Many digital artists unknowingly make two major mistakes in Procreate that can lead to irreversible damage to their work. However, once you understand how to avoid these pitfalls, you won’t have to worry about losing your art—no matter how unfamiliar you might be with technology. Most problems have a solution, but these two mistakes can cost you dearly.
The first mistake is uninstalling and reinstalling Procreate when the app starts acting strange. It might seem like a logical fix for a glitch, but never delete and reinstall the app. Doing so will erase everything—your artwork, custom brushes, and color palettes—all permanently gone. Too many artists have made this mistake, thinking it would solve a minor issue, only to lose years of creative work.
The second mistake is deleting individual pieces of artwork without a backup. Once you remove a file in Procreate, there’s no way to retrieve it. Some people assume their work is safely stored in iCloud, but if Procreate isn’t enabled in iCloud settings, it won’t be included in backups. If iCloud storage is limited, it’s best to export files to a computer, Dropbox, or an external hard drive. Procreate allows you to export artwork in its native format, preserving both the piece itself and the time-lapse recording. You can also back up custom brushes and color palettes, ensuring nothing is lost.
Another common issue artists face is the white outline that appears when using color drop. Instead of painstakingly fixing the edges manually, there’s a faster solution. When dragging a color onto an object, do not lift the Apple Pencil right away. A “Color Drop Threshold” percentage appears at the top of the screen. Adjusting this by sliding left or right increases or decreases the fill area, removing the unwanted white edges.
Scaling artwork in Procreate can also be tricky. If you resize an image and it becomes blurry, it’s due to raster-based pixels. Zooming in reveals that each drawing is made up of tiny dots. While shrinking an image works well since Procreate simply removes pixels, enlarging it forces the app to guess and add new pixels, which often results in a loss of clarity. The best practice is to avoid resizing after adding details. However, if resizing is necessary, Procreate offers interpolation methods that help smooth out the image. Selecting the right option depends on the style—clean lines or textured artwork may require different settings.
Some believe that creating great digital art requires the most expensive iPad, but that’s far from true. Many professional artists have produced stunning work using older, budget-friendly iPads. While newer models offer advantages like brighter screens, extra layers, and faster processing, skill matters far more than hardware. A top-tier iPad isn’t necessary to create high-quality art.
However, one tool does make a huge difference—the Apple Pencil. Not all styluses are equal, and cheaper alternatives often lack tilt and pressure sensitivity, which are crucial for a natural drawing experience. The wrong stylus can make drawing feel awkward, like using a thick marker on a tiny Post-it note. The right Apple Pencil, matched to your iPad model, ensures smooth, precise strokes. It’s the closest thing to drawing on real paper.
Learning digital art can be overwhelming, but following step-by-step tutorials is a great way to get started. Some worry that relying on tutorials limits creativity, but they function like training wheels on a bike—allowing you to practice without worrying about every detail. While copying tutorials won’t help develop your personal style, they’re useful for mastering techniques. Once comfortable, transitioning to learning art fundamentals is the key to creating original work.
The truth is, drawing isn’t an innate talent—it’s a skill anyone can learn. Even professional artists weren’t born knowing how to draw; they practiced and refined their craft over time. With the right techniques and tools, anyone can improve.
