Procreate Actions and Preferences: Customizing Your Workflow
Procreate's Actions menu and Preferences give you powerful control over your digital art experience. This comprehensive guide will help you optimize your workflow by customizing Procreate's interface, features, and behavior to match your personal working style.
Video Tutorial
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Understanding the Actions Menu
The Actions menu (wrench icon) is your gateway to Procreate's tools, features, and settings. It's organized into several key sections, each containing important functions.
Accessing the Actions Menu
To open the Actions menu:
- Tap the wrench icon in the top toolbar
- The Actions panel will open, displaying all available options
- Select a category to see more specific options
Add Menu Options
The Add menu contains tools for importing content into your artwork.
Photo and File Import
Bring external assets into your artwork:
- Tap Actions (wrench icon) > Add
- Select "Insert a Photo" to add an image from your Photos app
- Select "Insert a File" to add content from Files app
- Position and resize the imported content as needed
Importing Text
Add text to your artwork:
- Tap Actions > Add > Add Text
- Type your text and adjust font, size, and color
- Use the transform tools to position and manipulate text
- Text remains editable until rasterized
Quick Shapes
Create perfect geometric shapes:
- Tap Actions > Add > QuickShape
- Choose from line, arrow, rectangle, ellipse, triangle, or polygon
- Draw the rough shape and hold at the end
- Procreate automatically converts it to a perfect geometric form
- Edit nodes and adjust properties before committing
Canvas Options
The Canvas menu provides tools for managing your canvas orientation and guides.
Perspective Guide
Create professional perspective drawings:
- Tap Actions > Canvas > Edit Drawing Guide > Perspective
- Tap "Edit Guide" to customize the perspective grid
- Add up to three vanishing points by tapping on the canvas
- Adjust the guide color and opacity
- Toggle "Assisted Drawing" to have your strokes automatically follow the guide lines
Pro Tip: For complex architectural or product illustrations, set up multiple perspective guides on different layers, and toggle between them as needed.
Canvas Rotation
Adjust canvas orientation for comfortable drawing:
- Tap Actions > Canvas > Rotate Canvas
- Select a preset rotation angle or set a custom angle
- Use "Flip Horizontal" or "Flip Vertical" to mirror your artwork
This is particularly useful for checking composition, spotting asymmetry issues, and testing whether your artwork "reads" correctly when flipped.
Canvas Information
Check detailed information about your artwork:
- Tap Actions > Canvas > Canvas Information
- View dimensions, DPI, color profile, and layer count
- See memory usage and maximum layer capacity
Share Options
Procreate offers multiple ways to share your artwork with others.
Export Options
Export your artwork in various formats:
- Tap Actions > Share
- Choose your preferred format (PSD, PDF, JPEG, PNG, etc.)
- Select "Share Layers" if you want to export individual layers
- Choose your destination app or service
Time-lapse Recordings
Procreate automatically records your drawing process:
- Tap Actions > Video
- Select "Time-lapse Replay" to watch your drawing process
- Choose "Export Time-lapse Video" to save the recording
- Adjust quality settings in Preferences
Creative Use: Time-lapse videos are excellent for social media content, showing your process on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube.
Live Streaming
Share your drawing process in real-time:
- Tap Actions > Video > Start Live Broadcast
- Connect to streaming services like Twitch or YouTube
- Configure your broadcast settings
- Start your live session
For more professional streaming setups, you can use AirServer to mirror your iPad to a computer, then use streaming software like OBS or Streamlabs to create a more customized broadcast.
Preferences Menu
The Preferences section lets you customize how Procreate behaves and appears.
Interface Options
Customize Procreate's appearance:
- Tap Actions > Preferences
- Toggle "Light Interface" for a different color scheme
- Enable "Right-hand Interface" to move controls to the right side
- Adjust "Brush Cursor" to change how your brush indicator appears
- Toggle "Auto-hide Interface" to maximize your canvas space
Gesture Controls
Customize how Procreate responds to your touch:
- Tap Actions > Preferences > Gesture Controls
- Modify any gesture to match your preferred workflow
- Change default actions for taps, swipes, and multi-finger gestures
- Create custom gesture shortcuts for your most-used tools
Workflow Enhancement: Our ArtPack Pro brush collection is designed with optimized performance settings that work beautifully with customized gesture controls, allowing you to switch between specialized brushes quickly while maintaining your creative flow.
Apple Pencil Settings
Fine-tune how Procreate responds to your Apple Pencil:
- Tap Actions > Preferences > Edit Pressure Curve
- Adjust the curve to match your drawing style:
- Lower curve = lighter touch needed
- Higher curve = more pressure needed
- Test your settings in the preview area
For detailed illustration work with our Infinity Fractals collection, a more sensitive pressure curve can help you achieve precise control over intricate patterns.
Advanced Settings
Access deeper customization options for power users.
Time-lapse Settings
Configure how Procreate records your process:
- Tap Actions > Preferences > Help > Advanced > Time-lapse Recording Quality
- Choose between High, Medium, and Low quality
- Toggle "Time-lapse HEVC Enabled" for more efficient video encoding
- Adjust frame rate for smoother or more compact videos
Performance Optimization
Fine-tune performance for your specific iPad model:
- Tap Actions > Preferences > Help > Advanced
- Adjust "Palm Support Level" based on your drawing style
- Toggle "Simplified Undos" for better performance on older devices
- Adjust "Maximum Speed Distance" to match your drawing speed
File Format Preferences
Set default formats for your exported artwork:
- Tap Actions > Preferences > Help > Advanced
- Set "Preferred file format" for your main export format
- Choose "Preferred image format" for sharing
- Select formats that best match your typical usage (e.g., PSD for editing, PNG for transparency, JPEG for web)
Optimizing Your Workflow
Creating a Custom Quick Menu
Set up quick access to your most-used tools:
- Tap Actions > Preferences > Gesture Controls
- Assign "QuickMenu" to a convenient gesture (e.g., three-finger tap)
- Configure your QuickMenu with your most-used tools
- Access your custom menu with your assigned gesture while working
Setting Up QuickLine
Create perfect straight lines quickly:
- Draw a line and hold your pencil at the end
- Procreate automatically straightens the line
- Adjust the line position while still holding
- Lift your pencil to commit the line
- Customize QuickLine delay in Preferences
Customizing the Color Profile
Ensure color accuracy for your specific needs:
- Tap Actions > Canvas > Canvas Information
- Tap the current color profile to change it
- Choose from RGB, CMYK, or other profiles
- Select the appropriate profile based on your final output (web, print, etc.)
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Interface Too Small or Large
If the interface elements are hard to see or too prominent:
- Tap Actions > Preferences
- Adjust "Interface Scale" to your preference
- Find a balance that provides good visibility without taking up too much canvas space
Accidental Gestures
If you're triggering unwanted actions while drawing:
- Tap Actions > Preferences > Gesture Controls
- Modify or disable gestures that you frequently trigger accidentally
- Consider changing gestures that conflict with your natural drawing motion
Performance Sluggishness
If Procreate is running slower than expected:
- Reduce canvas size or lower the DPI
- Enable "Simplified Undos" in Advanced Settings
- Close background apps on your iPad
- Merge completed layers to reduce memory usage
FAQ About Procreate Settings
How do I recover an accidentally deleted time-lapse recording?
Procreate automatically records your drawing process as long as you haven't toggled off Time-lapse Recording. If you accidentally delete an export, you can always export it again from the original file by going to Actions > Video > Export Time-lapse Video.
Can I customize the QuickMenu options?
Yes! Access the QuickMenu settings by going to Actions > Preferences > Gesture Controls > QuickMenu. Tap the gear icon to customize the menu items, allowing you to add your most frequently used tools for quick access.
Why can't I see my perspective guide when drawing?
Make sure you've toggled on "Assisted Drawing" after setting up your perspective guide. Go to Actions > Canvas > Edit Drawing Guide > Perspective, then ensure the "Assisted Drawing" switch is turned on. Also check that your guide color and opacity are visible against your artwork.
How do I optimize Procreate for my iPad model?
Newer iPad models can handle higher canvas sizes, more layers, and higher quality time-lapse recordings. For older models, consider working with smaller canvases, enabling Simplified Undos, and setting time-lapse quality to Medium or Low. You can find these settings in Actions > Preferences > Help > Advanced Settings.
Conclusion
Mastering Procreate's Actions menu and Preferences allows you to customize the app to your specific needs and workflow. By taking the time to optimize these settings, you'll create a more efficient and enjoyable drawing experience tailored exactly to your style.
Remember that preferences are highly personal โ experiment with different settings to find what works best for you. As you become more experienced with Procreate, revisit these settings to refine your workflow further.
Ready to enhance your Procreate skills further? Explore our other tutorials:
- Master advanced brush settings for customized artwork
- Learn selection techniques for precise editing
- Discover transform techniques for manipulating your artwork