Learn Procreate: A Comprehensive Guide to Digital Art on Your iPad

Procreate Version & Compatibility

This guide is based on the Procreate 5X (Procreate 5 series) feature set and terminology. UI placements and feature names reflect Procreate 5X behavior; if you are using a significantly older or newer release, some menu locations or options may differ. For the most current release notes and official support, see Procreate's site: procreate.art.

Introduction to Procreate: The Digital Art Revolution

Why Procreate Stands Out

Procreate is a widely adopted iPad app that brings a responsive drawing experience to mobile devices. Its clean UI, robust Brush Studio, and non-destructive layering system let artists move from concept to polished artwork entirely on iPad. Procreate’s strong ecosystem of brushes, templates, and export options makes it suitable for illustrators, concept artists, and hobbyists alike.

• Customizable brushes via Brush Studio
• Intuitive user interface and fast gestures
• Powerful layering and blending modes
• Export options suitable for web and desktop workflows

Getting Started: Setting Up Procreate on Your iPad

Installation & Basic Setup

Install Procreate from the App Store, then open it to see your Gallery. Connect an Apple Pencil (1st or 2nd generation) to enable pressure sensitivity and tilt controls; the precise behavior depends on your Apple Pencil model and iPad hardware.

Key initial settings to review:

• Gallery > Actions (wrench icon) > Preferences — enable gesture controls you like
• Actions > Canvas — set default canvas templates you’ll reuse
• Brushes — import or create a starter brush set for your style

Screenshots & Video Guides

Visual aids (screenshots and short screencast clips) make UI-heavy instructions far easier to follow. Below are practical steps for capturing useful assets on iPad and using Procreate's built-in exports.

How to capture screenshots and screen recordings

• Take a screenshot: on Face ID iPads press the Top button + Volume Up; on older iPads press Home + Top/Side button. The screenshot saves to Photos.
• Enable Screen Recording: go to Settings > Control Center > add "Screen Recording". Open Control Center and tap the record button to capture a screencast while you demo brush settings or quick menus.
• Export a Procreate time-lapse: Actions > Video > Export Time-lapse to get a compressed replay of your session. Use the recording for short process clips on social media.

Best practices for screenshots/video clips

• Crop and annotate (arrows or callouts) to highlight the icon or menu you reference—keep annotations short (3–4 words).
• For videos, record short clips (10–30s) that focus on single actions (e.g., creating a Clipping Mask, adjusting Brush Studio settings).
• Save originals in a project folder (Dropbox or iCloud) and upload compressed versions for quick sharing.

Mastering the Basics: Tools and Features Explained

Key Tools and Their Uses

Familiarize yourself with these core tools and where to find them in the Procreate UI:

• Brush Library — top-right brush icon. Use Brush Studio to edit spacing, jitter, grain, and dynamics.
• Smudge — next to brush; useful for softening edges or blending colors.
• Erase — works like the brush tool; set hardness/opacity for varied results.
• Layers — top-right layers icon: organize foreground, midground, background; set blend modes and alpha.
• Adjustments — wand icon: apply Gaussian Blur, Hue/ Saturation, and Noise.

Creating Your First Artwork: Step-by-Step Guide

Understanding the Canvas

Choose canvas dimensions and DPI based on the final output. For print, aim for high pixel dimensions (for example, 300 DPI at the intended print size). For social media, use platform-friendly sizes to reduce manual cropping later.

• Select canvas dimensions from Gallery > + > New Canvas
• Set DPI under canvas settings for print projects
• Use templates for comics or storyboards to maintain consistent panels
• Save recurring canvas presets in the canvas size manager

How to create a new canvas in Procreate (UI steps):

open Procreate -> New Canvas -> Select dimensions

Choose dimensions and DPI, then tap Create to open your new canvas.

Procreate Workflow Diagram

This diagram maps the common stages of a Procreate project. Use the links below to jump to detailed guidance for each stage in this article:

• Sketch — Start with loose thumbnails and rough linework to lock composition and proportions. Refer to Creating Your First Artwork for canvas setup and initial strokes. Use a simple pencil brush in the Brush Library to avoid heavy strokes early.
• Block-In — Establish broad color and value areas to make composition and lighting decisions. See Mastering the Basics and the Brush Studio notes for choosing brushes that support clean flat fills and value testing.
• Details — Add texture, lighting, and refined lines. Techniques such as Alpha Lock and Clipping Masks (covered in Advanced Techniques) let you add non-destructive shading and effects.
• Export — Finalize by exporting the appropriate formats for the next stage: PNG for web, PSD for layered desktop edits, or TIFF for print. See Sharing and Exporting for exact UI steps and format guidance.

Advanced Techniques: Tips and Tricks for Pro Users

Alpha Lock & Clipping Masks

Alpha Lock and Clipping Masks let you paint within existing content without losing shapes or edges.

• Alpha Lock — In the Layers panel, swipe right on a layer to enable Alpha Lock. Paint directly on the layer to preserve transparency. Useful for texture passes on a character without affecting background areas.
• Clipping Mask — Create a new layer above a base layer, tap the layer, and choose Clipping Mask. All painting on the clipped layer affects only non-transparent pixels of the base layer. Great for shading and highlights.

Reference Companion & Advanced Reference Usage

Use the Reference feature to pin a reference image to your canvas while you draw. Open Actions (& wrench) > Canvas > Reference, then choose Image or Layers. The Reference window can stay visible while you work, enabling direct color sampling and composition checks.

Gesture Controls & QuickMenu

Customize gestures to speed up repetitive tasks:

• Actions > Prefs > Gesture Controls — map double-tap and three-finger gestures.
• Enable QuickMenu: press and hold (or assign a gesture) > Customize — add brushes, undo, or transform as shortcuts.

UI steps to set QuickMenu:

tap and hold for QuickMenu -> Customize

Brush Studio: Creating a Custom Brush

Brush Studio is where you create professional brushes. Key tabs to modify:

• Stroke — adjust spacing and jitter
• Shape — import or edit the brush tip
• Grain — set texture that the brush paints with
• Dynamics — enable pressure and tilt to map opacity/size

Practical steps:

1. Open Brush Library > + > New Brush
2. Under Shape, Import a custom round or textured tip (PNG)
3. Tweak Spacing in Stroke and Grain in Grain to get desired texture
4. Save and test at multiple pressure settings

Animation Assist & Frame Management

Turn on Animation Assist in Actions > Canvas to enable onion-skinning and timeline controls. Keep frame counts low for hand-drawn animation; export as GIF, MP4, or image sequences depending on delivery needs.

Real-world Example: Texture Pass Mini-Case Study

This expanded mini-case study shows a texture-pass workflow I use for client portrait work. It focuses on keeping the process non-destructive and revision-friendly.

1. Canvas & Brush Prep — Start with a canvas preset sized for the final use (see Canvas). Create or import two test brushes in Brush Studio: a soft grain brush for base textures and a detailed ink brush for hair/edge work. In Brush Studio, verify pressure-to-size and pressure-to-opacity mappings before committing.
2. Base Layers and Clipping Masks — Block in color on separate layers: skin, clothing, background. Use Clipping Masks for shadow and highlight passes so you can adjust base colors without losing shading. Keep each major pass on its own layer group to preserve editability.
3. Texture Application — For texture, use a grain layer above the base with a Multiply or Overlay blend mode. Either use Alpha Lock on the base layer to paint directly into existing pixels or paint on a clipped texture layer to keep edits reversible. Import a PNG grain in Brush Studio if you need a repeating texture that matches your style.
4. Refinement and Non-Destructive Effects — Add a soft dodge/burn layer as a clipped layer to refine form. When using Gaussian Blur or Noise (Actions > Adjustments), duplicate the layer first so you can toggle the effect later. Test the result at 100% zoom and at final export size to ensure texture scale reads correctly.
5. Export & Backup — Export a layered PSD (Actions > Share > PSD) when sending to desktop Photoshop for final color grading. Save a .procreate backup and upload copies to iCloud or Dropbox. Keep a time-lapse export for client revision records.

Considerations from experience: avoid applying large global raster effects on the topmost merged layer until you have an exported PSD backup. If working on older iPad hardware, merge non-essential layers to conserve RAM but retain separate master files with all layers for archival purposes.

Troubleshooting & Best Practices

Backup & File Management

Keep regular backups of your Procreate files. Use iCloud Drive or export .procreate/.psd files to Dropbox or a local server. If you plan to continue work in desktop Photoshop, export a layered PSD from Procreate (Actions > Share > PSD).

Handling Large Files & Performance

• Reduce the number of simultaneous high-resolution canvases to avoid memory issues on older iPads.
• Rasterize or merge temporary layers after finishing complex passes to lower memory usage.
• If Procreate crashes while exporting, try exporting smaller sections or export as PNG sequence and combine on desktop.

Common Issues & Fixes

• Canvas lag during brush strokes — close background apps and toggle off AssistiveTouch if active.
• Missing brushes after app updates — re-import from backed-up brush files (.brush or .brushset).
• PSD layers flattened in other apps — verify layer groups and blending modes after import into Photoshop.

Security & Privacy

When sharing files, avoid embedding sensitive information in file metadata. Use secure cloud storage (e.g., Dropbox or iCloud with two-factor authentication enabled) for collaborative workflows. For client work, consider using password-protected ZIP archives for bulk transfers if using shared links.

Sharing and Exporting Your Art: From Canvas to Community

Exporting Your Artwork

Procreate supports PNG, JPEG, TIFF, and layered PSD exports. Choose based on the next step in your workflow:

• PNG — high-quality web images and transparency
• JPEG — smaller files for social media (no transparency)
• PSD — preserves layers for further Photoshop editing
• TIFF — high-fidelity print needs

Example UI step to export as PNG:

Actions (wrench icon) -> Share -> PNG -> Save to Files

In the app: Actions (& wrench) > Share > PNG (or PSD) > Save to Files / AirDrop / Share to app.

Sharing on Social Media

Optimize image sizes for each platform and consider posting both process videos (time-lapse) and the final piece. Procreate can export time-lapse videos from a canvas (Actions > Video > Export Time-lapse), which are highly engaging on platforms like Instagram and Twitter.

Example UI step to share directly (via the OS sharing sheet):

Actions (wrench icon) -> Share -> JPEG -> Share to Instagram or other app

Tip: export at 1080×1080 for Instagram posts and 1080×1920 for Stories to avoid platform resampling.

Glossary of Terms

• Alpha Lock — Locks a layer's transparency so you can paint only inside existing pixels.
• Clipping Mask — A layer mode where the top layer affects only the non-transparent pixels of the layer below.
• Brush Studio — Procreate's brush editor where tip, grain, stroke, and dynamics are configured.
• Canvas — The working image area defined by pixel dimensions and DPI.
• DPI — Dots per inch; controls print resolution. Use 300 DPI for most print work.
• Onion-skinning — Animation Assist feature that shows frames before/after to help with animation timing.
• Time-lapse — A compressed video exported by Procreate that records the painting process.
• PSD — Adobe Photoshop document; Procreate can export layered PSD files for desktop edits.

Further Reading

Official documentation, community support, and desktop tool pages where you can find more advanced tutorials and resources:

• Procreate (official site) — official FAQs, tutorials, and product news.
• Adobe — information about Photoshop for finishing PSD exports on desktop.
• Reddit — active user communities and topic threads (search Procreate subreddits for tips and brushes).
• YouTube — abundant video tutorials, walkthroughs, and process videos.
• Dropbox — cloud storage for backups and large exports.
• iCloud — Apple cloud storage, useful for iPad backups and Procreate file sync.

Author's Procreate Experience

In addition to my primary work in network security, I’ve spent several years producing commission illustrations and graphics for web projects. One practical example: I designed a series of five character portraits for a client, using Procreate for initial sketches, Brush Studio for custom ink textures, and PSD export to finish color grading in Adobe Photoshop. The use of Clipping Masks and multiple clipped adjustment layers helped keep the project non-destructive and sped up revisions.