How to Mirror on Procreate

Procreate is a great tool for creating digital art, but did you know it also has a mirror tool?

It’s a great way to create symmetrical images in different styles. You can use this feature to add depth, symmetry, and balance to your work.

I'll show you how!

Here's a quick tutorial on how to use the procreate mirror tool to create your own symmetrical masterpieces. Freya taught us how to mirror in Procreate in her Procreate Masterclass and I’d like to share what I learned!

‍

Procreate Symmetry Tool

You can find Procreate’s Symmetry Guide in your app’s Drawing Guide options.

You can check it out by opening your Actions Menu, then go to ‘canvas’, and select ‘Edit drawing guide’

Here you’ll see that we have different options for the Drawing Guide, and Symmetry is one of them.

Procreate’s symmetry tool allows you to draw simultaneously in two or more planes on your canvas.

There are 4 mirroring styles we can use on Procreate: vertical, horizontal, quadrant, and radial. Let’s talk about each of them.

‍

Vertical

When you choose this style, you’ll see that there’s a line down the middle. The Vertical Symmetry guide allows us to draw on the left and right sides of your canvas at the same time.

You’ll see that when you draw on either side of your canvas, the same drawing is mirrored on the other side. 

This can be used to easily draw things that are symmetrical or look the same on both sides, like the front of a car or some flower vase.

‍

Horizontal

The Horizontal Symmetry guide is basically the same as the Vertical Symmetry guide, but this time it mirrors the top and bottom parts of the canvas instead of the sides.

You’ll see that there’s a horizontal line in the middle instead of the vertical one.

‍

Quadrant

The Quadrant symmetry style divides your canvas into 4 sections and helps you paint on all 4 sections simultaneously.

This style is usually used in pattern designing and tile making. But of course, you can use this for different designs as well.

‍

Radial

If you’re not satisfied with dividing your canvas into 4, then how about 8? When you draw on one of the sections, it will automatically replicate that drawing to the other sections.

‍

Rotational Symmetry

Go back to your Drawing Guide, tap on ‘Options’ and turn on ‘Rotational Symmetry’.

Try drawing o a section. You’ll notice that the way it copies the drawing to the other segments is different.

During mirroring, the drawing is sometimes flipped depending on which section you’re looking at.

With rotational symmetry, your drawing on one section is just copied exactly the same as how you draw it on the other section.

Here’s what it looks like on both options when I draw a curve line from the center of the canvas through one of the sections.

I drew the blue line with the rotational symmetry off, and the pink line while rotational symmetry is turned on.

Rotational Symmetry is fun to play with, but it’s not suitable for patterns with connecting designs. You can use the other styles for that.

You can turn off the drawing assist by tapping on your layer, then uncheck ‘Drawing Assist’. Without this turned on, you can freely draw on your canvas like you normally do.

‍

Now that you’ve learned how to mirror draw on Procreate, it’s time to have fun with it yourself! Try and experiment using the different symmetry styles so you’ll know which to use for your future works.

There are a lot of applications for this drawing guide, so feel free to use it the way you want to. It’s easy and fun to use if you want to draw quicker, or if you just want to draw something in this style.

‍