This disclosure relates to drawing within a computer environment using a drawing resource. The computer environment includes a managed code portion and a native code portion. The computer environment compares a draw parameter call value being passed from the managed code portion to the native code portion with a stored drawing resource value stored in the native code portion. If the draw parameter call value is the same as the stored drawing resource value, then the computer environment is configured to draw onto a native drawing surface using the stored drawing resource. If the draw parameter call value is not the same as the drawing resource value, then a new drawing resource is created in the managed code portion. In another aspect, a portion of the drawing resource feature portion that contains data that describes at least one or more parameter of the drawing resource is transmitted between the managed code portion and the native code portion.