Procreate for Beginners
- 12 minutes ago
- 8 min read
Just Got Procreate? Start here with this quick beginner's guide.
So you just opened Procreate for the first time...
So exciting! But maybe a little overwhelming too 😅
If you're staring at the screen wondering where to begin, I get it. Drawing apps can look very overwhelming at first. But I promise, if you go through these simple steps a few times, it will become second nature!
And here's more good news- you don't need to know everything today. You just need to take the first few simple steps to get you comfortable.
So for now, let go of the idea of creating a pretty picture. Let's just play and get to know this amazing app. :)
(12 min read time)
Open Procreate
When you open Procreate, you'll land in the Gallery view. This is where all your artwork is stored!
Create a Canvas
From the Gallery:
Tap the + symbol in the upper right to create a new canvas.
Then tap the icon that looks like a rectangle with a + just below it, so you can create a custom canvas.
Here's my trusty canvas size for paintings and illustrations:
Width: 5000 px
Height: 3500 px
DPI: 300
This is a nice, high-quality canvas that will be perfect for most art pieces.
Next, let's update the title of the canvas by tapping the text Untitled Canvas at the top of the screen. Make it Painting or whatever you'd like. This way, it's always available as a template when you go to create a canvas in the future. (You won't have to go through these steps to create a canvas over and over again.)
Finally, under Color Profile, choose sRGB IEC61966-2.1. It's a good choice for sharing art online because your colors will display more accurately on different screens. (For more details on color profiles and when you might want to use a different profile, check here.)
Once you've put everything in, press that blue check mark in the upper right, and your blank canvas will open!
Get Familiar With the Interface
This is where a lot of beginners start to feel intimidated. I get it - but don't! Once you get more familiar with Procreate, these tools will start to feel like second nature. Just give your brain a little time to memorize it all. 🧠
And can I let you in on a secret? I don't even know how to use every tool in Procreate...and I've still been commissioned to make art for Procreate themselves! You do not need to know everything to make beautiful art in Procreate. I promise. :)
Let's break this down into manageable chunks!
(I'd encourage you to simply tap around as you read through this.) Simply see what it looks like when you click on each icon.
Editing Tools
Let's start at the top left. (The tools I've labeled in orange.)
These are the tools you'll use to make changes to your artwork and to access your Procreate settings.
Gallery: Tapping this takes you back to your Procreate Gallery, where all your artwork is stored.
Actions (the wrench): This is where a lot of important tools live. You can do things like add a photo to your canvas, share your artwork, view a time-lapse of your process, adjust your Procreate preferences, and more. There's a lot in here, so tap around and explore.
But remember: You do not need to know what every button does to make amazing art in Procreate! So don't get overwhelmed.
Right now, your only job is to get a feel for what's here and start noticing your options.
Adjustments (the magic wand): This is where you can make changes to your artwork, especially with color and effects. You can do things like blur, sharpen, shift colors, and even use Liquify, which lets you push and move parts of your art around like clay.
Selections (the S shape): This tool lets you select part of your artwork so you can edit just that area.
Transform (the arrow): This is where you can move, resize, rotate, or adjust a layer or selection on your canvas.
Painting Tools
Now look at the top right! (The tools I've labeled in pink.)
These are your main drawing and painting tools in Procreate.
Paint: This is where you'll find your brushes! From pencils to oils, to markers, and beyond! This is where all your Procreate brushes live.
Smudge: You'll find all your brushes here too, but this tool is specifically used for blending. It's one of my personal favorites because you can get so many beautiful effects with it.
Erase: Use the eraser just like you would in real life. You can clean up mistakes or refine your edges.
Layers: Layers are kind of like transparent sheets stacked on top of each other. They give you more flexibility while you work and make it easier to move things, edit, recolor, or erase without affecting everything else.
Color: This is where you choose your colors! And find your color palettes, too.
Sidebar:
Alright, last one! The Sidebar (located on the left side. I've labeled them purple.)
Brush Size: Make your brush bigger or smaller by sliding up or down!
Modify Button: By default, this will function as an eyedropper tool. (Where you can pick up colors directly from your piece.) However, this button can be customized to fit your needs! You can read more about it here.
Brush Opacity: Change the opacity or transparency of your brush here. Draw with fully opaque marks or make them more transparent by sliding down.
Undo / Redo Arrows: One of the many joys of digital art. :) Undos and redos of your mark-making and steps are stored for as long as you have the canvas open! Once you go back to Gallery view, your steps will be locked in.
Tap around through each of these and just see what's available! You'll start to memorize where everything is as you continue to play in Procreate.
Play With Brushes & Create a Favorites Brush Set
Let's start playing with brushes and finding your favorites!
Tap the Paint icon (the one that looks like a brush), and Procreate's brush library will open.
From here, tap that + icon in the upper right.
Then tap, Create new set
Title this new brush set “My Faves”
Your new “My Faves” brush set is where you'll store your favorite brushes!
Now...this next bit will take some time, but here's what I'd recommend you do:
Try. Every. Brush.
Go through every brush in the library and make some scribbles on the canvas.
Some will feel kind of meh to you, and some you'll just love the feel of!
Every artist is different, so you need to figure out what feels right for you!
This experimentation will also save you a lot of time down the line. No more searching for that random brush you loved.
Once you find a brush you're loving, do this:
Swipe left across the brush with your finger
Tap Duplicate
This will create a duplicate of the brush.
Now long-press the brush you just duplicated with your finger.
You'll sort of pick it up with your finger, and then be able to drag it over and hover over the My Faves folder.
It will open the My Faves folder, where you can drop it in.
Now you have a duplicate in your My Faves folder.
(Without removing the brush from the original folder.)
Repeat this for all the brushes you enjoy the feel of!
And remember- there's no pressure to paint a pretty picture just yet.
This stage is about experimenting!
It's about getting used to the Apple Pencil, exploring texture variety, line variety, how the brushes respond, etc.
Your favorite brushes are hiding in the brush library somewhere. You just have to find them!
This part takes a little time, but you'll be glad you did.
How to Add a Reference Photo
I've consistently found the easiest way to draw is to have your reference image and drawing perfectly side by side. So basically, a 1:1 ratio. This will help you directly compare your drawing to your reference image, and will make finding accurate proportions so much simpler.
Below is my method for adding a reference photo onto your canvas. But if you'd like to try another method, Procreate does have Reference Companion.
First, have reference images saved to your iPad Photos app.
To add a photo reference to your canvas:
Tap Actions (the wrench icon) > Add > Insert a photo
Scroll through and select the image you want to use as a reference.
As soon as you pick a photo, you'll notice that the Transform arrow is selected. (Perfect!) Now press Uniform and then Snapping.
Now, in the Uniform Settings, make sure Magnetics and Snapping are both turned on.
Now, with a finger, you can slide the image to the left side. You can also scale it up to better fit using the little blue circle at the corner of the image.
Now that the image is placed to the left, select the Layers icon.
Then, with one finger, swipe to the left on that layer.
Press Duplicate.
The image will duplicate. Now there are two. Perfect!
Tap the Transform arrow.
Now draaaag the top layer over to the right side. You'll know it's all perfectly straight when you see the yellow line in the middle of the canvas. (This is showing you everything is perfectly in line! Which is exactly what we want.)
(If the second image doesn't go perfectly straight across, or if the proportions of the image go wonky, double-check and make sure Uniform and Snapping + Magnetics are still set to on.)
Now you have identical images- perfectly side by side.
I've found that setting up references like this is ideal because you can compare one-to-one. There's no sizing things up, there's no sizing things down. There's no confusion about proportions. Everything can be directly compared to the photo reference!
Now let's make this duplicate image our painting area!
Tap the top layer and press Alpha Lock.
You'll know it's Alpha Locked when you see the image has this sort of grey checkerboard background. Perfect!
(And if you're wondering - Alpha Lock makes it so you can only paint on the pixels that are already there on that layer. In other words, once it's turned on, your paint will stay inside the shape you've already made instead of going outside it. In this case, that means we'll only be painting inside this rectangular shape that matches the reference image exactly.)
Now head to your Paint brushes. We need to grab a biiiig, opaque brush. Because we're going to fill in that entire area with a solid layer of color. This will be the base we make our painting on. You can grab any brush that fits the bill. Here I chose Basics > Stanley.
Making sure the brush size is all the way up, start filling the area with solid color. I typically like to choose the background color.
Keep filling...
Done!
Now tap Layers, and you'll see you have the top layer as a solid rectangle filled with color (our soon-to-be painting) and the bottom layer is the photo reference.
For clarity and organization, you can label the top layer “Painting” and the bottom layer “Reference Image.”
And now, it's painting time!
I've found it's much easier to draw when your reference image and your drawing are placed side by side at the same size. That 1:1 setup makes comparing shapes and proportions a whole lot simpler.
You're all set up! :)
Extra Resources:
Remember, the goal right now is getting comfortable in Procreate. So start with a simple piece. Something you find fun and easy to draw.
Before you go, here are a few more resources I'd recommend:
If you want extra support as you learn, these are wonderful resources to explore:
✨ The Procreate Handbook- great for random Procreate questions
✨ Procreate's Beginner Series on YouTube- short, helpful official tutorials
Both are very beginner-friendly and worth bookmarking. :)
Want Some Fun Brushes to Start With? 🎁
If you'd like a few fun brushes to play with, these are some of my faves! They're great for sketching + experimenting while you get comfortable in the app. :)
Happy painting!
