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The annotation tool is available in multiple editors.It can be used to add notes to e.g. 3D objects or node setups.The arrow in the screenshot below is an annotation.

Annotations tool in a node editor.¶
The annotation tool can be activated in the Toolbar and has the following sub-tools:
Draw free-hand strokes in the main area.
Click and drag to create a line.Optionally, you can select the arrow style for the start and end of the line.
Click multiple times to create multiple connected lines, then pressReturn orEsc to confirm.
Click and drag to remove lines.The eraser has aRadius setting found inTool Settings.
Adjust the color of existing and new strokes.
A pop-over menu, showing the name of the current layer, to access theAnnotation Layers.
Determines where the annotations are drawn.
Only available in the 3D Viewport. The new annotations become part of the 3D scene;they’re drawn on an imaginary plane that goes through the3D Cursorand is aligned to your view.
Only available in the 3D Viewport. The new annotations become part of the 3D scene;they’re drawn onto the surface of the object under the mouse. If there is no surface,you get the same behavior as3D Cursor.
Only available in 2D editors such as theImage Editor.The annotations become part of the 2D space, meaning their position and size change as youpan and zoom in the editor.
The new annotations are 2D and get stuck to the screen. They keep the same position,rotation and size no matter how you pan, orbit or zoom in the editor.
Only use the first and last parts of the stroke for snapping.
Only project the strokes onto selected objects.
Helps to reduce jitter of the strokes while drawing by delaying and correcting the location of points.
Minimum distance from the last point before the stroke continues.
A smooth factor, where higher values result in smoother strokesbut the drawing sensation feels like as if you were pulling the stroke.
The decoration to use at the beginning or end of the line segment.This can be used for example to create arrows to point out specific details in a scene.
When the annotation tool is enabled, the settings for managing multiple layerscan be found in theSidebar ‣ View ‣ Annotations panel.
Adjusts the opacity of existing and new strokes.
Adjusts the thickness of existing and new strokes.
Shows a ghosted image of strokes made in frames before and after the current frame.Onion skinning only works in the 3D Viewport and Sequencer.See the Grease Pencil documentation for an explanation ofOnion Skinning.
Color to use before and after the current frame on ghost frames.The number defines how many frames to show before and after the current frame.