Add and edit drawings in Keynote on iPhone
You can use your finger to create and edit a drawing on your slides, then move or resize it.
Add a drawing
Go to the Keynote app on your iPhone.
Open a presentation.
Tap in the toolbar, tap , tap Drawing, then tap one of the drawing tools (pen, pencil, crayon or fill tool) in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
As you draw, you can do any of the following:
Switch drawing tools: Tap the pen, pencil, crayon or fill tool in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. Tap and drag left or right to reveal more tools.
Adjust the stroke size (line thickness): Tap the pen, pencil, crayon or eraser, tap it again, then tap a stroke size.
Adjust the colour’s opacity: Tap the pen, pencil, crayon or fill tool, tap it again, then drag the slider.
Change the colour for the selected tool: For iOS 14, tap the colour wheel, then tap a preset colour or use the controls to choose a custom colour. Use the controls to mix your own colour, then tap to save the colour as a favourite. To remove a favourite, touch and hold its colour dot then tap Delete. For iOS 13, tap the colour well, then either tap a colour in the grid or swipe left and create a custom colour.
Fill an area with colour: Tap the fill tool, then tap the area. To draw a shape already filled with colour, tap the fill tool, then draw the shape.
Erase a stroke: Tap the eraser tool, tap it again, then tap Object Eraser. Tap the stroke or object fill you want to erase.
Erase pixels: Tap the eraser tool, tap it again, tap Pixel Eraser, then tap the dot you want to erase. For finer control or to erase smaller dots, zoom the screen. You can drag across your drawing to erase segments of lines and fills, creating separate strokes and fills.
Scroll the slide: Swipe with two fingers.
Show or hide the toolbar: Tap at the top of the screen.
When you’re finished drawing, tap Done.
Move a drawing
Go to the Keynote app on your iPhone
Open a presentation with a drawing, then do one of the following:
If the drawing toolbar isn’t on the screen: Tap the drawing, then drag it with your finger.
If the drawing toolbar is on the screen: Tap the selection tool, drag around the part of the drawing you want to move, then drag the selection with your finger.
Resize a drawing
Go to the Keynote app on your iPhone.
Open a presentation with a drawing, do one of the following:
If the drawing toolbar isn’t on the screen: Tap the drawing, then drag any blue dot with your finger.
If the drawing toolbar is on the screen: Tap the selection tool, drag around the part of the drawing you want to resize, tap Resize, then drag any blue dot.
Edit a drawing
Go to the Keynote app on your iPhone.
Open a presentation with a drawing, then do one of the following:
Double tap the drawing, then make your changes.
Merge drawings
You can merge drawings so that they stay together as a single object. This makes it easier to move and resize the drawing as a whole.
Go to the Keynote app on your iPhone.
Open a presentation with more than one drawing on the same slide.
Touch and hold one drawing, then tap the other drawings with another finger.
Tap Merge.
Separate a drawing into parts
You can separate a drawing into individual objects that you can move, resize or delete individually.
Go to the Keynote app on your iPhone.
Open a presentation with a drawing, then double-tap the drawing.
Tap the selection tool, then drag around the part of the drawing you want to separate.
Tap Separate (you may need to tap to see it).
You can repeat this process to separate a drawing into multiple objects.
Animate a drawing
You can animate a drawing using the Line Draw build-in or build-out effect so that it appears in your presentation as if it were drawn; or it disappears as if it were erased.
Go to the Keynote app on your iPhone.
Open the presentation with the drawing you want to animate.
Tap the drawing, then tap Animate
At the bottom of the screen, tap Add Build In or Add Build Out, select Line Draw at the top of the Effects list, then tap Done.
To edit the animation, tap Line Draw at the bottom of the screen, then do any of the following:
Adjust how long the animation plays: Drag the Duration slider.
Change how quickly the animation starts and stops: Tap Acceleration, then choose an option.
Change when to start the animation: Tap Start, then choose an option.
Preview the animation: Tap Preview.
Remove the animation: Tap Delete.
Tap Done in the upper-right corner of the screen.
To learn more, see Animate an object onto and off a slide.
Note: If you copy an animated drawing from Pages or Numbers into Keynote, the animation is removed. You can add the animation again using the steps above.
Add a drawing description
You can add a description to any drawing in your presentation. Drawing descriptions are read by assistive technology (for example, VoiceOver) when someone uses that technology to access your presentation. Drawing descriptions aren’t visible anywhere in your presentation.
Go to the Keynote app on your iPhone.
Open a presentation with a drawing.
Tap the drawing, tap in the toolbar, then tap Drawing.
Tap Description, then tap in the text box and enter your text.
If you export your presentation as a PDF, drawing descriptions are still readable by assistive technology. See Export to PowerPoint or another file format.
To add descriptions to an image or video, see Add an image description or Add a video description.
Share or save a drawing
You can share or save a drawing as an image.
Go to the Keynote app on your iPhone.
Open a presentation with a drawing.
Tap the drawing, then tap Share (you may need to tap to see it).
Do one of the following:
Share: Tap a method for sending the drawing.
Save: Tap Save to Files or, to save to Photos, tap Save Image.