Why Procreate Is a Great Starting Point

Procreate has become one of the most popular digital illustration apps for a reason: it combines professional-grade power with an intuitive, gesture-driven interface. Available exclusively on iPad, it gives artists a natural, pen-on-paper feel backed by an impressive range of brushes, layers, and export options.

If you've just downloaded Procreate or received an Apple Pencil, this guide will get you comfortable and creating fast.

Understanding the Interface

When you open a new canvas, you'll find four key areas:

  • Toolbar (top left) — Access the Gallery, Actions, Adjustments, Selection, and Transform tools.
  • Brushes, Smudge, Eraser (top right) — Switch between your core input tools.
  • Layers Panel (top right) — Manage your layer stack, blend modes, and opacity.
  • Sidebar — Quickly adjust brush size (top slider) and opacity (bottom slider).

Essential Gestures to Learn First

Procreate is built around gestures. Mastering these early will dramatically speed up your workflow:

  • Pinch to zoom — In and out on the canvas.
  • Two-finger tap — Undo your last action.
  • Three-finger tap — Redo.
  • Three-finger swipe down — Opens the Copy/Paste menu.
  • Touch and hold — Activates the eyedropper (color picker) on the canvas.
  • Draw and hold — Snaps shapes to perfect circles, squares, and lines.

Setting Up Your First Canvas

Tap the + icon in the Gallery to create a new canvas. For general illustration work, a 2000 x 2000 px canvas at 300 DPI is a solid all-purpose choice. If you're designing for screens only (social media, wallpapers), 72 DPI at a larger resolution works fine and allows more layers.

Working with Layers

Layers are your best friend in digital art. They allow you to work on different elements independently without affecting the rest of your piece. A common beginner workflow:

  1. Create a rough sketch on one layer at low opacity.
  2. Add a new layer on top for clean linework.
  3. Add layers beneath the linework for flat colors.
  4. Use additional layers for shadows, highlights, and details.

Use Clipping Masks to keep shading confined within a base color layer — this is a huge time-saver and keeps your work tidy.

Choosing the Right Brushes

Procreate ships with hundreds of brushes, which can feel overwhelming. Start simple:

  • 6B Pencil (Sketching set) — Natural feel for rough sketches.
  • Inking > Studio Pen — Clean, smooth linework for finished illustrations.
  • Airbrushing > Soft Brush — Great for blending and soft shading.
  • Painting > Flat Brush — Solid fills and bold shapes.

Exporting Your Work

When you're ready to share or print, go to Actions > Share. Key formats to know:

  • PNG — Best for digital use with transparency support.
  • JPEG — Smaller file size for web sharing, no transparency.
  • PSD — Preserves all layers for editing in Photoshop.
  • Procreate (.procreate) — Native format for backing up your full project.

The best way to improve in Procreate is simply to draw every day. Follow along with speed paint videos, deconstruct art you admire, and don't be afraid to experiment. Every stroke teaches you something.