How to Draw Online With Friends

Drawing online with a friend means you're both on the same page at the same time, each on your own device, and you see each other's lines appear as they're drawn. It's the online version of sharing a table and a box of crayons.

It's easier to set up than it sounds. Here's what you need and how to do it.

What you need

A drawing tool that syncs live. Most drawing apps are solo. You need one built for drawing together, where you share a link and both land on the same canvas. Sending pictures back and forth isn't the same thing.

A device for each person. They don't have to match. A tablet and a laptop can share a page just fine.

A way to talk. It's much more fun when you can see and hear each other, so either pick a tool with video built in or plan a call alongside.

Which device works best

A tablet is the easiest for drawing, especially for kids. Fingers work fine, and a stylus is a nice extra if you have one.

A computer works through a web browser with nothing to install. Drawing with a trackpad or mouse is clumsier than with a finger, but it's perfectly good for coloring in, and it's often the easiest option for a grandparent.

A phone works too, but the screen is small for two people drawing at once.

How to draw together on PaintPal, step by step

PaintPal was built for kids to do exactly this, so here's how it works. It runs in any web browser at paintpal.fun, and there's an app for iPhone and iPad.

1. Start a room. Open PaintPal and tap Start a Drawing Room (you'll be asked to sign in with a free account the first time). You can start a drawing room right now in your browser.
2. Invite your friend. Tap Invite and send the link by text or email. Your friend opens it and lands on the same page. If you'd rather, they can tap Join a Friend's Room and type in the room name.
3. Pick a page. Draw on a blank page, or open the coloring book and pick a picture to color together. You can switch pages whenever you like.
4. Turn on video. Tap the video tile to see and talk to each other while you draw.
5. Save it. When you're done, tap save to keep a copy (on iPhone and iPad it goes to your camera roll).

Rooms are private and invite-only, there are no ads, and there's no way for strangers to find your kid. That's on purpose: it was built for young kids first.

For older kids and adults

If you're a teen or an adult who wants more serious tools, there are collaborative options built for that crowd. Excalidraw is a free browser whiteboard with a live sharing link, good for quick sketches and games. Magma is a collaborative painting site aimed at artists, and Drawpile is a free desktop app for drawing together. None of them are designed for young kids, so check them out yourself before handing them over.

What to draw

A blank page can freeze people up, so start with a game. The squiggle game (one person scribbles, the other turns it into something) is the classic. Or build one scene together, with one person drawing a house and the other adding a garden, a dog, a rocket in the sky. There's a whole list of drawing games for kids to play together, and they all work on a shared page.

If something isn't working

If lines show up slowly, it's almost always the Wi-Fi: move closer to the router. If you can't hear each other, check that the device isn't muted and the volume is up. And if your friend can't get in, resend the link rather than retyping the room name.

Drawing together works especially well for friends who live far away, because it gives them something to do on a call instead of just talking. It's great for cousins too, since one page works across a big age gap. If you're on an iPhone, I also wrote a guide to drawing with friends on iPhone.

Draw with a friend now. I'd love to see what you make.