Reader-friendly guide on how to draw a line in Canva

Before proceeding to the topic of this article, we’d like to specify the difference between Canva and Canvas. These terms are sometimes confused, especially by beginners in graphic design.

So, Canva and Canvas are not the same though they both seemingly refer to a surface or space for creating some images.

Canvas is an advanced learning management program professional design programmers and educators use.

Canva is an easy-to-use and beginner-friendly online platform that is somewhat comparable to such tools as Adobe InDesign or Adobe Photoshop.

Canva is attractive to anyone who desires to create and is eager to design.

In our article, we’ll talk about Canva. Particularly, it will be a short trip to how to draw a line in Canva.

Guide on how to draw a line in Canva: all process in detail

Among the many opportunities Canva offers for graphic design, there is a stunning element to add creativity to your project. This is a drawing option. In this article, we’ll learn how to draw a line in Canva.

To draw a line may be needed, for example, to make the charts or tables, or just to underline something you think is important in your picture.

Before starting to talk about how to draw a line in Canva it would be logical to clarify what is meant under grid lines and line tool.

What is the line tool and grid line in Canva?

Grid line constitutes an important tool for each design software. They are unexpendable for drawing perfectly straight lines.

Though in Canva there is no option of adding gridlines by default you can add the gridlines using the ‘Elements‘ panel.

To add the grid you can perform actions as described below.

Enter ‘grid lines’ for search in the ‘Elements‘ tab. By clicking the ‘All’ link open the ‘Graphic‘ window where all options of gridlines will appear.

After selecting the desired option add it to your design space.

You can change the grid parameters to customize it to your needs by clicking and dragging the mouse.

Line tool provides a nice assistance in drawing a straight line.

The Line tool is located within the ‘Elements’ tab.

To draw lines it will be enough simply click on the line tool and drag the mouse.

The line tool has many options for customization. By clicking on a ‘Line Setting’ icon (pencil image) you can adjust the line properties depending on your desire or need.

Methods of drawing lines in Canva

In Canva, you can draw a line in two ways: freehand or using pre-set Canva designs.

Method of freehand drawing lines in Canva

Strictly speaking, Canva does not have a draw tool intended especially for freehand drawing. However, it doesn’t mean that freehand drawing is not possible in Canva.

Canva provides users with an opportunity to set custom shapes and lines as well.

The Freehand drawing process consists of a few simple steps.

Firstly, click the ‘Draw‘ button in the left sidebar to select a drawing tool. There are four options of tools to draw lines: Pen, Marker, Highlighter, and Glow Pen (for Canva Pro).

You can erase the line by clicking the ‘Erasor‘ icon.

In addition, you can choose the size and color of the line.

Upon picking a tool you can start to draw lines in Canva space. When the result satisfies you refresh the obtained page and click standard buttons for saving the result.

If you want to add uniqueness and personal creativity this is a nice option but to make the perfect freehand line in Canva needs a little bit of practice, of course.

However, to draw perfectly straight lines in Canva the second method is preferable.

The method used to draw a perfectly straight line

It is indisputable that drawing your lines makes the design process more creative and interesting. This can be fun when creating amateur pictures and texts.

However, to achieve the professional appearance of the project and draw perfect lines you should use the elements from the Canva library containing a lot of templates.

This method is more suitable when creating presentations, tables, charts, and similar pictures. So, it needs to be described separately.

How to draw a line in Canva using the pre-existing templates?

With Canva elements you can draw lines of various types. Generally, they are divided into straight, vertical, curved lines and arrows.

How to draw a straight line in Canva?

Before starting to draw not only a straight line but any other lines in Canva the user shall perform preliminary operations, namely: open Canva, create a new design, and select the type of desired project.

The next steps are as follows:

Step 1

Find the ‘Elements’ icon on the left sidebar and click on it.

Step 2

Move down to the ‘Lines’ section and select a line style you want to apply.

Step 3

Click on the workspace and drag the mouse holding the ‘Shift’ key to keep the drawing of the line straight.

Step 4

The platform has several editing options that allow you to adjust the length and thickness of the lines in Canva.

To adjust the length, grab the line start point and drag the mouse until you achieve the desired line end.

To adjust the line thickness, select the ‘Weight’ button.

Customizing the straight line in Canva?

Another brilliant feature of this platform consists of offering drawing tools that allow you to customize your design by changing the color, weight, transparency, and orientation (position) of the line in Canva.

Customizing the line weight

The line thickness is designated by the term ‘weight’. The weight of the line can be adjusted, that is, you can select a thin line or a thicker line. To adjust the weight just click the appropriate line tool (‘Weight‘ button) at the page top.

So, to increase the line thickness means to make it heavier. In turn, choosing a thin line means making it lighter.

Customizing the line color and transparency in Canva

Along with the line thickness (weight), the color is a significant feature of a line style. You can highlight or overshadow the line on your picture by changing the color of the straight line in Canva. Simply choose the icon with the color you want to apply.

The degree of the line’s ability to be seen-through is the transparency of a straight line in Canva that can be adjusted, too. Using the transparency option you can make the line more or less visible.

Changing the orientation (position) of the line in Canva.

After adding the line you can drag the mouse from line start to line end. Upon completing to draw a line you can change its position or orientation.

Canva allows you to change the position or orientation of the straight line. You can rotate and flip the lines in Canva easily by adding the line and selecting the rotation and flip options.

How to draw a vertical line in Canva?

Like any other straight line in Canva, the vertical line drawing starts from selecting the ‘Elements‘ panel from which a ‘Straight Line‘ option is chosen.

After adding a straight line it is positioned vertically by dragging a mouse. The vertical line is drawn, and now you can adjust its properties, such as color, weight, or transparency, and align or duplicate it.

How to draw curved lines in Canva?

When you draw a straight line in Canva you find out some similarities with other design software. This is otherwise when you draw curved lines.

Though Canva does not have the option to bend the lines we can use a Canva curved line element instead of a bended line element and improvise by placing curve templates in different positions and connecting two or more elements. But what if you want to add more features to your line in Canva?

There are several tricky methods used to draw a curved line in Canva. We will consider two more approaches to how to draw curved lines that include but are not limited thereto.

Method 1

The algorithm applied to draw a curved line in Canva using this method is as follows:

• Select the ‘Text’ tool from the left field and click the “Add a heading” option;
• Draw a straight line of the desired length;
• Select font and other properties, such as color, weight, and transparency;
• Click the ‘Effects‘ button and then select the ‘Curve‘ option on the page top;
• Use the curve slider with (+/-) on the page bottom to adjust the curve shape.

Method 2

In this method, the outlined circle is used to draw lines. Let us consider this tricky method in detail.

Firstly, drag the empty outlined circle from ‘Elements‘ to your canvas. Then do the same with the filled circle and place it near to empty circle. The next step is to make the filled circle invisible using the ‘Color‘ or ‘Transparency‘ options.

What is left to do is just to move the filled (but invisible) and overlap the empty circle to the extent when you achieve the desired length and shape.

To increase the creativity of your project you can use other shape elements, for example, oval or triangle.

How to draw arrow lines in Canva?

The arrow line is not an unimportant part of the graphic design. It can be used, for example, to create a decorative appearance or attract attention to significant information.

Canva has a variety of arrow elements from which you can choose a desired arrow style. The most frequently used arrow templates are simple straight arrows and curved and double arrows.

The above refers to one of the ways of drawing the arrows. This method assumes the use of pre-existing Canva templates.

However, if you want to create an arrow yourself, there is another method applied to draw the arrows. But one thing you should keep in mind is that, as of the current time, Canva offers options that allow freehand drawing only of straight arrows.

So, the algorithm for the freehand drawing of arrows looks as follows:

• Add a straight line by pressing ‘L‘ on the keyboard
• Click on the line by the left mouse
• After clicking on ‘Line End‘ choose the arrow style. To make a bidirectional arrow perform the same actions by clicking on ‘Line Start‘.

Final word

The main idea we’ve tried to put to our article readers is that drawing a line in Canva can, in addition to being simple, make your design process creative and amazing, and add your personal touch to it.

We’ve considered various ways of making your line straight or curved. In addition, we’ve described two ways of making various types of arrows.

We’ve presented the freehand drawing methods and methods using pre-existing Canva templates.

We hope that our article was useful and that now you can confidently answer the question: “How to draw a line in Canva?”

Frequently Asked Questions

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