On the heels of Apple officially rolling out iOS 11 this afternoon, popular painting Procreate has announced a major update to better take advantage of the new operating system. Procreate 4 is the “biggest release ever” of the app and includes a host of changes that will “truly improve the Procreate experience.”
Procreate 4 specifically puts a focus on performance improvements. The app is powered by an all-new Metal painting engine – Silica M – which allows for all sorts of new effects. The developers say that brushes are more dynamic and responsive, while everything in general is “way faster.”
There are also improvements to the Procreate Gallery, which has been rebuilt with a focus on faster load times and better arrangement tools. The developers tease that this “serves as a solid base to build more advanced functionality on in the future.”
Procreate 4 also adds Layer Masks to “give artists more tools for a non-destructive workflow.” There’s also P3 Wide Color for better color palettes.
iOS 11 played a huge role in this update, according to the developers. There’s support for Drag and Drop, improved import/export, and more:
Procreate says the interface redesign was done with heritage in mind, focusing on improving areas that artists already love:
Last but certainly not least, Procreate 4 gets rid of all in-app purchases. This means that everything the app has to offer, is included in the initial $9.99 purchase price. Procreate 4 comes as a free update to existing users, as well.
Meet Procreate 4:
Procreate 4 is our biggest release ever.
Built for iOS11 and powered by an entirely new Metal painting engine, our goal for this release was to truly improve the Procreate experience – not just cram more stuff in and put a higher number on the box. There’s a trend in our industry to throw in endless features, and forget why customers loved the software to begin with. Procreate 4 is about celebrating our core functionality and making sure your sketching or painting experience is faster, easier, and more reliable.
Although this was our focus, that’s not to say there are no new features. In fact, we have some of the biggest features we’ve ever done – like an entirely new painting engine. When Procreate 1.0 launched in 2011, it led the way with the breakthrough graphically accelerated painting engine: Silica. Powered by OpenGL it was fast, responsive and flexible.
Now we’re introducing a monumental change to the heart of Procreate. Built entirely with Metal, our new painting engine – Silica M – allows for incredible new effects and possibilities, but also makes your existing brushes feel more dynamic and responsive. The same goes for the rebuilt Procreate Gallery, which loads your artworks more quickly, allows you to arrange them more easily, and serves as a solid base to build more advanced functionality in future.
Artists will pick up Procreate 4 and find everything is way faster, tools are easier to find and access, and the interface is much more polished. There are beautiful new wet painting effects, pencils and sketching have been completely overhauled, and the improvements to Smudge make the tool almost unrecognizable.
We’ve implemented Layer Masks to give artists more tools for a non-destructive workflow, P3 Wide Colour for more vibrant palettes, and we’re removing all in-app purchases. That means everything Procreate has to offer is included in one purchase. No subscriptions or hidden costs. Plus, if you’ve ever bought Procreate before, this update is totally free.
iOS 11 was another major consideration for this update. New capabilities like Drag and Drop are huge, and we believe this will change the way artists use Procreate forever. Sharing artwork once took multi-step import/export dialogues – but it’s now as simple as dragging a file into Photos, Mail, the new Files app, or anywhere else you might want to put an image.
When it came to redesigning our interface, we paid respect to our heritage by building on all the features artists already love. We made existing tools and features easier to use, while also ensuring the new ones felt like they always belonged there. Even though nearly every pixel in the Procreate interface has been changed, experienced Procreate artists will still feel at home.
When you open Procreate for the first time after updating you’ll notice things look a little different – and once you start using it, you’ll find that everything feels better, smoother, and more refined.
We’ve been working on this update for almost an entire year now, and the whole team is so excited for customers to finally use it for themselves on September 19.
Procreate 4 is a free update for existing users, $9.99 for new customers, and it’s available exclusively through the App Store. We hope you love it.
