Procreate (software)

Procreate is a raster graphics editor app for digital painting developed and published by the Australian company Savage Interactive for iOS and iPadOS. It was launched on the App Store in 2011.

Procreate
Procreate for iPad was first released in 2011 by the Tasmanian software company Savage Interactive. After winning an Apple Design Award in June 2013, Savage launched Procreate 2 in conjunction with iOS 7, adding new features such as higher resolution capabilities and more brush options.

In 2016, Procreate became one of the top ten best-selling iPad apps on the App Store. It rose into the top two in 2017. In 2018, Procreate became the overall best selling iPad app.

As of April 2023, the most recent version of Procreate for the iPad is 5.3.4.

Procreate Pocket
Procreate Pocket was released to the App Store in December 2014. Pocket originally included most tools found in Procreate; however, it did not include any features that released on the original Procreate app since its release.

In 2018, Savage launched Procreate Pocket 2.0 to the App Store.

In December 2018, Procreate Pocket received Apple's "App of the Year" award.

As of April 2023, the most recent version of Procreate Pocket (for the iPhone) is 4.0.8.

Valkyrie graphics engine
In 2019, Savage switched Procreate to a proprietary graphics engine, Valkyrie, following a period of beta testing on TestFlight. The engine is said to provide “customizable brush options and let [artists] import Adobe Photoshop brushes for the first time.” Alongside the new engine, Procreate 5 featured Brush Studio, a tool for creating new and modifying existing brushes with support for fine-tuning Apple Pencil settings.

Basic Tools
Paint, smudge and erase are the basic tools located in the top right of the program. The brush for Paint, the finger for Smudge, and the eraser for Erase.

Brush Library
Brush options include a wide variety from drawing, calligraphy and airbrushing pens. As well as abstract, charcoal, spray paint, luminance and water textures.

Brushes Available for Online Purchase
Users are able to import personalized brushes from online marketplaces such as Etsy, Creative Market, Gumroad, and Procreate Market.

Color
Users obtain access to millions of color swatches. Users can add colors in the Palettes and it will display in the users color disc. Additionally, users can drag and drop a color anywhere on the canvas.

Layers
Users can add, change, delete or duplicate multiple layers. The maximum number of layers is decided by the resolution ratio. Effects can be added on layers. Merging layers is also permitted. Dragging layers into other canvases is also possible.

Transformation
Different transformations including rescaling, rotation, and distortion are included.

Lasso Tools
Including Rectangular Marquee Tool, Elliptical Marquee Tool, Lasso Tool and Magnetic Lasso Tool. User can select certain areas to do adjustments on it.

Eyedropper Tool
Users can hold finger on any part of the canvas to select a color. Hold and drag finger across screen for color selection.

Color Adjustments
The hue, saturation and brightness features are located in Adjustments in the top left of the program. Hue allows users to change the color, saturation allows users to alter the intensity of colors, and brightness allows users to lighten or darken the canvas artwork.

Opacity
Also known as transparency, users can alter the opacity on a scroll by selecting a layer in the Layers tab. The less percentage of opacity, the more see-through the object is.

Liquify
This tool warps the layer a user is working on. The effect alters the shape of an item or creates a marbleized effect to the artwork.

Clone
The clone tool allows users to duplicate part of a picture. After clicking clone, a disk will appear. Users must click and drag the disc to the part of the artwork they would like to clone. Draw with the Apple pencil in the location for where you want to clone it. Users can also hold down the disk if they don’t want the clone tool to move.

Color Balance
This tool allows users to change the hue setting using cyan, red, magenta, green, yellow and blue.

Curves
Users can change the red, green, and blue tonalities with curves.

Gradient Map
Users can add a smooth transition of colors (gradient) to the selected layer. The Gradient Library also allows users to customize their own gradients.

Blur Effects
The Motion Blur tool allows users to give the canvas a blur effect that makes it look like the artwork is moving. Gaussian Blur tool allows users to smooth the layer with a blur. After clicking the tool, users slide their finger left or right across the top of the screen to adjust the amount of blur. Perspective Blur allows users to add a radial or partial radial blur. When users select this option, a circle appears on the screen and allows users to drag it to the center of where the effect is wanted.

Noise
Noise effect adds a grainy effect to the user’s layer. Drag finger across the screen to add more or less grain.

Sharpen
This tool allows users to achieve an in-focus look of the artwork. Similar to the steps of gaussian blur, users must drag their finger across the top of the screen until satisfied.

Bloom
Users can adjust the bloom to create realistic lighting effects to the canvas. Users can adjust the Transition, Size and Burn to control the appearance.

Glitch
Users can replicate glitches and distortion with this tool. Users can adjust the Amount, Block Size and Zoom of the glitch by sliding their finger across the screen for less or more.

Halftone
This tool reproduces the canvas using dots. Users can alter the appearance of the dots with the Full Color, Screen Print and Newspaper options.

Chromatic Aberration
Also known as color fringing, users can distort color to create an outline around the edges of the objects on their canvas. Users have the option of Perspective or Displace aberration and can alter the transition, fall off, blur and transparency on the tool.

Canvas
Users can crop canvas, add guidelines to the current view, flip the canvas, and check canvas information. It is also possible to allow animation. Along with animation assist, user can also have page previews of their layers(s) with page assist.

In the canvas menu there’s also reference guide that can be activated. Users can preview their canvas, add a reference picture.

Animation Features of procreate
Within the Procreate application, animation capabilities are present. The process involves sketching individual frames or layers, selectively concealing all but the desired initial frame. To control the duration of each displayed frame, establish distinct layers. For instance, to achieve a 0.5-second duration, incorporate approximately 10 marks on the animation layer. Subsequently, hide the frame intended for playback. Position a marker to indicate the endpoint of the subsequent frame. Upon completion of the time-lapse playback, the frames seamlessly animate. For additional editing options, such as removing the sketch recording or incorporating music, export the animation to iMovie.

Animation Assist provides animators with a straightforward yet powerful interface. The tool includes fundamental features such as onion-skinning, immediate playback, and a visual Timeline. This software enables users to efficiently edit and oversee both individual frames and the entire animation process. Share your dynamic artwork with the world in diverse formats through Animation Assist.

Advanced Features
A groundbreaking approach to digital painting, Procreate offers an innovative canvas where the robust brush engine empowers users to craft stunning textures. The ability to handcraft personalized texture maps enhances creative possibilities, allowing for lighting adjustments, seamless exportation, and even immersive experiences in Augmented Reality (AR).

Supercharged M2: Elevated by the cutting-edge M2 chip, optimized for the latest iPad Pro generation, Procreate delivers an impressive 30% performance boost across various aspects. The responsiveness of filters and adjustments has reached unprecedented levels, ensuring a remarkably smooth and efficient creative process, particularly in 3D painting.

Building upon its reputation, Procreate introduces further enhancements to Freehand Selection, establishing it as an exceptionally user-friendly and flexible selection method. The incorporation of Hover with Apple Pencil introduces a preview feature, providing users with a glimpse of their next move before finalizing their selection.

Precision is paramount in Procreate's latest iteration, where an improved brush cursor seamlessly integrates with artistic creations. Users now benefit from a full-color preview preceding each stroke, offering insight into the impending erasure even before it touches the canvas. Intuitive gestures facilitate on-the-fly brush control, allowing users to hover over their artwork for dynamic adjustments in size and opacity.

Advanced Stroke Stabilization
Users get more control and range over their stabilization in a brush’s setting or though preference settings under pressure and smoothing for global affects.

Export
Works can be exported to the following format: Procreate, PSD, PDF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, (following for exporting layers) PDF, PNG, GIF(animation), PNG(animation), MP4(animation), and HEVC(animation). Procreate provides ingrained screen recording for a time-lapse feature, and the recorded video can also be exported.

Notable users
Kyle Lambert made the Stranger Things poster and a viral photo realistic "finger-painting" of Morgan Freeman in Procreate.

Concept artist Doug Chiang creates robot, vehicle, and creature designs for Star Wars in Procreate.

John Dyer, the English landscape painter, was sponsored by Savage Interactive and used Procreate as part of the "Last Chance to Paint" project, a partnership with the Eden Project that sent Dyer to stay with the Yaminawá in the Amazon rainforest, where he painted the experience.

Professional artists have also used Procreate to create the posters for Stranger Things, Logan, and Blade Runner 2049, as well as several covers for The New Yorker. It has also been professionally adopted at Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Disney Animation, and Pixar. For the 2018 detective game Return of the Obra Dinn developer Lucas Pope used Procreate to draw a series of in-game portraits, mimicking the look of 19th-Century pen and ink sketches.