How to trace a picture with your phone onto paper
DoodlePlot's tracing mode works like a light box in reverse. Instead of shining light through the paper, the phone's camera shows you the paper — with the picture you chose floating on top of it. Look through the screen, follow the lines with a pencil, and a real drawing appears on the real page.
No copying skills are needed. Kids who "can't draw" finish a dinosaur, a unicorn or a race car in a few minutes and get the confidence to try freehand next time.
You'll need
- A phone or tablet with DoodlePlot installed
- A sheet of paper
- A pencil (or crayon, marker, pen)
- Something to hold the phone above the page — a stand, a stack of books, or two mugs
Pick a picture and choose Trace
Open DoodlePlot, choose a pack (animals, anime, vehicles, folk art and more) and tap a picture. Choose Trace from the ways to play. The first time, the app asks to use the camera — that's how you see your paper on the screen.
- Start with a simple outline — a fish or a star — for a first go. Detailed pictures come later.
- Tap the question-mark button at the top for a short animated how-to inside the app.
Prop the phone over the paper
Rest the phone a few inches above a sheet of paper, screen facing up, camera looking down at the page. A phone stand, a stack of books, or the phone bridged across two mugs all work. You should see the paper on screen with the picture floating over it.
- Keep the phone steady — if it wobbles, the picture wobbles.
- Room light is enough; avoid a lamp directly behind the phone, which throws its shadow onto the page.
Size, turn and fade the picture
Pinch to make the picture bigger or smaller, twist with two fingers to rotate it, and drag it into position on the page. Use the Image strength slider so the lines are clear but you can still see the pencil tip underneath. Tap Lock when it's just right so a stray touch can't move it.
- Line-art pictures show as lines only by default. For a full-color picture, switch Paper off to hide the white background and keep just the lines.
- Grid adds a light grid over the page — handy for keeping big pictures in proportion.
Trace what you see
Look at the screen, not the paper. Put the pencil on the page where a line starts and follow it. The camera shows your pencil moving under the picture, so you always know where the next line goes.
- Trace the big outer shape first, then the details inside — it keeps everything in proportion.
Save the real drawing
Tap Save to Gallery. DoodlePlot photographs your paper drawing through the camera and shows it to you — tap Save it (or Retake). The photo lands in your gallery, and finishing a pack picture for the first time earns a sticker for the album.
Make it easier or harder
The same picture can be a two-minute win for a four-year-old or a real challenge for a ten-year-old — it's all in the settings.
- Easier: lines only (Paper off), a bigger picture, a thicker marker.
- Harder: turn Image strength down so they draw more from memory, or hide the picture halfway through and finish freehand.
- Practice: trace the same picture three times, lowering Image strength each time. By the third pass most kids barely need it.
Troubleshooting
- The picture is blurry: the camera is too close to the paper. Raise the phone a little. DoodlePlot automatically uses the lens that focuses closest; if the pencil still looks blurry up close, choose Ultra-Wide under Settings → Tracing camera.
- I can't see the pencil: lower Image strength so the picture is lighter, tap Bright to brighten the camera view, or move the lamp so it isn't glaring off the page.
- The picture drifts: the phone is sliding. Put a folded cloth or a rubber band on the stand for grip — and tap Lock so touches can't nudge the picture.
- It's dark: tap Light to switch on the phone's flashlight (most iPads don't have one).
Why tracing helps kids draw
Tracing is how artists have always learned — copying masters, using light boxes, gridding photos. It trains the hand to make confident lines and the eye to notice proportions, without the frustration of a blank page. Once the shapes feel familiar, freehand drawing gets dramatically easier.