the Apple Pencil to adjust stroke weight and shading intensity automatically. On devices without Apple Pencil support, all tools remain fully functional using a finger or a standard capacitive stylus.