Rulers and Guides

Need help drawing a straight line, circle, ellipse, or curve? These guides can be found in the toolbar.

Ruler
Curved Ruler
Ellipse
French Curve (only in Sketchbook Pro on desktop)

Ruler

Use to create a perfect line anywhere on the canvas, by moving and repositioning the ruler.

Did you know you don't have to draw directly over the ruler? Drawing anywhere in the canvas still draws a line along the edge of the ruler.

How to use the ruler

Tap Guides icon , then to access the ruler.

Desktop	Mobile
To pivot the ruler, tap-drag an end handle	To rotate the ruler, press with 2 fingers. The ruler will snap to 0º and 90º.
To move the ruler, tap-drag the center handle	To move the ruler horizontally and/or vertically without changing its rotation, tap-drag with 1 finger.
To snap the ruler to 0º or 90º, double-tap an end handle	To reset the ruler’s position, double-tap with 1 finger.
When finished using the ruler, tap to exit the ruler.	When finished using the ruler, tap the tool icon again to disable it.

Curve Ruler

Use for curves you can't create with the Ellipse or French Curve tools. Customize the curvature of this bendable ruler through direct manipulation. Draw curved lines anywhere on the canvas, as your strokes snap to the ruler.

For Sketchbook Pro on desktop:

To scale the ruler, click-drag
To rotate the ruler, click-drag and rotate
To move the ruler, click-drag
To move a ruler handle, click-drag a handle
To create a stroke, draw on or near the section of the ruler you need
To exit the ruler, click
To reset the ruler to the center of the canvas, double-click a handle

For mobile users:

To change the shape of the ruler, tap-drag a handle with one finger
To scale the ruler, pinch with two fingers within the ruler
To reset the ruler to its original size and position, double-tap within the ruler (but not on a handle)
To retain the curvature, but fit the ruler within the view, double-tap a handle

Ellipse

Use to create ellipses, curves, and draw circles in perspective. As you rotate an ellipse, the minor axis is displayed to line it up with your vanishing lines. Both the rotation and degree of the ellipse are displayed in the readout at the bottom of the screen.

Guides - Ellipse example

Create a perfect ellipses tracing anywhere on the canvas, by moving and repositioning the guide. Draw along either edge. There are three handles. Rotation , scale , and scaling along the minor axis (non-proportional scale)

For Sketchbook Pro on desktop:

To move, reshape, and resize the ellipse, tap-drag the handles:

To non-proportionally scale the ellipse, tap-drag
To scale the ellipse, tap-drag
To rotate the ellipse, tap-drag
To move the ellipse, tap-drag
To change the ellipse to a circle, double-tap either to create a circle the size of the major axis, or to create a circle the size of the minor axis
When finished, tap the handle to exit the Ellipse tool

For mobile users:

To move horizontally and/or vertically, without changing its rotation, tap-drag within the ellipse with 1 finger
To change the rotation, tap-drag within the ellipse and rotate with 2 fingers
To proportionally scale the ellipse, pinch or expand within the ellipse with 2 fingers
To change the dimensions in one direction, drag the dimensions handle
To reset the ellipse to the default size and position, double-tap within the ellipse with 1 finger
To change the degrees of the ellipse, making it a circle, tap the dimensions handle
To reset the rotation to zero degrees, tap the rotation handle