This is the one article you need to read when you’re a Procreate beginner. Learn all about layers in just a few minutes! Trust me, layers couldn’t be easier.
You use layers in Procreate to keep your workflow mostly non-destructive. You can have a layer for your sketch, outlines, base colors, shadows, highlights and anything else you want. These layers can be adjusted individually without affecting other layers.
Keep reading to find out everything you can do with layers.
Where are layers located in Procreate?
Layers in Procreate are located on the right side of the interface, between the eraser icon and color icon. The layers panel is represented by an icon containing two squares.
How to change the background color in Procreate
To change the background color in Procreate you do the following:
- Open the layers panel by clicking the layers icon in the top right corner
- Click the background layer
- Choose a color
- Hit ”done” or tap anywhere outside the color panel to finish
How to delete the background layer in Procreate
You cannot delete the background layer in Procreate. You can, however, turn the background layer off by unchecking the visibility box.
- Open the layers panel by clicking the layers icon in the top right corner
- Uncheck the visibility box of the background layer
If you want to export your artwork with a transparent background you need to save your image as a .PNG. .JPEG doesn’t support transparency, so your transparent layer will show up as white.
How to create a new layer in Procreate
Here’s how to create a new layer in Procreate:
- Open the layers panel by clicking the layers icon in the top right corner
- Hit the plus (+) icon to add a new layer
How to select a layer in Procreate
You select a layer by clicking on it. You recognise a selected layer by its blue color.
How to select multiple layers in Procreate
You select multiple layers in Procreate by:
- Click on one of the layers you want to select so it becomes blue
- Drag any other layer you wish to select to the right so it becomes blue
- The blue layers are now selected.
How to automatically select by touch in Procreate (layer select)
Here’s a neat little trick a lot of seasoned Procreate users don’t even know about: You can touch a certain area on your canvas and Procreate automatically selects the layer that area sits on.
How to select by touch in Procreate:
- Go to actions (wrench icon)
- Go to Prefs
- Tap Gesture Controls
- Go to layer select
- Toggle on Touch (or any other gesture you want. But touch is the easiest one to use)
- Hit done
Now, if you briefly touch a part of your artwork, Procreate automatically selects the right layer. If you have a layer that contains clipped masks it asks you which layer you’d like.
How to edit a layer in Procreate
There are 3 main ways to edit or adjust, a layer in procreate. You can either:
- Edit the layer by drawing and erasing on it
- 1. Select the layer
- 2. Draw on the canvas
- Edit the layer by using an Adjustment layer
- 1. Select the layer
- 2. Go to the Adjustments panel (wand icon on the top left side of the interface)
- Pick an adjustment
- Edit the layer by using the transformation options
- 1. Select the layer
- 2. Go to the transform panel (arrow icon)
- 3. Pick a transformation
How to draw on a layer in Procreate:
You can directly start drawing on a layer in Procreate and use the default brush. Or you can first pick a brush, and then start painting.
- Select a layer or create a new one by clicking the plus (+) icon
- Pick a brush using the brush library (brush icon)
- Start drawing on your canvas
How to duplicate a layer in Procreate
You duplicate a layer in Procreate by:
- Dragging the layer you want to duplicate to the left
- Click ”duplicate”
How to delete a layer in Procreate
You delete a layer in Procreate by:
- Slide the layer you want to delete to the left
- Hit ”delete”
How to undo in Procreate
To undo a certain action in Procreate you tap your canvas with two fingers.
How to move a layer in Procreate
To move a layer in Procreate you:
- Tap and hold the layer you want to move
- Drag the layer to where you want it to place
Try to place the layer in between layers. If you hover above a layer Procreate creates a group layer. More on this later.
How to name a layer in Procreate
You name a layer in Procreate by
- Tap the layer
- Select rename
You can also write a name with your apple pencil. After completing step 2 simply start writing!
How to merge layers in Procreate (pinch)
Merging down two layers (or more) means you are adding them to the same layer.
To merge layers in Procreate you simply pinch those layers together. You can do this with as many layers as you like. Everything between the top and bottom layers gets merged.
How to merge layers (merge down)
Another way to merge layers is by using the merge down button. Merge down merges your selected layer with the layer beneath it. To merge down you:
- Select a layer
- Tap this layer to reveal the layer options
- Tap ”Merge Down”
How to unmerge
You can’t unmerge a merged layer in Procreate. You can, however, select the part you want to separate, and then copy it to a new layer. This is explained under ”How to copy and paste a selection” later in this article.
How to flatten
Flatten is only available when working in a group layer. Flatten flattens, or merges, everything that group contains.
To flatten a group, you:
- Select group
- Tap group to bring up layer options
- Hit flatten
Combine layers (combine down) in Procreate
Combine down is the same as grouping layers, but only with the layer beneath your selection. So the group holds 2 layers in total.
To combine down you:
- Select a layer
- Tap layer once more to bring up the layer options
- Tap ”Combine Down”
How to group layers in Procreate
Grouping layers in Procreate allows you to keep a clean and organized layer panel.
To group layers in Procreate you:
- Select your layers by sliding them to the right
- Tap group
How to ungroup layers in Procreate
To ungroup layers in Procreate, you:
- Select your layers
- Drag layers out of group
What is the difference between combine, flatten, and merge in Procreate?
The difference between flatten and merge in Procreate is that with merge, you fuse 2 or more individual layers together. Flatten, is the same as merging but can only be done by selecting a group, and not individual layers. Combining simply means grouping.
- Combining
- Also known as grouping
- Merging
- Fuses two or more layers together
- Flatten
- Merges every layer together that sits within the same group
Can you copy layers from a canvas to a new canvas?
You can copy layers from a canvas to a new canvas by:
- Hold and drag a layer to the gallery (top left corner)
- Release layer anywhere in your gallery.
Procreate automatically assigns a new layer.
How to copy and paste a selection or layer from a canvas to a different canvas in Procreate
- Select a layer (or a certain area)
- Drag three fingers down on your canvas
- Select copy
- Go to a different canvas
- Drag 3 fingers down
- Hit paste
How to lock a layer in Procreate
Locking a layer allows you to not accidentally alter a layer. To lock a layer you swipe the layer to the left and hit Lock.
How to export artwork in Procreate
- Go to actions (wrench icon)
- Go to ”Share”
- Choose a format
- JPEG
- PNG (supports transparency)
- Choose save image
How to export layers from Procreate to Photoshop
You can export layers from Procreate to Photoshop by doing the following:
- Go to actions (wrench icon)
- Go to ”Share”
- Click PSD
- Choose where and how you want to save it
- Send big files through WeTransfer (it’s free!)
- Send files smaller than 22MB via e-mail
Why is procreate only letting me have a few layers?
Your layers may be limited due to a canvas that is too large. The larger your canvas size, the fewer layers Procreates offers. If you want more layers you’ll need to adjust your canvas size.
Your DPI should be set to 72. I can usually go up to 80+ layers with an HD canvas using 72 DPI. For prints, set your DPI to 300. Click here to see how to correctly set up your canvas.
What are blend modes in Procreate?
Blend modes in Procreate are modes that can be applied to a layer which interacts with the layer beneath it. The layer containing the blend mode is called the blend color or blend layer, and the layer below it is called the base color or base layer.
Blend modes are located on each layer represented by a letter or letters. By default, it’s set to ”N” (normal). Tap ”N” or any of the other letters to bring up the full list of blend modes.
The intensity of a blend mode can be adjusted by using the opacity slider.
Blend modes are typically categorised into 6 categories:
- Darken
- Lighten
- Contrast
- Inversion
- Cancellation
- Component
Blend modes in Procreate explained
There are 25 blend modes in Procreate to choose from. Here’s what each blend mode in Procreate does:
| Blend mode | What does it do? | How does it do it? |
|---|---|---|
| Multiply | -Darkens and intensifies | Value of base color x blend color |
| Darken | -Darkens to the darkest of the two layers | Compares blend layer with the base layer and keeps the darker of the two |
| Color Burn | -Produces darker results than Multiply -Higher mid-tone saturation -Reduces highlights | Increases contrast between base and blend colors |
| Linear Burn | -Darkens -Darker than multiply but less saturated than Color burn | Decreasing the brightness of the base color. |
| Darker Color | -Darkens – Similar to Darken blend mode | Instead of using each RGB channel, it uses a composite of all the RGB channels |
| Lighten | -Lightens to whichever layer has the highest value | Compares the base and blend colors and keeps the brightest of the two |
| Screen | -Brightens | Produces different levels of brightening depending on the value of the blend layer |
| Color Dodge | -Brighter effect than screen -Saturates mid-tones -Blows out highlights | Decreases contrast between base and blend colors |
| Add | -Brightens the base color -Stronger than Screen and Color Dodge | Uses color information of the channels to brighten |
| Lighter Color | -Similar to Lighten | Instead of each RGB channel it uses a composite of all the RGB channels |
| Overlay | -Lightens and or darkens mid-tones | Works like a combination if Screen and Multiply |
| Soft Light | -Applies subtle darkening and or highlighting -More subtle than Overlay | Works with values |
| Hard Light | -Intensifies – A combination of Multiply and Screen | Uses the highest values of the blend layer |
| Vivid Light | -Anything darker than 50% gray gets darkened -Anything higher than 50% gray gets lightened. -Very strong | Same as overlay and soft light but extreme |
| Linear Light | -Very strong results | Combines dodge and burn effects |
| Pin Light | -Creates a patchy result | Darkens and lightens simultaneously |
| Hard Mix | – Saturates extremely – Only shows black, white, red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, yellow | Flattens detail |
| Difference | -White pixels invert the colors of the base layer -Gray pixels slightly darkens -Black pixels produce no change | Uses the difference of the base and blend colors |
| Exclusion | -White pixels invert the colors of the base layer -Black pixels produce no change | Uses the difference of the base and blend colors |
| Subtract | -Subtracts value | Subtracts value |
| Divide | -Darker colors produces lighter results | The darker the blend color the higher the value of the base color |
| Hue | -Only changes the hue | Doesn’t touch tone and saturation |
| Saturation | -Adopts the lowest saturation value | Doesn’t touch value and hue |
| Color | -Adopts hue and saturation | Doesn’t touch value |
| Luminosity | -Adjusts value | Doesn’t touch hue and saturation |
Pretty much no one knows what most blend modes do. Just try every blend mode until you find a pleasing result. The outcome may surprise you!
Have fun creating artwork in Procreate :)
♡ Laura
