How to use the new Drawing tool in iOS 27 Messages app

In this brief tutorial, we show you how to use the revamped Drawing iMessage app to handwrite and sketch something personal, then send it to friends and family from your iPhone or iPad.

The Apple Messages app has had a Digital Touch feature (screenshots below) for a long time that lets you send colorful, glowing, animated drawings and heartbeats. It has stayed in iOS 27 as well.

Additionally, rotating your iPhone to landscape mode showed a hidden drawing option even on older versions of iOS (screenshot below). This has been revamped in iOS 27 and iPadOS 27.

Things are simpler now, thanks to a dedicated Drawing tool, visible in the list among other iMessage apps. Unlike the old tool, the new one works in both landscape and portrait orientations and has more sketching options.

You can use it to draw something with one finger using the usual Markup tools, namely Pen, Highlighter, Crayons, Paintbrush, and more. You can also add shapes, signature, text, stickers, and loupe effects to get extra creative. If you have used Markup tools to annotate your photo, you’ll feel right at home.

Another thing you should know is that the new Drawing app isn’t available on macOS 27 Golden Gate, even though it’s perfectly possible to draw small things like signatures and annotations in Preview using the MacBook’s trackpad.

Send drawings and handwritten messages from iPhone on iOS 27

1) Update your iPhone to iOS 27 or your iPad to iPadOS 27.

2) Open the Messages app and go into an iMessage, RCS, or MMS (SMS) conversation.

3) Tap the plus button and select Drawing.

4) Select one of the various tools at the bottom. Swipe left to see them all. Then, draw or handwrite with one finger on the canvas. Tap the plus button to add shapes, signature, etc.

5) Finally, tap the checkmark icon, followed by the send button.

The recipient will receive your drawing as an image, which they can view on the conversation screen or save to their Photos app by touching & holding the image or using the share icon.

Also, check out: Top new features added to the iPhone Messages app in iOS 27