Software:Procreate

Short description: Raster graphics editing app

Procreate

Developer(s)	Savage Interactive
Initial release	March 16, 2011 (2011-03-16)
Stable release(s) [±]
Operating system	iOS 15.4.1 or later iPadOS 15.4.1 or later
Platform	iPad Pro (all versions) iPad Air (2nd gen or later) iPad Mini (4th gen or later) iPad (5th gen or later) iPhone
Available in	13 languages
List of languages English (United States), English (United Kingdom), English (Australia), Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish.
Type	Raster graphics editor
License	Proprietary
Website	procreate.com

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

Versions

Procreate

The Procreate interface displays a commissioned artwork by Ayan Nag

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.

Procreate Software Functions

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.

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.

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.

See also

• Digital art
• Digital painting
• Graphic art software
• Raster graphics
• Comparison of raster graphics editors