Worth the money? I think so (a procreate review)

I sit back after drawing the last line, looking for any noticeable imperfections before I call it a day. I have been using this application for about three years now and this has become routine. Though this routine had been interrupted, the application I was using had received a new update. That was me a few weeks ago using my favorite digital art platform Procreate. This sparked an interest in me to investigate how other users were feeling about this change. So I left to go check the internet. There is a noticeable lack of reviews for the more recent versions of Procreate, and as someone who uses this application, it disappoints me that potential users are deterred by outdated reviews. Subsequently, this has driven me to write a review myself to clear the air around this application.

Since then, this application has received many updates and changes, some more positive than others. For this review, version 5.3.5 Build 2b3d6ff73 will be our focus, as I cover how Procreate performs when it comes to making illustrations.

Price is one of the most important aspects to consider when deciding if a platform is worth considering. The current industry standard, Adobe Photoshop, runs on a subscription model. This year I became a certified Adobe Photoshop professional and have the same amount of experience in Procreate as Photoshop. Photoshop, at the moment, costs 20.99 USD per month and receives semi-frequent updates. Procreate, on the other hand, doesn’t follow the usual subscription model but instead requires a single payment of 10 USD at the time of purchase. Procreate is limited to only iOS devices, leaving artists who are Android users stranded. Apple, as a company, has gained large attention for the quality of its devices but even more for its prices. So if you do not have an iOS device, obtaining Procreate will be much more expensive.

Features are almost just as important as price when it comes to determining if an art application is right for you. The application has the standard features but spices things up with a multilayered color interface, Drawing Guides and Drawing Assist, Animation mode, and 3D painting. Procreate sadly lacks a save state feature as well as layers in the animation mode. Some of my favorite features are importing palettes from images, a reference interface where you look at your reference as you go, an accessibility menu, and lastly Quick Shape. Procreate has a bustling third-party brush market and brush customizability. Procreate also has compatibility with Photoshop in which you can use brushes from Photoshop as well as export works as a PSD.

User interface is the next point, for a bad UI can make even the highest quality application fail. Procreate’s UI is simple, too simple. It is hard for new users to find the location of tools and what they do. Though Procreate prompts you to watch a video tutorial, the length turns new users away. Procreate has a digital handbook that I suggest you skim if you are interested in this platform. Procreate is like Photoshop, where without guidance, you’ll quickly get overwhelmed.

Accessibility is the last point but is of equal importance as the features. Before I used Procreate, I used many other platforms and would constantly run into the same grievances. Other applications struggle to have navigable menus with readable text. Procreate isn’t the best but make an effort. It has features specifically targeted at making the application more friendly for users who experience disability. It uses a dyslexic-friendly font, has high contrast, and the menus are simple and support VoiceOver. It also has an uncommon feature that tells the color of your swatch while displaying it at a larger size and an eyedropper tool that compares your current swatch to the swatch that you are selecting. There are few other applications with those features but I find the Procreate version more easily accessible.

Procreate version 5.3.5 as a digital art program is excellent for both beginners and professionals. Though the app may be overwhelming at first, it makes up for it with a variety of tutorials and guides. The number of features and effective UI make the price point a steal compared to the other programs on the market that have you pay around 10 USD monthly. Procreate may be one of the best art applications out there that is both affordable and for the most part user friendly.