How do I change the Natural Drawing setting?

My marker is writing like calligraphy. What happened to the pen style?

📝 NOTE: This video shows a slightly older user interface but the instructions are still accurate.

Natural Drawing is an annotation preference designed to provide more expressive writing for the Pen/Marker tool that more closely mimics a traditional pen or pencil.

Below shows the same note taken with Natural Drawing ON and OFF. When turned ON, line weight varies with writing pressure, and the ends of lines feather away. When turned OFF, all parts of a line are the same thickness, and start/end with the same weight.

📝 NOTE: Natural Drawing is pressure-sensitive, so the effect is most visible with an Apple Pencil. Finger or mouse strokes will look the same with the setting on or off.

To adjust the Natural Drawing setting:

Touch or click the three-dot menu (⋯) at the top right, then select Settings;
In the Settings modal, go to the Annotations tab;
Under Annotation Toolbar, toggle Natural drawing on or off as desired.

What's Next

How to use Siri to dictate notes

How can I draw lines, arrows and shapes?

How to add Facing Pages to your script

Updated on: 30/05/2026

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