I am a non-artist.
I’m good at math, science, and maybe even cricket, but I suck at drawing.
For a while, that kept me away from Procreate. My monthly budget for apps is around $5/month (thanks to CollegeBoard surveys), so I wanted to make sure I genuinely needed the app.
At one point, I felt the need to create my own wallpapers and add sketches into my posts. And on July 18, I made the jump.
Here’s what I’ve learned after 2 months with Procreate:
About Procreate
First, let’s talk about the app itself (feel free to skip this section if you’re already familiar with Procreate).
Procreate is the iPad app for artists - I’ve even heard of people purchasing $300+ iPads solely to use Procreate.
With over 32,000 ratings at over 4.5 stars (as of time of writing), Procreate is currently ranked #1 in the Graphics & Design section of the App Store. The app costs $9.99 and doesn’t have in-app purchases.
In addition, the app is available in many languages: English, Arabic, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, and Turkish.
The Pros of Procreate
At $9.99, you’d expect Procreate to have some great features for artists.
Given its high rating and popularity, I’m assuming that’s true.
But instead of discussing the benefits of Procreate from an artist’s perspective, let’s talk about Procreate from the perspective of someone interested in learning art.
The Resources
As one of the top iPad apps for artists Procreate is extremely popular. That means that there is an infinite pool of online resources to learn from.
That’s one of the main reasons Procreate is becoming one of my favorite apps: there are so many online tutorials that I can learn almost anything.
When I purchased Procreate, my main goal was to create custom wallpapers. I tried to do so with GoodNotes, but I wasn’t able to create what I wanted to.
To learn how to draw a wallpaper, I looked for a video on YouTube. Here were the top results:
Procreate’s vast resources meant I could overcome the shortcomings I experienced with GoodNotes.
The Learning Curve
As I’ve learned with Notion and GoodNotes, overcoming the learning curve makes it far more enjoyable to use an app.
A combination of Procreate’s ease of use (relative to other art apps) and online resources make it far easier to become great at Procreate. While other drawing apps can seem intimidating (especially those without a major community), Procreate is more fun and enjoyable to use as a beginner.
The Psychology(?)
This is the part I’m writing based on personal experience and not anything scientific.
Since I spent money on Procreate (the most expensive app I’ve ever bought), I’m more inclined to use the app. That brings me closer to creating great wallpapers (my goal with Procreate), making Procreate valuable for me.
In a way, you could say that Procreate’s price itself makes it worth it.
Is It Worth It?
The main Procreate alternative I’ve seen is Sketchbook. It’s free and has no in-app purchases.
If you’re looking for a completely free app, Sketchbook is probably the best choice for you.
And at first glance, it looks even better than Procreate. It has over 214,000 ratings at 4.8/5 stars. In addition, it’s #1 in Graphics & Design (for free apps).
Despite Sketchbook’s dominance on paper, I still think Procreate is better. Procreate has more resources, is easier to use (in my opinion), and has the “psychological advantage” I discussed earlier.
To prove my point on resources, I used Google. Searching “sketchbook app” yielded 125,000 results, while “procreate app” led to 530,000 results.
I think I’ve come up with a rule that should work for most people: If you need Procreate for a specific purpose (like creating a wallpaper for me), it’s worth it. Otherwise, you’re probably better off with Sketchbook or other alternatives.
What I’ve Made So Far
In case anyone is interested, here are some of the wallpapers I’ve made so far:
Final Thoughts
That’s everything I’ve learned from using Procreate for the past two months.
While it is a great app, you probably don’t need it unless you’re looking to do something specific (like creating wallpapers). If you just want to sketch something, apps like Sketchbook are probably better for you.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.
Thanks!
Adi