Are you looking to start out as a graphic designer on your iPad? Do you enjoy drawing, creating images or illustrations, and would like to take your work to the next level?
No Problem. Apple has your back with the Procreate app.
Designed to serve the needs of artists of all skill levels, Procreate is the ultimate raster graphics software for the iPad and iPhone.
You can draw, paint, add layers, use brushes, and blend your digital artwork.
Procreate is exclusive to Apple devices, and this affects who can access it. As a new user, you may need to find out what Apple devices support Procreate.
You may also wonder, is Procreate the best drawing app for your Apple device? Is procreate only for iPad Pro?
Here, I discuss all that and more as we look at which devices you can get Procreate on and several alternatives that you can choose.
Do You Need An iPad Pro For Procreate?
Not exactly, No. iPad Pro is definitely a great place to start, but you don’t need to have one. You can get Procreate on whatever iPad you have, provided it runs on iPadOS 13.2 or newer.
What Devices Can You Get Procreate On?
Procreate is currently available for iPad and iPhone (as Procreate Pocket). You can download the respective apps for each device and still enjoy the full drawing and art experience.
Here is an exhaustive list (from Apple) of all the iPads that support Procreate:
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation)
- 11-inch iPad Pro (1st and 2nd generation)
- 10.5-inch iPad Pro
- 9.7-inch iPad Pro
- iPad (8th generation)
- iPad (7th generation)
- iPad (6th generation)
- iPad (5th generation)
- iPad Mini (5th generation)
- iPad Mini 4
- iPad Air (4th generation)
- iPad Air (3rd generation)
- iPad Air 2
If you have any of these listed devices, you can download and use Procreate express your artistic side with sketches, painting and drawings.
As I said earlier, Procreate is exclusive to Apple devices only. This means that if you’re running Android or Windows on your devices, you cannot access Procreate because it is not available for these platforms.
However, there is a workaround that enables you to use Procreate on Windows. Read more about using Procreate on Windows.
Is Procreate The Best Drawing App For iPad?
No, it’s not, but it’s pretty close. If you’re serious about design and illustration, you know that the industry standard is the Adobe Creative Cloud. If you purchase a subscription to the Creative Cloud, you gain access to about 15 different tools that offer you various advanced capabilities.
For drawing, design and art, you’ll enjoy Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, InCopy, XD, Spark and Dimension.
All these products come packaged with high-quality features, tools, and brushes.
Adobe has for years built a robust infrastructure to support their products and have millions of users who give feedback that makes their services better.
While Procreate offers the same services as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, they do not have as many features yet.
Read Can Procreate Be Shared With Family?
Is Procreate Available For Android?
No, Procreate is not available on Android. Developers at Apple designed this app specifically for iPhone and iPad users. Not to worry, though. You’ll find many alternative apps that you can download and use on your Android device.
What Is the Android Version Of Procreate?
It’s quite difficult to say that one particular app is as exclusive to Android as Procreate is to iPadOS. With that said, almost every other drawing app you know about already exists on the Android platform.
Picking an alternative for Procreate entirely depends on your needs, the tools your app of choice must have, and the specifications of your android device.
In my case, I pick Sketchbook by Autodesk as the best alternative to Procreate for your Android device. Three reasons:
- Sketchbook is freeware. Unless you’re using it in its enterprise capacity, you won’t have to pay for a license.
- Sketchbook is quite user-friendly. Even if you’re new to it, you’ll have a fairly easy learning curve. Their interface is accessible and easy to customize.
- You’ll have access to pro-level tools and resources in Sketchbook. Despite its simplicity, you have access to over 100 brushes, more layers, blending tools and other beneficial assets.
Android gives you so much freedom to choose your apps that you may as well download and sample several of them at once.
However, to help you answer this question, I picked Sketchbook. Don’t take my word for it though. Try out any apps we’ve mentioned below, and others that aren’t featured here.
Check Procreate for Video Editing.
What Apps Are Closest To Procreate?
There are several apps that offer the same functionality as Procreate. Let’s look at three of them:
Autodesk Sketchbook
Sketchbook is one of the most intuitive drawings and painting software that you can use as an alternative to Procreate.
It gives you a natural painting experience, and it comes with a myriad of high-quality and professional tools that you can learn to use quickly, even as a beginner.
The artist-friendly software interface of Autodesk Sketchbook stays out of your way, letting you focus on turning your inspired moments into works of art.
Besides that, you can export your work in a variety of compatible formats, including JPG, PNG, BMP, TIFF and, you guessed it, PSD.
Unlike Procreate, you can get Sketchbook on virtually any device, including your Android phone, tablet, Mac, and of course, your iPhone and iPad.
Autodesk Sketchbook is completely free to use if you’re an individual, but enterprise users can get it at a manageable $85 per year.
Krita
Krita is another free and open-source software that works as a robust alternative to Procreate.
It features advanced tools and commercial-grade features for drawing and painting. You can download it free from their website or for a small donation fee on Steam or the Microsoft Store.
The Krita interface is user friendly, you can move the panels and dockers around, customize your workflow and save it as your workspace.
You can also customize shortcuts for all your common and favorite tools.
You can get Krita on your personal devices as well, including your Mac, your windows or Linux laptop and your Android tablet.
Adobe Photoshop
Having set the standard in creative design and illustration, Photoshop also makes this list.
When you sign up for a subscription, you get to enjoy a set of sophisticated tools, a layer-based workflow, and an extensive set of professional features.
Adobe Photoshop works like a Swiss knife, cutting across everything in the design world, including digital painting, photography, animation, and graphic design.
Adobe Photoshop is quite versatile, and even though you can perform classic raster graphic designs, you can also create 3D images and vectors.
You can create layers and arrange image elements using live effects. Advanced selection tools help you define these elements further or use them as masks for special effects.
Besides iPad, you can get Adobe Photoshop on any of your current devices, including your Mac and Windows laptops.
Additional reading: Can Procreate Brushes Be Used in Photoshop?
Is Procreate Good For Beginners?
Yes, it is, but with some help. If you’re brand new to Procreate or are switching from another app, you should quickly pick it up.
If you love to learn through trial and error, you’ll have quite an adventure with Procreate.
Learning the basics of how the app works and how to draw are concepts you’ll easily grasp, but from there, you may end up with a bit of a steep learning curve.
That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t ask for help. There are many tutorials and walkthrough videos on YouTube and learning sites like Skillshare where you’ll get excellent tips and tricks to use along the way.
Many creators also have blogs, and there are plenty of forums, articles, and resources that you can quickly digest whenever you have sticking points. Use them and you’ll enjoy Procreate.
Which is better: Procreate or Sketchbook?
I prefer Procreate to Sketchbook, especially on the iPad platform. This is quite a tough choice to make, especially considering the quality that Autodesk’s Sketchbook offers. I chose Procreate for three reasons:
- At the time of this writing, Procreate gives you a full lifetime license at $10. It’s a small price to pay for all the tools and resources you’ll gain access to. This makes Procreate cheaper than Sketchbook in the long run.
- Procreate offers tools, brushes, and other features that are as good as or better than those on Sketchbook. You’re not really missing much by picking it over Sketchbook.
- Procreate is just as user-friendly as Sketchbook is. They also offer a learning program and handbooks that you can access from their website.
Read Procreate vs. Sketchbook: Which is better? for more.
This post is part of our hero content series on “The Ultimate Procreate Guide: The Number 1 Creativity Tool“.