Doodly Intermediate Tutorial

Aligning Assets

Intermediate Tutorial #6
Doodly Asset Alignment Tool

Rule of Thirds Doodly Asset Alignment Tool

Aligning Assets

In Doodly we have a couple of rudimentary tools for aligning assets on the canvas.

  1. Line Assets
    These assets can be used to line up assets on the canvas.

  2. Grid & Snap to Grid
    This is the main tool within Doodly that allows for aligning assets on the canvas. This tool does not help with placement and is only for alignment.

Note: There are no native tools within Doodly that allow for asset alignment on the canvas other than the snap to grid feature so it is up to us, as video designers, to manually align placements of assets on the canvas, which frankly is not an easy task.

Tool

Here are two asset alignment tools that allow for aligning of character, prop and text assets onto the canvas. This tool is not 100% accurate down to the pixel but it is really close. One of thme designed with the rule of thirds in mind shown as dashed lines.

Tool Usage

This is designed for 1920px x 1080px. The best use of this tool is on a per scene custom canvas with a background image so you can still see the grid in front of the image but you can use it as an asset if it is the first layer in your doodle but it will cover the grid if you choose to use that method. Then when you are done with that scene, remove the image.

Doodly will display this image on the timeline but the more time that is added at the end of the scene, the image gets stretched out on the timeline.

If you attempt to use it in the video settings, you may find yourself with multiple images in all your scenes with differently stretched images on the timeline depending on how much time has been added to the end of the scene.


Working with Images

Watch our Working with Images video tutorial if you are not sure how to put an image as a background.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to the most common questions regarding this topic.

Doodly offers a few basic options like line assets and a snap to grid feature for aligning your work. Since the software lacks advanced native alignment features for precise placement, video creators often have to adjust their characters, text, and props manually.

The most effective method is to apply the custom alignment image as a background for a specific scene. This allows you to see the guide clearly while placing your items, and you can simply delete the background image once everything is perfectly positioned.

The custom alignment tools mentioned are specifically created to fit a standard high definition resolution of 1920 pixels by 1080 pixels. They provide a very accurate, though not perfectly pixel exact, reference for your workspace.

If you apply the guide image to your global video settings, it will appear across all your scenes and can behave unpredictably. The software stretches the image on the timeline based on the length of each individual scene, creating a messy workspace.

Yes, one of the provided custom alignment tools features dashed lines that represent the rule of thirds. This helps you compose your scenes visually and place your props and characters in a more engaging way.

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