Whether you’re studying from a PDF on your desktop, sharing your screen in an online meeting, or just sketching some ideas in Photoshop, there are times when you wish you could draw on your screen and share with others.
Using a graphic tablet would be an easy solution, but no worries if you don’t have one. Here’s how you can use your Android phone to draw and write on your Windows PC screen.
How to Draw on Your Windows PC With an Android Device
You can set up your phone to work as a cheap alternative to a graphic tablet in art apps like Photoshop. But you can also use it to annotate your Windows PC screen in other ways, making it ideal if you’re teaching or giving presentations, for example.
You need a third-party PC Remote control app on your Android phone or tablet to draw on your computer’s screen. For this guide, we’re using two apps: the PC Remote Receiver app on Windows, and the PC Remote app on Android. Both are free to use, although there are options for in-app purchases on the Android app.
If your smartphone and PC are on the same Wi-Fi network, you can pair them by tapping on the Wi-Fi icon instead of using USB, and then choosing your computer’s name from the list.
Note:
Sometimes while pairing your phone with the computer, the mobile app displays an error message, regardless of which pairing mode you're using.
To fix that, you need to close the app first, then remove it from the Recent menu. After that, force-stop the app from your phone's settings and re-open it.Once you’ve paired your phone and PC, launch the mobile app and follow these steps to begin drawing on the screen:
- Tap the Utility Tools option at the bottom, located second from the right.
- In the Utility Tools section, choose the Blackboard icon, and you’ll be able to see your PC’s screen mirrored on your smartphone.
- Tap on the Pen icon to draw anything on your screen. This is how your drawing will look on your Windows screen.
- Above the Pen icon, you can see a cog icon. Tap on this to open the Pen Setup menu where you can customize the pen’s size, color, opacity, and sharpness.
- Tapping on the Eraser icon enables you to erase any part of your drawing. Above that, there’s also a cog icon that you can use to increase or decrease the size of the eraser by dragging the slider.
- If you want to clear everything you’ve written on the screen, tap on the Delete icon present on the bottom left.
- After completing your work, you can disconnect your phone by first tapping on the Me icon, located next to the Utility icon, and then choosing the DISCONNECT option.
Turn Your Android Phone Into a Drawing Pad for Your PC
Using an Android phone to draw on a PC’s screen is a great money-saving option for new graphic artists and people who occasionally need to annotate something on their PC. But it isn’t a replacement for dedicated gear if you really need it. If you’re professionally into digital art, investing in a good graphic tablet or an iPad isn’t something you’ll regret.
