When you open Procreate to make a new design, you may just pick from the presets given by the app, right? Are you looking for a proper Procreate for beginners guide that guides you from the very start? If that’s so, hello and welcome to our Procreate canvas tutorial! We'll walk you through the steps of creating a new canvas in Procreate. Whether you're a seasoned artist or just starting out, this guide will provide you with the tools and details you need to tailor your canvas to your particular needs. We will go over subjects including canvas size, resolution, and orientation, as well as the many tools and choices for customizing your canvas to get the exact look and feel for your artwork. So let's get this ball rolling!
Procreate is a powerful and user-friendly digital art program that lets you create stunning artwork on your iPad. Procreate's professional-grade tools and features make it simple to draw, paint, and design with precision and creativity. Before you learn how to draw on Procreate, you must first create a canvas of course!
A digital canvas, as opposed to traditional canvases, which are physical surfaces made of materials such as canvas, paper, or board, exists entirely in the digital space. Artists benefit from digital canvases in a variety of ways, including the possibility to create and modify artwork using a variety of digital tools and techniques, the ability to freely share and promote artwork online, and the ability to conveniently store and save artwork for future reference or use.
The dimensions of your canvas are a significant factor when making digital artwork in the Procreate app. The width and height of your artwork are referred to as canvas measurements.
Procreate includes a number of preset canvas sizes ranging from small to big. You can also enter your own dimensions to create a custom canvas size. So consider the aim of your artwork as well as the platform you'll be presenting it on when choosing a canvas size— if you're making artwork for social media, for example, you might want to use a smaller canvas size to guarantee that it looks awesome on smaller displays. If you're making artwork for print, on the other hand, a larger canvas size will allow for more detail and resolution.
Note that the larger your canvas is, the fewer layers you can work with so be careful!
The DPI (dots per inch) of your canvas is also an important factor to consider! The DPI of your artwork relates to its resolution, and it can have a big effect on its overall quality and clarity.
When you create a new canvas in Procreate, you can select from a number of DPI options. A higher DPI implies your artwork will be more detailed and clear, but it will also consume more storage space on your device. A lower DPI means less detail and clarity in your artwork, but it also takes up less storage space. These limitations are discussed in our blog about choosing the right iPad for your needs.
P.S. DPI really only matters when printing your designs!
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You may have noticed that you can choose from different canvas color profiles when you create a new canvas. But what does that mean, exactly?
Basically, the canvas color profile relates to the color palette in which your artwork is created. Procreate provides three color profiles: sRGB, P3, and Adobe RGB, each with its own set of features and best suited for particular purposes.
If you want to share your artwork online or on social media, sRGB is the most widely used color profile. P3 is a more recent color profile used in newer devices and displays, such as the iPad Pro. It has a larger color gamut than sRGB, so if you're working on a newer device, P3 can be a decent choice. Adobe RGB is a color profile commonly used in the printing business. It has a greater color gamut than sRGB, so if you plan to print your artwork, Adobe RGB may be the best option for you!
Procreate offers a variety of quality settings that you can choose from when creating your timelapse. A higher quality timelapse will look sharper and clearer, but it will also take up more storage space on your device. A lower quality timelapse will look less sharp and clear, but it will also take up less storage space.
Procreate offers a lossless timelapse option that you can choose when creating your timelapse. This option allows you to create a timelapse that is virtually indistinguishable from your original artwork. The lossless timelapse option is especially useful if you're planning to print your artwork or use it for professional purposes.
To create a lossless timelapse in Procreate, simply select the lossless timelapse option when you're setting up your timelapse. Keep in mind that lossless time-lapses will take up more storage space on your device than regular time-lapses, so you may want to make sure you have enough storage available before creating one.
HEVC (High-Efficiency Video Coding) is a new video codec that is designed to provide high-quality video with smaller file sizes. Procreate offers the option to create time-lapses in the HEVC format, which can be especially useful if you're planning to share your timelapse online or on social media. Since the HEVC format results in smaller file sizes, your timelapse will be easier to upload and share, and it will take up less storage space on your device.
Now that you’re equipped with this knowledge, go ahead and visit our blogs and tutorials and use your own custom canvas! Not sure where to start? Check out our Procreate Masterclass — it features fantastic tutorials, guides and activities to ensure you learn absolutely everything you need to!
Setting up a canvas in Procreate is an important step in creating digital artwork. By customizing your canvas to suit your specific needs and preferences, you can create a workspace that is comfortable and efficient for your artistic process.
We hope you found this tutorial helpful and that it has inspired you to start creating beautiful digital art on your own Procreate canvas. Happy creating!
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Courses and brushes by Freya Kotchakorn helped mored than 10.000 students excel in Procreate drawings.
