Review of Procreate Painting App for iPad GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Software & Apps > Design 94 94 people found this article helpful
Procreate for iPad App Review
Procreate is designed for sketching, drawing, and painting
By Sue Chastain Sue Chastain Writer St. Petersburg College Sue Chastain is a former Lifewire writer and a graphics software authority with web design and print publishing credentials. She's also skilled in WordPress administration. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on January 28, 2020 Tweet Share Email Thomas Barwick / Getty Images Tweet Share Email In This Article
Expand Jump to a Section User Interface and Performance Brushes and Layers Third-Party Devices Get Help in Procreate Procreate vs Photoshop What We Like Highly responsive with zero stroke lag. Exclusive perspective blur. Gaussian and motion blur. Hue, saturation, and brightness settings. 64-bit color. 128 brushes, each with 35 customizable settings, and the ability to import more. Work saved automatically in the background. Right- or left-handed option for user interface Supports large canvas sizes up to 16k by 4k on iPad Pro 12.9". Opens PSD, TIFF, PNG, PDF, and JPEG files. 250 levels of undo and redo. Records your drawings as videos that can be exported in full HD. What We Don't Like No free version to sample the app. Only available for iPad (although the company offers the less powerful Procreate Pocket for the iPhone). Reading the handbook is necessary to optimize use of the app. Procreate is a powerful digital sketching and painting app designed specifically for the iPad. Named an Apple Design Award winner and an App Store Essential, it offers exceptional performance, an elegant user interface, powerful layers support, stunning filters, hundreds of brush presets (including pens, pencils, and abstract tools), and the ability to import, create, and share custom brushes. The app supports Apple Pencil and iCloud Drive, and it records each brushstroke as you work, so sharing your work by video is seamless. The current version of Procreate requires iOS 13.2 or later. Procreate User Interface and Performance
Procreate's user interface is relatively simplistic. The most striking thing about the app is not the depth of its features but how responsive and fluid it is to work with. This is due to the high level of performance, as well as a well-thought-out user interface that doesn't get in the way. Unlike many mobile painting apps, there's zero stroke lag when painting in Procreate. You'll appreciate this responsiveness if you enjoy working with a smudge tool for blending colors. You can enable the streamline feature to automatically correct your strokes as you draw for even more precision. When you rotate the iPad, the canvas stays in place, but the user interface rotates so the tools are always oriented to your drawing position. Like Adobe Photoshop, Procreate's selection tool allows you to outline areas of your drawing for editing without affecting the whole canvas. Since Procreate records your drawings in real time, you can impress your friends with time-lapsed animations of your work when it's finished. Procreate Brushes and Layers
Procreate comes with hundreds of brush and tool presets. You can also create your own custom brushes directly on the device. To create custom brushes, you import images for the brush shape and texture, then set the parameters of the brush attributes, such as spacing and rotation. You can share your custom brush presets and import new presets from other users. The active Procreate Community forum is a good place to find and share custom brushes. When it comes to working with layers, Procreate provides a great deal of flexibility for merging, locking, and working with blending modes. The maximum number of layers is limited by the canvas size. Procreate and Third-Party Devices
Douglas Sacha/Getty Images Procreate supports only Apple Pencil on iPad Pro with tilt, azimuth, accumulation, and flow settings. If you have a different iPad model, you can use these pressure-sensitive stylus pens: Adonit Jot Touch 4, Jot Touch Pixelpoint, Jot Script, and Jot Script 2TenOneDesign's Pogo Connect 1 and 2Wacom Intuos Creative Stylus 1 and 2, Bamboo Fineline 1 and 2FiftyThree Pencil Getting Help in Procreate
Help for Procreate is available through an in-app quick start guide, as well as a detailed handbook you can download from within the app. Links are provided for the Procreate Community forum, online tutorials, and customer support. Procreate vs Photoshop
Pekic/Getty Images Procreate is similar to Photoshop in how it handles layers, but it's better optimized for the iPad. Fortunately, Procreate supports Photoshop files, so you can import your PSD files and continue working on your tablet. Procreate also makes it easy to share files and open them on non-Apple devices. All in all, Procreate offers many of the same features as Photoshop at a much lower price. Although no free version is available for experimenting, a onetime cost of $9.99 is more appealing than Adobe's annual subscription fee. While Procreate has a small learning curve, it's a good alternative to Photoshop for artists who primarily work on their iPads. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire The 13 Best iPad Drawing Apps of 2022 How to Insert and Paint 3D Models in Paint 3D 10 Best Free Photo Editing Programs How to Create the Out of Bounds Effect in Photoshop The 9 Best Digital Art Software of 2022 Creating and Using Custom Brushes in Photoshop Elements What Is a Gerber (GBR) File & How Do You Open One? How to Make a Pattern in Photoshop ABR File (What It Is and How to Open One) What Is Microsoft Paint 3D? The 5 Best Alternatives to Photoshop for Android The 5 Best Chromebook Photo Editors of 2022 The 8 Best iPad Pro Apps of 2022 8 Best Free Photo Editing Apps How to Use the Photoshop Background Eraser Tool How to Draw on the iPad Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies