Google Draw and Image Search Integration


Google Draw is an awesome tool!  It is often overshadowed by its more well-known sister tools like Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Forms. Draw is a very versatile tool and can be used for a lot of different purposes. While it is not a full-blown image editor like Photoshop, it is still is a powerful graphic editor because it is a collaborative tool! 

Google Drawing is a part of Google Drive and can be accessed in several ways:

  1. From Google services - If you are already logged into your Google account, you can click the App Launcher in the top right portion of the screen and select Drive.
  2. From a web address - by typing https://drive.google.com

How to create a new drawing

  • Once you are in Google Drive you can create a new drawing by:
  • Clicking the Create button in the top left corner
  • Click More and Google Drawings from the drop-down menu
  • Your new drawing will open. Give it a name by clicking in the Untitled box
  • Your drawing will automatically save

Some really great uses for Google Draw include:

  • Annotating images and screenshots
  • Graphic organizers
    (link to download some shareable graphic orgranizers)
  • Mind maps
  • Visual notes (rather than typed notes)
  • Graphical titles for your work
  • Digital badges
  • Blog headers
  • Showing work on a math problem
  • Creating a digital signature
  • Logos
  • Timelines
  • Infographics
  • Collaborative Post-it notes
  • Custom slide backgrounds for Google Slides
  • Custom clip art
  • Custom picture bullets
  • Wireframe kits
  • Create hotspots on images (image maps)
    (Click here to view one embedded in a Google Site)









Google has some great tools for searching for images that many people don't know about. 

  • reverse image search (where you use a picture as your search to find related images)
  • advanced image search
    • size
    • aspect ratio
    • colors (including transparent backgrounds)
    • types (face, photo, clipart, line, animated)
    • region (country)
    • format (jpeg, gig, png, bmp, ico, etc)
    • usage rights
A cool feature that is a huge time-saver is that you don't have to right-click and save your new found images to use them. Locate the image you want to use (make sure you see the transparent checkerboard background) hold in on your mouse button, drag the image to the tabs at the top of your web, locate the one for Google Draw and pause, then when it opens, draw the mouse down onto the drawing canvas and then let up on the mouse button. 

Now put it all together!  Find some images, drag them to your Draw canvas and create a masterpiece!!

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