ClickUp Guide: How to Draw on Google Slides

This ClickUp style guide walks you through every way to draw on Google Slides so you can annotate, brainstorm, and present ideas clearly without leaving your browser.

Whether you are sketching simple shapes, marking up slides, or building more polished diagrams, you will learn the exact drawing tools Google Slides offers, how to access them, and how to fine-tune your work for a professional finish.

Why Use Google Slides Drawing Tools with ClickUp-Style Workflows

When you work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment, you need quick visual annotations. The drawing options in Google Slides let you:

• Highlight key ideas during meetings
• Sketch basic concepts before moving them into a more advanced tool like ClickUp Whiteboards
• Collaborate with teammates in real time on visual content
• Keep your diagrams and notes directly in your slide decks

Following a systemized approach inspired by ClickUp documentation makes your Google Slides drawings easier to reproduce, share, and maintain.

Basic Ways to Draw on Google Slides

Google Slides does not have a dedicated freehand drawing canvas, but it does provide several tools that together cover most drawing needs.

1. Draw Freehand with the Scribble Line Tool

The Scribble option lets you draw freehand lines and shapes directly on a slide.

1. Open your slide deck in Google Slides.
2. From the top menu, select Insert > Line.
3. In the dropdown, click Scribble.
4. Move your cursor to the slide, then click and drag to draw.
5. Release the mouse to finish the line or shape.

After drawing, you can adjust the appearance:

• Use the toolbar to change line color.
• Increase or decrease line weight.
• Apply dash styles for emphasis.

This freehand option is useful for quick emphasis, rough sketches, or underlining important information during a presentation planned in a ClickUp task.

2. Use Standard Lines and Arrows

For structured diagrams, standard lines often work better than scribbles.

1. Click the Line icon in the toolbar.
2. Choose a line style: Straight, Arrow, Elbow connector, or Curved connector.
3. Click on the slide where you want the line to start.
4. Drag to the end point and release to finish.

You can then modify:

• Line color and thickness
• Arrowhead style and size
• Line position and angle by dragging the endpoints

Combine these lines with ClickUp-organized process notes to build clear, step-by-step workflows directly on your slides.

3. Draw with Shapes and Shape Editing

Most diagrams in Google Slides are built by combining shapes, not pure freehand drawing.

1. Go to Insert > Shape.
2. Choose a category such as Shapes, Arrows, Callouts, or Equation.
3. Select a shape, then click and drag on the slide to draw it.
4. Use the yellow diamond handles (when available) to adjust special properties like corner roundness or callout pointers.

Shape formatting options include:

• Fill color and gradient fills
• Border color and thickness
• Border dash styles
• Text inside shapes with alignment and font controls

By combining multiple shapes, you can recreate flowcharts similar to what you might document in a ClickUp process doc.

Advanced Drawing Techniques in Google Slides

Beyond simple scribbles and shapes, Google Slides offers more advanced tools to refine your drawings.

Use Curved and Polyline Tools for Precise Shapes

When you need custom shapes that are smoother or more angular than a scribble, use the Curve or Polyline tools.

1. Click the Line dropdown in the toolbar.
2. Select Curve or Polyline.
3. Click multiple points along the path you want to create.
4. For Curve, each click adds a control point for smooth curves.
5. For Polyline, each click creates a straight segment.
6. Return to the starting point or double-click to close the shape.

Once your custom shape is drawn, you can style it like any other shape with fill, border, and shadow options.

Format and Organize Drawings Like a ClickUp Board

To keep complex drawings readable, organize them in layers and groups, similar to how you would organize tasks and subtasks in ClickUp.

• Group elements: Select multiple shapes or lines, right-click, and choose Group.
• Ungroup when needed: Right-click a group and choose Ungroup to adjust specific items.
• Align and distribute: Use the Arrange menu to align objects and distribute them evenly.
• Bring to front / Send to back: Control which drawings appear above others.

This systematic approach makes even dense diagrams easy to edit later, especially if you are using a ClickUp task or document as your single source of truth for the project.

Add Text to Your Drawn Elements

Most practical drawings in Google Slides require clear labels.

1. Select a shape, line, or area where you want a label.
2. Either double-click the shape or go to Insert > Text box.
3. Type your label text.
4. Use the text formatting toolbar to adjust font, color, size, and alignment.

Use a consistent naming convention for labels that matches your ClickUp project structure, so team members can quickly understand how slide content relates to their tasks.

Using Images and External Tools with Google Slides

If you need more detailed artwork than Google Slides provides, you can import images or use external tools and then manage the resulting assets through a ClickUp task or checklist.

Import Hand-Drawn or External Graphics

1. Create your drawing in another tool (for example, a dedicated whiteboard or design app).
2. Export the image as PNG or JPEG.
3. In Google Slides, go to Insert > Image.
4. Choose the appropriate source (Upload from computer, Drive, Photos, URL, etc.).
5. Resize and position the image on your slide.

You can still add callouts, arrows, and text on top of imported graphics with the built-in drawing tools.

Annotate Screenshots and Diagrams

Teams that manage work in ClickUp often capture screenshots of dashboards, reports, or timelines and then annotate them in Google Slides for presentations.

• Insert a screenshot using Insert > Image.
• Layer arrows, shapes, and text boxes over key areas.
• Use contrasting colors for annotations so they stand out.

Link the slide deck in your ClickUp task or doc so stakeholders can quickly move from written context to annotated visuals.

Collaboration Tips for ClickUp-Style Teams

Real-time collaboration is where Google Slides and ClickUp complement each other best.

Share Slides and Control Permissions

1. Click the Share button in the top-right corner of Google Slides.
2. Add team members by email or adjust link-sharing settings.
3. Choose the right permission level: Viewer, Commenter, or Editor.

Give editing access to collaborators who need to draw or adjust visuals, and commenting access to stakeholders who only need to review the diagrams referenced in ClickUp tasks.

Comment and Iterate on Drawings

Use Google Slides comments to gather feedback on your visual layouts.

1. Select a drawing element (shape, line, or text).
2. Right-click and choose Comment, or click the comment icon in the toolbar.
3. Type your feedback or question.
4. Tag teammates with @email if needed.

Summarize decisions in a ClickUp task or document so you always have a permanent record of why a drawing was changed.

Helpful Resources for Better Drawings

You can explore additional tips on the official guide to drawing in Google Slides here: How to Draw on Google Slides. For broader workflow and productivity consulting that fits teams using tools like Google Slides and ClickUp, you can also visit Consultevo.

Bringing It All Together with ClickUp Workflows

By combining Google Slides drawing tools with structured ClickUp workflows, you can create clear, reusable visual assets for training, reporting, and planning.

• Use Scribble for quick freehand annotations.
• Rely on shapes, lines, and arrows for clean diagrams.
• Group, align, and layer elements for clarity.
• Import external graphics when you need more detailed artwork.
• Attach slide links to relevant ClickUp tasks or docs to keep everything connected.

With these steps, your team can move smoothly from idea to diagram to action, using Google Slides and ClickUp together to support efficient, visual collaboration.

Need Help With ClickUp?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your ClickUp workspace, work with ConsultEvo — trusted ClickUp Solution Partners.

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