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Using Procreate on my iPad

Writer's picture: Katherine HemmingsKatherine Hemmings

Updated: Dec 5, 2018

Before I start I am no professional, I am not paid to write this I can only tell you how I feel about the program and products and you can take my word for it or go else where and get more opinions!


I love it.


That's it. Bye.


Seriously though. The combination of the iPad 2018, apple pencil and Procreate has been an art savior. I was sceptical of the digital arts to begin with. I had meddled with wacom tablets and photoshop and was just about getting the hang of it but still found it to take too much time and space on my desk to do it! I knew I needed to work digitally to progress faster and work faster.


At the time I was working in Manchester and living in Wolverhampton. I traveled 5 hours a day to work and back so it left me exhusated and with little time to set up my laptop, wacom tablet and scanner to start and finish commission work. It almost became impossible. I started to see a lot of artists post about an iPad Pro and I loved every peice of art I saw drawn on it. I loved it instantly. You could carry it around anywhere, draw directly into it at a high quality and have social media on it too so you could keep commissions and work coming in and out if needed. Brilliant. I needed it. I saw the price. I needed it a little less.


I was no brilliant artist and was in no position to spend nearly £700-800 on a tablet. I was a little dishearted untill I discovered through YouTube talks the iPad 2018, the first iPad (exclusing the pro) compatible with the apple pencil. A few weeks later I bought it. I got my savings and threw it at the cashier in ARGOS. GIVE ME MY BABY!


I hated it. I hated it so much. I hated drawing on it. I hated how the pencil did everything against what I wanted it to do. I hated it. I couldn't do this. I packed up the iPad and prepared to take it back to the shop for a refund and a solid cry. But I gave it another go, and another and another and before I knew it I loved it. I loved how the pencil worked with me, I loved how it felt in my hand, I loved that I could draw and draw and fix mistakes and not waste a whole book of paper. I loved how I could draw and line and colour and upload my finish art for my friends to see in a couple of hours all from this one device.



Going into procreate details now. I found the software a bit fiddlyl to get used to. You need to find the pen/pencil/brush for you. It took me a few weeks of trial and error and downloading free brushes offline and testing them too. I soon got the hang of it though and I soon found my shortcuts and go to tools. I would say it took me around a month to really get to know the software and really feel comfortable with it.


It has its flaws though:

- Stretching and re stretching art blurs way too easily for my liking so make sure you want your linework that size before drawing it. Make sure to draw sketches first and trace over it.

- When I first got it, it didn't have the snap tool, where you can create the perfect square or circle so I found that very frustrating but now the app has updated and this is a new feature so yay for you if you are thinking of getting it.

- On the iPad 2018 you are limited to only a couple of layers when using the A3 template unlike on the iPad Pro where I think you are almost unlimited.


A great feature though is this video output. When you draw through procreate it actually records you drawing and creates a timelapse of your art. This is great for social media to show followers but it is also great for you to study how you draw and your process.





If you are looking for something to practice on and build up on your digital art skill and are already pretty great with traditional pencils then this is for you.

If you are a new artist who has never even picked up a pencil before, this probably isn't for you. Buying an expensive tool doesn't make you great. Practice does, and you should really learn how to do the basics traditionally before jumping to digital.

If you are a world renowed artist, already producing high end comics, procreate might be for you for simple doodles but you need the iPad Pro. You will be limiting your skill set on the iPad 2018.


I hope this helps!


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