One of the many creative outlets I’ve found joy in has been visual storytelling and I’ve found Procreate is my favorite app for that. Procreate brings a sleek and intuitive app that lets me sketch, paint, illustrate, and design all with a stylus. Most people who use it rave about its intuitive and professional grade tools, however there are a few things to consider before downloading it.

Pros of Procreate are the one-time purchase of 12.99. After that you can use it for life. No subscription service or hidden monthly or yearly fees. It comes with many brushes ready to use and it’s pretty easy to create your own or you can purchase all different kinds of brushes for extremely affordable prices on Etsy like I do. It’s incredibly easy to use but if for some reason you are stuck in an area or just want to learn all it has to offer, YouTube has literally thousands of free videos that are short, to the point, and cover everything it has to offer. Procreate works offline so no internet service to use. Professionals can use it for layering, masks, blending modes, animation tools, and advanced colors, making it perfect for illustrators, designers, or animators. The Apple Pencil has sensitivity and tilt support that makes it feel like you’re really taking pencil to paper. Yes, there are cheaper non-apple versions, and I’ve purchased two, but they really aren’t the same. Procreate is ever evolving and can now support up to a 36inch canvas at 300DPI, so it is useful for large format prints.

There are also some cons. Sadly it is iPad only. It is not available on android or desktop platforms so that can limit some flexibility when it comes to device workflow. Unfortunately, it has no vector support. Procreate is raster based and that doesn’t make it the best for logos or a project that needs infinite scalability. There is no built-in file syncing or cloud storage. So that means users must manually back up all work by exporting it. There are layer limitations for older generation iPads. I believe canvas size also varies how many layers can be used. There is no free trial. Although it isn’t expensive to buy the app, you must decide to buy it or not without ever getting to try it out. I will also admit that there is a bit of a simulation issue when using watercolor brushes or the oil brush. Although it is barely noticeable and anyone who hasn’t done either traditionally might not notice it, it doesn’t fully replicate a traditional brush.

All that being said, in my opinion, from someone that isn’t sponsored in any way shape or form, if you’re a digital artist that needs portability and intuitive tools, Procreate is worth every penny. Here’s a few of my favorite brushes included and a few I’ve paid for along with reputable Etsy sellers that I’ve bought from and genuinely like their brushes.

Included

• Studio Pen for clean line work.
• Soft airbrush for shading or adding gradients.
• Procreate pencil for sketching.

Bought

• 428 Procreate brushes that include regular brushes, glitter brushes, Calligraphy brushes, lettering brushes, pro brushes, and watercolor brushes. I purchased these from Super Nice Stuff for $16.61
• Leopard print Procreate brush set. Big cat pattern bundle. I purchased this fun set from The SVG lab for $2.81
• 31 Glitter and neon procreate brushes. Comes with both metallic and neon colors. I purchased these from Elena Anne Ray Designs for $7.99.

XOXO,

Savi Monroe