Discovering Procreate Features

In the ever-evolving world of digital art, Procreate stands out as one of the most powerful and user-friendly design tools available. With its advanced features and intuitive interface, Procreate has become the go-to choice for artists, illustrators, and designers. 

At Lollypop, our artists also love drawing on Procreate, keeping their iPad Pros close as they bring their creative visions to life.

As we enter 2025, Procreate continues to be a game-changer, introducing new updates and enhancements that redefine digital creativity.

This article explores the 10 must-know Procreate features and why it remains the industry standard for digital painting. Whether you’re just starting or a seasoned artist, this guide will help you understand why Procreate continues to dominate the digital art space in 2025.

10 Must-Know Procreate Features for Every Artist

1. Animation Assist

Animation Assist is a game-changer for those looking to add movement to their artwork. With a simple timeline interface, it allows you to create frame-by-frame animations effortlessly. Onion skinning helps visualize previous and upcoming frames, making the animation process smoother and more intuitive. Whether it’s a looping GIF or a complex motion sequence, Procreate gives you the flexibility to bring your illustrations to life.

How to use: Enable in Actions > Canvas > Animation Assist, then add frames and play to preview.

2. ColorDrop

ColorDrop makes filling large areas with color quick and easy. Instead of manually painting each section, simply drag and drop a color onto your canvas. Adjust the threshold by holding and sliding your finger to control how much area is filled. This feature speeds up the coloring process, making it efficient and precise.

How to use: Drag a color from the Color Panel onto your canvas and adjust the threshold by sliding left or right.

3. QuickShape

Gone are the days of struggling with wobbly lines and inconsistent forms. Procreate Quick Shape ensures that every shape you draw is crisp and accurate. Just draw a shape and hold your stylus in place—Procreate will automatically refine it into a perfect version. Circles, squares, and triangles snap into place, making geometric illustrations smoother and more professional-looking.

How to use: Draw a shape, hold your stylus in place, and then tap Edit Shape if needed.

4. Drawing Guide

Procreate’s Drawing Guide offers multiple grids and perspectives for those who love structure in their art. The Perspective Guide lets you create stunning depth with vanishing points, while the Symmetry Guide mirrors strokes for perfectly balanced designs. If technical drawings or isometric illustrations are your thing, the 2D and Isometric Grids provide accurate alignment, ensuring precision in every stroke.

How to use: Enable in Actions > Canvas > Edit Drawing Guide, then choose grid type and adjust settings.

5. QuickMenu

QuickMenu is the ultimate time-saver, allowing you to assign 6 essential tools to a pop-up radial menu for instant access. Instead of navigating through multiple layers of settings, you can customize QuickMenu with your most-used functions, streamlining your workflow and keeping your focus on the art.

How to use: Tap and hold on the screen to open it, then customize it in Gesture Controls.

6. Brush Studio

Procreate’s Brush Studio is a hub for endless customization, allowing artists to tailor their brushes to fit any style. The best brushes for Procreate​ include:

• Brush Swap – Mix and match textures to create custom brushes.
• Brush Sets – Organize and keep your favorite tools within easy reach.
• Dynamic Brush Scaling – Adjusts brush behavior based on pressure and speed for greater control.
• Dual Brush Mode – Combine two brushes into one for unique, innovative effects.

How to use: Open Brush Library, tap a brush, then adjust settings in Brush Studio.

7. Freehand Selection

The Freehand Selection tool gives you complete control over isolating specific areas of your artwork. Unlike the standard rectangular or elliptical selections, this feature lets you manually outline and adjust any shape, making it easier to cut, copy, or modify precise sections without affecting the rest of your piece.

How to use: Tap Selection tool > Freehand, then trace around the area to modify.

8. Free the Bounding Box

Transforming objects just got a whole lot easier with the ability to Free the Bounding Box. Unlike traditional transformation tools that constrain proportions, this feature allows for independent adjustments, letting you stretch, skew, and distort elements naturally without being restricted to fixed aspect ratios.

How to use: Select the Transform tool, tap Freeform, and then adjust as needed.

9. Clipping Mask and Alpha Lock

These are two Procreate features for non-destructive editing. Clipping Mask lets you apply changes to a base layer without affecting the original content, which is perfect for adding shading, textures, or overlays. Alpha Lock, on the other hand, ensures that modifications stay within existing pixels, allowing for clean, controlled refinements without spilling over.

How to use: Swipe right with two fingers on a layer for Alpha Lock or tap layer > Clipping Mask.

10. 3D Paint- Augmented Reality (AR)

With Procreate 3D features​, digital artists can now bring their creations into the real world. Paint directly onto 3D models, explore realistic textures, and view your designs in augmented reality. Whether you’re designing for gaming, product visualization, or immersive experiences, this feature expands creative possibilities beyond the flat canvas.

How to use: Import a 3D model, paint, then view in AR using the AR viewer.

Procreate Tips and Shortcuts

For the best tricks and Procreate tutorials, be sure to check out the Procreate website, Handbook, and Instagram account. These resources offer a wealth of knowledge, but here are some basic shortcuts and gestures I wish I had known when I first started using the app. Even after a year of using Procreate, I still discover new features and wonder how I ever missed them!

1. Gestures

Procreate offers a variety of gestures to speed up your workflow—consider adding specific ones here, like a two-finger tap for undo, a three-finger swipe for clearing a layer, etc.

2. Streamline for Brushes

If you want your line to be clean and smoother, increase the Streamline percentage in the brush edits. This is an absolute delight to use if you want to do some precise hand lettering. Also, with the stroke taper option under brushes, you can control the exact taper amount and shape.

Final thoughts

Procreate is a powerful tool for both personal and professional illustrations. While it may not fully replace Illustrator or Photoshop, it offers incredible flexibility for digital artists. At Lollypop Design Studio, our artists have utilized Procreate features to create stunning Procreate animation​ and illustrations for both web and print, delivering impressive results.

Preethika Asokan, our Sr. Illustrator at Lollypop, shares: “As a professional illustrator, I draw for a living, and I have no complaints about that. But at the end of the day or on a day off, I am too tired and lazy to sit in front of my computer and draw for my personal projects. But ever since the iPad Pro and Procreate came into my life, I have been able to cozy up anywhere and draw more for myself. I can take the iPad to a park or a café, get some fresh air, soak up some Vitamin D, and let the creativity flow. It’s like drawing with a pencil but with digital advantages—the magic of undo and a myriad of colors and brushes to choose from. I can do wonders beyond imagination to create amazing Procreate artwork​.” 

For many artists, Procreate is more than just a tool—it’s a creative companion that brings freedom and flexibility to the illustration process. Whether for professional projects or personal expression, it continues to empower artists to create anytime and anywhere.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is Procreate? 

Procreate is a powerful raster graphics editor for iPad, developed by the Australian company Savage Interactive, specializing in digital painting and illustration. With a rich collection of Procreate color palettes library, Procreate brushes, tools, and features, it enables artists to create high-quality artwork that mimics traditional drawing while offering the advantages of digital flexibility.

2. What are popular apps like Procreate?

Popular apps similar to Procreate include Krita, Clip Studio Paint, and Infinite Painter, each offering unique features for digital artists. 

• Krita (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android) – a free, open-source drawing tool known for its extensive brush library and animation capabilities. 
• Clip Studio Paint (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android) – a favorite among comic and manga creators, boasting professional-grade drawing tools, customizable brushes, and multi-page project support for a one-time purchase or subscription fee. 
• Infinite Painter (Android, Chromebooks) – Provides a clean interface with nearly 200 brushes and a Procreate-like experience for a modest $9.99 fee, appealing to artists seeking flexibility across non-Apple devices. 

3. How well is Procreate rated by users? (Procreate reviews​)

With over 44,000 ratings and a 4.4+ star score, Procreate app is highly praised for its affordability, smooth performance, and professional tools. Users appreciate its one-time purchase model, avoiding subscriptions, while still offering powerful features to create detailed digital artwork with ease.

4. How to draw symmetrical on Procreate?

To create symmetrical drawings in Procreate, go to Actions (wrench icon) > Canvas > Drawing Guide, then enable Edit Drawing Guide and select Symmetry. This feature mirrors your strokes in real time, and you can adjust it for vertical, horizontal, quadrant, or radial symmetry to suit your design needs.