Procreate is an app that lets you create awesome images and illustrations easily on an iPad. It is designed for use with Apple’s OS and Apple’s stylus tools in mind and has been quite the game changer when it comes to drawing, sketching, painting, or creating any kind of visual art.
Why is Procreate So Popular and Better Than Photoshop?
Procreate is a popular tool for digital artists because it allows you to easily delete and correct your work, making your workflow so much faster. The UI is intuitive and is designed with artists in mind, recreating the experience of working with pen, pencils and paper. And within the Procreate app itself, you are able to share your work instantaneously with your friends, family or clients.
Because of the ease of use and the flexibility it provides, Procreate has gained the favor of artists worldwide, with most of them migrating beyond their physical art tools and switching out their desktop sketch setups in exchange for the portability of the Procreate app on their iPads – giving them the chance to work on their projects anywhere, anytime, anyplace.
Procreate Benefits
Working with Procreate feels like you’ve got magic at the tip of your fingers. You can use hand gestures to smoothly zoom in and out of your artwork, and undo changes to your work. Layer adjusting and adding couldn’t be made any easier with the Procreate interface and you can literally create and develop your artwork as quickly as the ideas that come to life in your head.
The Procreate app allows you to organize your projects and artwork in an easy-to-locate gallery format (like in Photoshop). Because Procreate makes it easy when it comes to compatibility, you are able to integrate your workflow between other programs and platforms without worrying about whether the person you’re sending it to can view your projects exactly the way you created them.
Is It Worth It To Learn Procreate Online?
Whether you’re an experienced digital artist/illustrator or a complete beginner looking to gain some new skills, taking Procreate courses online is a simple way for you to upskill yourself without having to attend in-person classes that you might have to commute to from your home and back. This is why we’ve chosen 7 of the best online Procreate Courses that will suit your schedule, no matter how busy you might be.
People take these online courses seriously, and all for good reason – the high-quality training content and post-course support you get is fantastic, allowing you to get started into creating professional, high-quality digital drawings on your iPad in no time.
7 Best Procreate Online Courses (With Reviews)
This SkillShare class teaches you how to use Procreated on the iPad Pro with ease. Learn how to create digital illustrations and unlock the potential of your stylus tools. At the end of the class, you’ll be making works of art on a digital screen feel just as natural as using pencil on paper. You’ll also learn how to make a cool time-lapse video of your artwork to be proudly shown to your friends and family.
What’s Different About This Course
This course is written by a full-time illustrator and Procreate user, Brooke Glaser, who’s done artwork that is featured on greeting cards in major grocery stores, home decor stores, magazines and baby clothing. It is best suited for beginners to Procreate or digital art in general.
What You’ll Learn
- Learn all the hidden tools and gestures in Procreate
- Use the undo and redo buttons effectively
- Canvas basics, DPI settings, and Layering settings
- Project gallery settings
- Split screen referencing
- Picking color palettes
- Brush basics
- Transforming – moving, resizing, rotating
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Simple to understand instructor | Might be too basic for experienced users |
| Very clear instructions | |
| Helpful examples galore | |
| Engaging teacher |
Student rating: Exceeded expectations
2. Drawing and Painting on the iPad with Procreate (Udemy)
This course unlocks the full potential of the iPad, turning it into a portable art studio that you can easily bring along with you and create stunning works of art anywhere using Procreate – which is one of the iPad’s top selling apps consistently.
What’s Different About This Course
This course is run by Brad Colbow, a freelance designer and illustrator who does a majority of his work on digital devices such as the iPad pro and the Surface pro.
The lessons in this course focus heavily on examples, which benefit amateur digital artists as well as experienced ones looking to master a new platform.
What You’ll Learn
- Understanding how all the tools work
- Drawing and memorizing the use of each tool to maximize workflow
- How to draw simple comic strips step by step, from panel to background to the strip itself
- Learn how to produce Speedraw videos that are common on Youtube
- Learning shortcuts and options
- Combining all the learning points into a final project
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Lots of examples | May not be suitable for those interested in art other than comic styles |
| Experienced teacher |
Student rating: 4.7 / 5 stars
3. The Beginner’s Guide to Digital Art with Procreate on iPad (Udemy)
A step-by-step course that shows you all the basics of using Procreate on the iPad to draw and make artwork. By learning about all the important tools and how to effectively use them to get the results you want, you can save a tremendous amount of time and get over the learning curve easier with detailed instructions and examples.
What’s Different About This Course
Hours upon hours of video lessons that show you how to improve your Procreate skills. These skills can then be carried over into almost any type of digital art, from manga to cartoons to web comics. You’ll also receive a copy of the actually Procreate file used in the course, so that you can dissect the artwork and reverse-engineer it in order to understand each step taken to create it better.
What You’ll Learn
- How to use Procreate tools in real-time
- Professional instructions on how to get up to speed with using Procreate effectively
- How to save custom brushes and presets
- Procreate’s built-in recording features for timelapse videos
- Tips, tricks, shortcuts to maximize workflow
- Hand gestures and hidden functions
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Experienced tutor with multiple courses released | Resource download links seem to be outdated at time of writing |
| High quality video and audio with the iPad screen and the hands |
Student rating: 4.6 / 5 stars
4. The Advanced Guide to Digital Art with Procreate on iPad (Udemy)
This is the level 2 course from the previous one listed above. Learn about the more powerful tools in Procreate that can be used to do things that you never realized you could do. This is for more advanced users who want to elevate their Procreate game and get the most out of the app.
What’s Different About This Course
In an easy to follow, step-by-step way, the instructor shows you how to focus on different areas of the application such as layer functions, quicklines, textures and how to paint with the smudge tool or even using the eraser. Hidden gestures and filter adjustments are covered in this course as well.
What You’ll Learn
- Alpha lock
- Referencing
- Masking
- And other advanced Layer functions
- Texture control
- How to use a particular function in your own work
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Included Procreate project file that is used throughout the course | Some users have reported this course as being still too basic |
| Step-by-step layer descriptions and examples | |
| Fast-forward, rewind or zoom lesson material at anytime | |
| Clear, concise instructions with cues |
Student rating: 4.7 / 5 stars
5. Procreate Essentials: The Ultimate Guide (Udemy)
Learn to take your art wherever you go, just like the new wave of nomad illustrators and artists who are seemingly able to travel anywhere they like and still create amazing works of art from their iPad. Memorize all the essential processes and tips and tricks that help you to create the best digital drawings on the most popular and powerful digital art app available on the iPad.
What’s Different About This Course
Artist and illustrator Leo from Ghostpaper leads you through the course and teaches you all of the tools, options and settings he uses to create his digital illustrations. An arsenal of tips, tricks, and tools are explored in this course in order for you to get started with creating right away. Learn the foundations of Procreate so you’ll always be ready to create illustrations on your iPad anytime inspiration strikes.
What You’ll Learn
- Setting up custom canvas
- How to use Clipping masks
- Layer effectively
- Use reference layers
- How to tweak hand gestures and gesture controls to be more productive
- Understand how to use grids for composition
- Add animation to your artwork
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Conducted by highly experienced digital art Youtuber Ghostpaper | Some users reported that the sequencing of the lessons seems a bit odd (for example the gestures lessons were at the end of course, rather than the beginning) |
| Easy to understand foundational lessons to reinforce good workflow habits |
Student rating: 4.5 / 5 stars
Take an in-depth look at the creating process of an experienced digital illustrator, author and filmmaker. Learn how to plan and execute magic and movement in your drawings to create a final, shareable timelapse artwork – with no animation skill necessary.
What’s Different About This Course
Taught from a perspective of a filmmaker rather than just an illustrator, Vashti Harrison shows you her workflow and how she creates blocking, color, lighting, texture and characters to transform everyday environments into whimsically illustrated dreamworlds.
What You’ll Learn
- Thoughtful planning before even putting your stylus to the screen
- How to create memorable, charming characters
- Creating dream-like backgrounds and environments to suit your character
- Flourishes, effects and lighting tricks in Procreate
- Blocking out light and texture
- How to create time-lapses of your artwork
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Teaches the overall creative process rather than just teaching tools | Focuses more on drawing than on the timelapse |
| Beginner-friendly |
Student rating: Exceeded Expectations
7. Procreate Masterclass: How to Draw and Paint on iPad Course (Udemy)
Learn how to turn your iPad into a powerful drawing tool using the Procreate app and your Apple Pencil. Access all the features and content in this course from anywhere you are, at your convenience. Learn to effectively navigate through all of the features of Procreate, and understand the core knowledge, theory and practical skills that Procreate professionals take years to master.
What’s Different About This Course
This course is structured to be the clearest and quickest way to enable you to learn to draw and paint using the Procreate app. No fluff, no filler, and no unnecessarily long videos. Each lesson is straight to the point and into the meat and potatoes of what really matters like character creation, world designing, environments and lighting, tool presets and more.
What You’ll Learn
- How to draw on the iPad on Procreate
- Functions of each Procreate brush settings
- Layering, selecting and masking
- Painting and blending on Procreate
- Create and install preset brushes
- How to adjust your artwork, export your art and create timelapses to post online
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Course is constantly updated with new resources everytime Procreate grows and advances | Not much in the way of examples or hands on activities in this course |
| All essential tools like brushes, templates shapes are included |
Student rating: 4.6
Final Thoughts
With the increasing number of the population switching out their desktops for the more portable tablet or even powerful smartphones, it only makes sense as an artist to capture this switch to the digital age.
Technology has paved the way for innovation, and the freedom, flexibility and convenience that you get from an app like Procreate when creating your digital artwork on your iPad are just some of the reasons why digital artists swear by Procreate to produce their work. If you want to take the first step into learning how to control this powerful tool to your advantage, the online courses offer you quality lessons that you can take at any time, and from anywhere you are.
We at CourseKillers wish you find a course that’ll make you a Procreate Pro. All the best!
