Every Doodaro style: all 37 drawing styles and when to use each (2026)
The full list of Doodaro's 37 hand-drawn styles grouped by collection, one line on when each works, and how to pick one for your video.
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Doodaro draws every scene in one of 37 styles. Each style is a recipe: line weight, texture, color rules and the surface it is drawn on. The engine then animates the line work stroke by stroke, so the same script looks like a marker on a whiteboard in one style and like chalk on slate in another.
This page lists all 37 by collection, with one line on when each earns its place. Browse the pictures in the template gallery.
How styles work
- One style per video, set in the style card at the top of the Storyboard.
- Every style is available in color on every plan.
- Switching the style redraws the scenes. Narration, order and timing stay.
- Dark styles (black or navy surface) read better on phones and in dark feeds. Light styles read better on projectors and in slide decks.
- You can add your own style in My Templates from one or two reference images plus instructions.
Originals (3)
The three signature styles. Each has a finished animated example on the template page.
| Style | Use it when |
|---|---|
| The Curious Creator | You want the classic whiteboard explainer: one confident black line, open white interiors, readable at any size. Startup demos, YouTube intros. |
| Stories Through Time | The subject is history, travel or a brand story and you want the weight of an editorial illustration with pencil color and hatching. |
| Make It Make Sense | You are explaining a process or comparison and want full-color doodle infographics that assemble on screen. Product explainers, education, social clips. |
Boards (11)
Whiteboard, chalkboard and blueprint looks that feel drawn live in front of the viewer.
| Style | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Clearboard | Training, lessons, onboarding. Thin black lines on warm off-white, nothing to distract from the idea. The safest first choice. |
| Bold Marker | Sales videos, pitches, workshops. Felt-tip contours with visible marker streaks; energy without losing legibility. |
| Color Chalkboard | Punchy shorts, recipes, science. Soft colored chalk on a black board; every line glows. |
| Midnight Chalk | Faceless channels, quotes, math. White chalk on near-black, minimal and very readable on phones. |
| Blueprint | Engineering, architecture, hardware. Pale-blue drafting lines on a navy grid. |
| Editorial Ink | Opinion pieces, finance, news explainers. Detailed pen with a single red accent for emphasis. |
| Graphite Classroom | Courses, tutoring, study guides. Coarse ink that feels like a teacher thinking out loud on the board. |
| Illustrated Ideas | E-learning, healthcare, nonprofits. Calm muted color on cream for longer educational pieces. |
| Minimal Indigo | SaaS, fintech, product tours. Thin lines, simple geometry, one indigo accent. |
| Playful Pages | Kids content, community, wellness. Rounded storybook characters on warm cream. |
| Study Notes | Exam prep, science, language learning. Fine pen and colored pencil like a top student’s notes. |
Sketches (12)
Pen, marker, pencil and crayon styles with real hand-drawn texture.
| Style | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Sketch Note | Explainers, podcasts, newsletters. Bright fine-pen drawings arranged as independent story groups that reveal one idea at a time. |
| Classic Color Sketch | Storytelling, travel, lifestyle. Dark ink with colored pencil and marker hatching. |
| Clean Color | Corporate, HR, internal comms. Fine rounded lines with a single purple accent; quiet and modern. |
| Color Pop Sketch | Marketing, launches, social ads. Thick comic outlines and bright scribbled color. |
| Color Study | Infographics, process videos, icons. Simple marker pictograms, very fast to read. |
| Crayon Stories | Children, family brands, books. Rich crayon pigment on warm paper. |
| Dry Erase Studio | Consulting, strategy, meetings. Black, blue and orange dry-erase marker, cleaned up. |
| Handwritten Lessons | Coaching, tutorials, how-to. Rounded expressive black marker; personal and direct. |
| Heritage Sketch | Heritage brands, museums, wine and food. Ink with controlled colored crosshatching, an engraved feel. |
| Illustrated Notes | Team updates, slides, quick explainers. Bold marker with streaky textured color. |
| Midnight Sketch | Luxury, tech, cinematic intros. Fine pale contours on solid black. |
| Story Infographics | Reports, data stories, annual reviews. Printed editorial infographic with soft hand-drawn edges. |
Specialty (11)
Cel animation, cut paper, clay, isometric and editorial looks for stories that need to stand out.
| Style | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Cinematic Cel | Brand films, trailers. Full-scene 2D cel frames with staged lighting. |
| Clay Story Worlds | Kids, food, craft brands. Matte plasticine miniatures on an ivory set. |
| Cut Paper Stories | Nonprofits, sustainability, wellness. Layered paper collage with visible cut edges. |
| Blueprint Worlds | Architecture, real estate, engineering. A warm cel character inside a navy blueprint. |
| Editorial Collage | Media, culture, campaigns. Photographic cutouts, torn paper and hand notes. |
| Gentle Story Comics | Memoir, health, community stories. Graphite contours with muted watercolor. |
| Halftone Comics | Gaming, entertainment, youth brands. Flat comic color with halftone dot shading. |
| Isometric Worlds | SaaS, logistics, smart cities. Clean axonometric illustration for how-things-connect stories. |
| Luminous Chalk | Tech channels, music, events. Cyan, magenta and violet lines glowing on black. |
| Parchment Ink | History, mythology, heritage. Engraving-style ink on aged parchment. |
| Pottery Silhouettes | Philosophy, classics, culture. Flat black silhouettes with gold details, like classical pottery. |
How to pick a style
Work through these four questions in order. Most videos are settled by the second one.
1. Where will it be watched?
- Phone, vertical, dark feeds: a dark style. Midnight Chalk, Color Chalkboard, Luminous Chalk, Midnight Sketch, Blueprint.
- Desktop YouTube, classrooms, slide decks: a light style. Clearboard, Sketch Note, Illustrated Ideas, Study Notes.
2. What is the job of the video?
| Job | Start with | Then try |
|---|---|---|
| Explain a process | Make It Make Sense, Color Study | Sketch Note, Isometric Worlds |
| Teach a lesson | Clearboard, Study Notes | Graphite Classroom, Handwritten Lessons |
| Tell a story | Stories Through Time, Classic Color Sketch | Cinematic Cel, Gentle Story Comics |
| Sell something | Bold Marker, Color Pop Sketch | Minimal Indigo, Clean Color |
| Faith and reflection | Gentle Story Comics, Parchment Ink | Midnight Chalk, Cut Paper Stories |
| Children | Playful Pages, Crayon Stories | Clay Story Worlds |
| Data and reports | Story Infographics, Editorial Ink | Blueprint |
3. How much detail do your scenes carry?
Simple pictograms and arrows suit Color Study, Clearboard and Minimal Indigo. Scenes with people, places and props suit the Sketches and Specialty collections, which have room for texture and shading. Do not put a six-object scene in a pictogram style; it will look crowded.
4. Does a style need to match your brand?
If yes, save your own template. Open My Templates, add one or two reference images of the look you want, write three or four lines of style instructions (line weight, palette, surface, what to avoid) and save. Using it opens a new project with that direction. Every save is a new version; existing projects keep the version they chose.
Light and dark at a glance
Six of the 37 styles are drawn on a dark surface: Color Chalkboard, Midnight Chalk, Blueprint, Midnight Sketch, Blueprint Worlds and Luminous Chalk, on black or navy. The other 31 are light, on white, cream, off-white or parchment. Dark styles glow on a phone in a dark feed and lose nothing to compression; light styles look right on a projector, in a slide deck, and next to a white web page. If your channel lives on YouTube Shorts, start from the dark list. If it lives in a classroom or a course platform, start from the light list.
Testing two styles without wasting minutes
- Build scenes and generate pictures in your first-choice style.
- Duplicate nothing; instead open the style card, pick the second style, and generate again. The scenes are redrawn in the new look.
- Compare in Play storyboard. Neither pass uses export minutes; only the final export does.
- If you switch back, generate again. Style switches always redraw.
Redrawing costs time, not allowance, so test on a short project of 5 or 6 scenes before committing a 40-scene video.
Switching a style on a finished video
Switching the style after export is allowed and common when a client wants “the same video, but on a chalkboard”. Open the Storyboard, change the style card, click Generate N images, review, then export again. Narration and timing carry over untouched. The new export uses minutes like any other.
Styles that pair well with each other across a channel
If you run several formats, keep one style per format so viewers recognize each:
- Long explainers in Clearboard, shorts in Midnight Chalk (same line feel, light and dark).
- Story episodes in Stories Through Time, quote cards in Parchment Ink.
- Product tours in Minimal Indigo, launch ads in Color Pop Sketch.
Save the pairing as two projects you copy from, and the look stays consistent without extra thought.
Frequently asked questions
How many drawing styles does Doodaro have?
37 styles in four collections: 3 Originals, 11 Boards, 12 Sketches and 11 Specialty. Every style is available in color on every plan, including Free. You can also save your own style in My Templates from reference images and instructions.
Can I use more than one style in a video?
The Storyboard sets one style for the whole video so the scenes match. The Editor lets you change the drawing style for a single scene, but the pictures were drawn for the video style, so keep one style per video unless you have a reason.
What happens when I switch styles?
The scenes are redrawn in the new style. Narration, scene order and timing stay. If you have already generated pictures, switching the style means generating them again, so pick the style before you click Generate images.
Which style is best for YouTube?
For a general explainer channel, Clearboard, Sketch Note or The Curious Creator. For phone-first shorts, a dark style such as Midnight Chalk or Luminous Chalk reads better on small screens. See the section on picking a style.
Are there black-and-white styles?
Yes. Clearboard, Midnight Chalk, Midnight Sketch and Handwritten Lessons are mostly single-color line work. Most other styles add color, and all of them are available on every plan.
Can I make my own style?
Yes. Open My Templates, give the style a name, add one or two reference images and a short set of style instructions, and save. Using the template starts a new project with that direction. Each save keeps a version so old projects keep their look.