How to Use Procreate: Step-by-Step Drawing Tutorial for Beginners
Key Takeaways
- Procreate uses a gesture-based interface—mastering taps and swipes (like two-finger undo) cuts your learning curve in half.
- Brushes respond to pressure and tilt; adjusting their size and opacity is done with a single slider, not a menu.
- Layers work like transparent sheets: keep your line art, colors, and shading separate for easy edits.
- Animation Assist (included free) lets you create frame-by-frame GIFs under 30 seconds with minimal setup.
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Getting Started: Your First 10 Minutes in Procreate
Open Procreate and tap the + sign in the top-right corner. Choose a canvas size: for social media posts, pick Square (2048 x 2048 px) at 300 DPI. For print illustrations, go larger—A4 (2480 x 3508 px). I always start at 300 DPI even for digital work because it gives me room to zoom in without pixelation.
Your main tools live in the top toolbar: brush, smudge, eraser, layers, and color. The brush library comes with over 200 presets, but I’ll show you how to customize three essential ones in the next section.
Brushes: The Three You Need to Master
Procreate’s brush engine is powerful, but beginners often get overwhelmed. Here are the three brushes I use in 90% of my illustrations:
- Studio Pen (Inking category): Great for clean line art. It’s pressure-sensitive, so light strokes give thin lines, heavy presses create thick ones.
- Flat Brush (Painting category): Perfect for blocking in base colors. It has a slight texture that mimics real paint.
- Soft Brush (Airbrushing category): Use for shading and blending. It’s soft-edged, so transitions look smooth.
Pro tip: Duplicate any brush by swiping left on it and tapping Duplicate. Then adjust its Size and Opacity in the brush settings (tap the brush again after selecting). For example, I made a “Thick Ink” brush by increasing the StreamLine to 50%—it creates smoother curves without wobbles.
Layers: Organizing Your Artwork
Layers in Procreate work like transparent sheets stacked on top of each other. Tap the layers icon (two overlapping squares) to open the panel.
Best practices I’ve learned from 50+ illustrations:
- Keep line art on top: Create a layer named “Line Art” at the very top. This way, you can color underneath without affecting your outlines.
- Use 3–5 layers for simple drawings: Background, base colors, shading, highlights, and line art. More layers slow down performance on older iPads.
- Group related layers: Tap a layer and select Group (or pinch two layers together). I group all shading layers into one folder so I can toggle them on/off.
- Alpha Lock: When you swipe right on a layer thumbnail, you lock its transparency. This lets you paint only within existing shapes—great for adding shadows to a flat color without going outside the lines.
Example: I drew a red apple on one layer, then Alpha Locked it and painted dark red on the bottom edge. The shadow stayed perfectly inside the apple shape. This saved me 10 minutes of cleanup.
Animation: Making Your Art Move
Procreate’s Animation Assist is hidden but easy to use. Here’s how to create a simple bouncing ball GIF in 5 steps:
1. Open a new canvas (500 x 500 px).
2. Draw a circle on layer 1—that’s frame 1.
3. Tap the wrench icon (Actions) > Canvas > Animation Assist. A timeline bar appears at the bottom.
4. Tap Add Frame (the + in the timeline). A new layer appears. Draw the ball slightly higher.
5. Repeat for 5–8 frames, moving the ball up and then back down.
Settings to tweak:
- Frames per second (fps): 12 fps gives a smooth, cartoon-like motion. 6 fps creates a choppier stop-motion look.
- Onion skinning: The slider in the timeline shows previous frames as faint outlines. I keep it at 3 frames so I can see the ball’s path.
- Loop: Tap the settings gear in the timeline and choose Loop for endless playback.
Real number: I animated a 12-frame walk cycle in 45 minutes using just 4 layers. The GIF exported at 2.3 MB—small enough to post on Instagram.
Illustration Tips for Cleaner Results
Here are three techniques I wish I knew on day one:
1. Use QuickShape: Draw a rough circle, hold your pencil down at the end, and it snaps to a perfect shape. Do this for circles, squares, and straight lines. It’s faster than using the shape tool.
2. ColorDrop: Drag a color from the top-right circle onto a closed shape to fill it. If the fill leaks, your shape isn’t fully closed—zoom in and check for gaps.
3. Reference Layer: In the layers panel, tap a layer and choose Reference. This lets you color on other layers while keeping the reference layer’s lines visible. I use it for coloring books I create in Procreate.
Comparison: Procreate vs. Procreate Pocket
| Feature | Procreate (iPad) | Procreate Pocket (iPhone) |
| --------- | ------------------ | --------------------------- |
| Max canvas size | 16K x 8K px | 8K x 4K px |
| Brushes included | 200+ | 200+ (same library) |
| Animation Assist | Yes | Yes |
| Supports Apple Pencil | Yes (full pressure/tilt) | Yes (limited tilt on older iPhones) |
| Price | $12.99 one-time | $5.99 one-time |
My take: If you have an iPad, use Procreate. The larger screen makes layer management and animation far easier. Pocket is great for quick sketches on the go, but I wouldn’t rely on it for detailed illustrations.
FAQ
Q: How do I undo in Procreate?
A: Two-finger tap anywhere on the canvas. Three-finger tap redoes. This is faster than hunting for the undo button in the top menu.
Q: Can I use Procreate without an Apple Pencil?
A: Yes, but pressure sensitivity is lost. I’ve used it with a cheap stylus and it’s functional for basic shapes and coloring. For precise line art, Apple Pencil is worth the investment.
Q: How do I export my animation as a GIF?
A: Tap the wrench icon > Share > Animated GIF. Choose the number of frames (I use 12) and background color (transparent or white). The file will save to your Photos app.