Lines

Scribble: scribble art from a photo

A ballpoint doodle: one looping line circles its way across the picture, its loops crowding together and piling up where it is dark, spreading out in the mid-tones and leaving the lights blank. Suits expressive portraits, drawn as a few long continuous scribbles.

Good for expressive portraits.

Try Scribble on your image → Compare all styles

Controls

Loop size · How wide the loops are where the picture is darkest. Lighter tones get the same small loops spread further apart. Larger is looser and quicker to plot.
Loops in black · How many times the pen circles each spot in solid black. Lighter tones get a single loop. Higher is darker and slower.
Keep highlights blank · Anything less dark than this stays blank paper. Raise it to keep highlights clean.

More controls

Follow the form · Stretches the loops along the picture so they follow hair, folds and edges. At 0 every loop leans its own way.
Loop scatter · Lower: loops of an even size, like a steady hand. Higher: loop sizes vary more, for a looser doodle.
Tone curve · Bends the tones before drawing. Above 1 lightens the mid-tones, which helps when a pen pools ink; below 1 darkens them.

Lion photo drawn as ballpoint scribble loops for a pen plotter — Slide to compare. A test render on A5 with 8 mm margins and a 0.3 mm pen: 39 paths, about 18 minutes to plot. Your photo, paper and settings will give different numbers. Photo: Lion, Andreas Vonlanthen, 2025, Unsplash License.

Slide to compare. A test render on A5 with 8 mm margins and a 0.3 mm pen: 39 paths, about 18 minutes to plot. Your photo, paper and settings will give different numbers. Photo: Lion, Andreas Vonlanthen, 2025, Unsplash License.

How the loops build tone

Scribble draws the picture as one looping line that circles its way across the page. The loops crowd together and pile up where the picture is dark, spread out in the mid-tones and stop in the lights. Loop size sets how wide the loops are in the darkest areas; lighter tones get the same small loops, spread further apart. Loops in black sets how many times the pen circles each spot in solid black, from 1 to 4, and Keep highlights blank where the loops stop.

Follow the form stretches the loops along hair, folds and edges. Loop scatter decides whether the loops keep an even size, like a steady hand, or vary for a looser doodle.

The loops are joined into a few long scribbles, so the pen rarely lifts. Dense shadows put a lot of ink in one place, so a fine pen on smooth paper holds up better than a broad felt tip. A larger Loop size gives a looser drawing and a quicker plot.