I switched to iPad Pro and downloaded Procreate, but I feel lost - the interface is completely different, and the brushes are set up differently. What are the main differences and how do I get used to the new app?
When you switch from Photoshop to Procreate, the first thing that jumps out at you is the lack of a mouse and keyboard shortcuts. Instead, you've got two- and three-finger gestures, and they really do speed things up once you get used to them. My first week was weird because muscle memory kept pulling me to look for hotkeys, but then I realized - it's actually more convenient when you're drawing with a stylus on a tablet.
Here's a tip you won't find in the tutorials - customize the gestures right away to fit your hand. Go into settings, the controls section, and configure which finger does what. I set mine up so two fingers undo, three fingers redo, and tapping the corner does a quick save. Saves a ton of time and frustration. Brushes in Procreate work differently too - the default set is more powerful, and you don't need to hunt down hundreds of brushes online like in Photoshop. Start with the built-in ones until you understand how the brush editor works.
Have you been drawing in Photoshop for a long time or did you switch over relatively recently?
The logic in Procreate is pretty much the same, but honestly everything is set up simpler and faster. The main difference is that in Photoshop you're digging through menus, while here everything is right at your fingertips. Brushes open with a swipe, layers and their blend modes are visible on the right side immediately, there are no endless panels. If you're used to Photoshop, the first shock will be that a lot of your usual tools just aren't there - but you don't need them, because Procreate is built specifically for drawing, not for general graphics work.
You'll definitely get confused with brushes at first. Photoshop has huge libraries of ready-made brushes, half of which nobody uses anyway. Procreate comes with a solid basic set, and that's enough to start with. Open the Library (brushes on the left), and then you start to feel what's there and how they work. Brush customization here is more intuitive - you don't need to dig into "advanced parameters," you just tweak sliders. Pro tip: don't try to transfer your habit of picking from a hundred brush options right away. Grab 3-4 basic brushes and work with just those for two days - your hand will get used to them, and then you can explore the rest.
Touch gestures in Procreate also take some getting used to. Undo isn't Ctrl+Z, it's three fingers swiped upward. Zoom is two fingers rotating, like everywhere else. It'll feel awkward at first, but after a week you'll forget about Photoshop shortcuts. Watch yourself a 10-minute video on the Procreate interface tour - you don't need a full-hour course, just check out where things are, and you'll figure out the rest on your own.
In Procreate everything works on gesture logic instead of keyboard shortcuts, so start by going through the official tutorial in the app itself - it's 15 minutes and you'll get the basics down. The main difference is that the brushes here are more "alive" and complex, but if you're used to Photoshop, just spend an hour figuring out the Brush Settings panel - it's all the same logic, just laid out differently. Working with a precise stylus on iPad is honestly more pleasant than with a mouse, so the adjustment is pretty quick.
I also started by looking for Photoshop's logic and menu structure in Procreate, but it turned out to be a completely different philosophy - and that's exactly what makes it great. Gestures really do help, but I wouldn't rely on them alone. It's better to spend time setting up custom shortcuts for the stylus and keyboard (if you're planning to use one), because the combination of gestures plus buttons is the most comfortable solution between tablet mobility and Photoshop habits.
As for brushes - it's honestly simpler than it seemed, but not because there are fewer of them, but because the editing interface is very intuitive. What was your main pain point with the switch - was it technical confusion or just the adjustment to drawing directly on the screen instead of with a mouse?
The biggest pain when switching over is the habit of hunting through menus and property panels. In Procreate, property windows open with a swipe from the edge or a tap on the parameter you need - they don't just float around separately. Brushes work totally differently too: there's no layered parameter system like in Photoshop, it's all straightforward and intuitive instead. Just try experimenting with any brush for like twenty minutes - you'll see that all the sliders and settings work instantly and you get live feedback.
I'll second the advice about the official tutorial, but I'd add - spend a couple hours after that reassigning gestures to match your workflow. Some people say you should learn the gestures from scratch, but that's not really the right approach: in Procreate you can customize the gestures to fit your habits. Like, if you used to hit spacebar to pan in Photoshop, in Procreate you can map the same thing to a gesture. It helps you adjust faster, and then gradually you pick up the gesture tricks.
One more important thing - layers and masks work almost identically, so that's not different. The real difference is that Procreate is built for touch and fast workflow, not flexibility and tons of options. At first it might feel like something's missing, but honestly everything you need is there, just in different places.
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