When several people want to sketch on the same canvas, Drawpile lets them draw, paint, and animate together in real time. Each participant contributes to the shared work, so the group can develop an image or animation during a single session.
Shared canvas sessions
Drawpile coordinates drawing input from multiple people on one canvas. Participants can sketch, paint, or work on an animation together, with changes appearing during the session. This setup suits a group making a shared illustration, developing a comic idea, or demonstrating a drawing technique while others follow along.
Everyone works in the same space instead of passing copies of a file back and forth.
Projects and timelapses
Drawpile's dppr project format supports autorecovery, time-travel, and project statistics.
The Make Timelapse command turns the drawing or animation process into a video. Selecting an area of the canvas before creating one produces a cropped timelapse, which can keep the recording centered on a particular part of the work.
Brush dock and animation timeline
The brush dock can show brush names and stroke previews, alongside a history of recently used brushes. That history also provides access to deleted brushes and unsaved brushes requested from other participants.
For animation, the timeline supports selecting multiple frames, changing exposures, and zooming the timeline. Drawpile also includes video and spritesheet export options.
- A stabilizer can adjust to stroke velocity.
- The shape fill tool includes a fan fill shape.
Pros
- Multiple participants draw on one canvas at the same time
- Brush history keeps recently used brushes accessible
- Timelapse export records a drawing or animation process
- Animation tools include timeline controls and video export
System requirements: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11
Can several people draw on the same canvas?
Yes. Drawpile lets multiple participants sketch, paint, or animate on one canvas in real time.
Can Drawpile create a video of the drawing process?
Yes. Use Make Timelapse to create a video, with an option to crop it to a selected canvas area.
Does Drawpile support animation?
Yes. It has a frame timeline and supports video and spritesheet exports.
