5 Procreate shortcuts to save time and effort
Procreate is a powerhouse for digital artists, offering a wealth of features to create stunning artworks on the go. While many users are familiar with its basic functionalities, some hidden shortcuts can significantly enhance your workflow, saving time and effort.
I’ve been using Procreate since 2018, and I still discover new features and techniques I never knew existed! Today, I’m sharing 5 handy tips — or shortcuts — that can save you a lot of time. These are especially helpful for beginners, but even if you’ve been using Procreate for a while, you might still find a few surprises. So, let’s dive in and see which ones you already know!
1. Creating a Color palette from a photo in an instant
Step 1: Open Procreate in Split View — Procreate on one side, and the reference photo on the other.
Step 2: Open the Color Picker in Procreate and go to the Palettes section.
Step 3: Simply drag the photo from the other window into the Palettes menu.
Step 4: Procreate will automatically create a new color palette from the image.
Note: You can also create a palette by opening the Color Palette menu, tapping the + in the top-right corner, and selecting New from Photo. However, the method I mentioned above is a bit quicker.
2. Transferring more than one layers from one canvas to another
Step 1: Select a layer from the Layers menu with your stylus.
Step 2: While still holding that layer with your stylus, tap each additional layer you want to copy one by one.
Step 3: With the layers still held/selected, you can either tap Gallery with your other hand or hover the selected layers over the Gallery button with your stylus until it blinks blue twice. Do not release the layers.
Step 4: In the Gallery, navigate to your destination canvas — if it’s inside a folder, open the folder first by either tapping with your other hand or hovering over it until it blinks twice. Then open the target canvas while still holding the selected layers.
Step 5: Once the destination canvas is open, open the Layers menu( use your other hand or hover over the layer menu icon )
Step 6: Drop the dragged layers into the Layers panel of the destination canvas.
Important: You must keep holding the selected layers with your stylus the entire time — don’t release until you’ve opened the Layers menu on the destination canvas.
3. Turning a layer to canvas quickly
Step 1: Drag the layer you want to make into a new canvas using your stylus from the current canvas.
Step 2:Keep holding the layer and navigate to the Gallery, the same way as earlier—don’t release the layer/layers.
Step 3: In the Gallery, simply drop the selected layer (or layers).
Step 4: Procreate will automatically create a new canvas with the exact same dimensions as the original canvas you dragged the layer from.
4. Resizing a selection with minimal quality loss
Step 1: Make your selection in Procreate, keep it uniform
Step 2: Change the interpolation setting from Nearest Neighbour to Bicubic.
Step 3: Now resize your selected area as needed.
This won’t completely prevent quality loss, but it will noticeably reduce pixelation.
5.Adjust Your ColorDrop Threshold
Step 1: Drag your chosen color into the area you want to fill, and hold your stylus without lifting it.
Step 2: Slide your stylus left or right to adjust the ColorDrop Threshold, then release once you’re happy with the fill.
Hope you found this helpful and maybe learned at least one new Procreate feature! If you know any tricks or hidden tools that are easy to miss, feel free to share them in the comments — I’d love to hear them. And if I discover something new, I’ll update this blog. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any new additions! Thanks for stopping by — have a great day✨
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