Procreate Seems To Be Making Many Animators’ Dreams Come True

While Adobe unfortunately remains the industry standard for artists of all kinds, Procreate is definitely giving it a run for its money, and I’m not just saying that because Adobe Creative Cloud felt the need to dedicate a page to Photoshop vs. Procreate on its website (without mentioning the vast price difference, mind you). For years, the iPad-exclusive digital drawing application has successfully turned disgruntled Adobe users into one-time paying customers. Yes, one time. While the smallest subscription to get Photoshop is $9.99 per month, Procreate is a one-time cost of (now) $12.99, with free updates. Now, Procreate is pushing its way into the 2D animation market this fall.

On Friday, September 8, Procreate revealed a sleek new app dedicated to animation called Procreate Dreams. Between the teaser trailer and website, Dreams boasts extensive capabilities. This includes 4K rendering, continuation of multi-touch abilities, sound editing, real-time rendering, font imports, and responsive timeline customization. If this seems like a lot, that’s because it is. In the announcement, CEO and cofounder James Cuda stated that including all parts of the animation workflow was part of the goal.

So, instead of jumping from one app to another during production, you could do most of it in one app. After the presentation, Cuda shared an animated short by Aaron Blaise. Blaise created everything except the orchestral score in the app.

This isn’t the company’s first dive into animation. Procreate allowed creatives to create animation on the Procreate app, but it was first and foremost an app for illustration. I made some GIFs but found the feature difficult to navigate. Professional animators echoed that criticism, noting thar Procreate wasn’t great for animation even at the affordable cost. However, those same critics are excited for Dreams because animation is the focus, not an afterthought. The best part of it all? Like Procreate, Dreams comes at an affordable cost—only $19.99—and, again, a one-time payment.

Artists react to Procreate Dreams

While thousands of artists hold out hoping Procreate will expand to desktop and non-Apple tablets, animators are excited. Art communities worldwide and across social media have been non-stop chattering about this. After all, the rollout of Procreate changed the digital illustration application landscape. Features like time-lapse replay (recordings showing drawing progress over time) became industry standard following Procreate’s wide adoption. So, even for those that can’t or won’t get Dreams, they know this will benefit other artists.

Those who couldn’t justify the cost of equipment upgrades are now figuring out how to move forward. After years of eyeing the iPad and its capability as a tool for digital illustration, Procreate’s first app (Procreate) won me over. After singing its praises, a college classmate (shout out to you, Paloma) let me play on her iPad between classes, and I fell in love. In 2018, I evaluated my finances and took the plunge on getting an iPad (my first Apple device) just for this little app.

This feels like the first really positive news in the online artist space in a year—that happened outside of a courtroom. As many applications have adopted subscription models and embraced AI-generated content, artists of all types have felt at a loss. Procreate has continued to take a firm stance on the side of artists and accessibility. I can’t wait to see what this has to offer upon its release on November 22.

(via Procreate, featured image: Procreate)

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Alyssa Shotwell

(she/her) Award-winning artist and writer with professional experience and education in graphic design, art history, and museum studies. She began her career in journalism in October 2017 when she joined her student newspaper as the Online Editor. This resident of the yeeHaw land spends most of her time drawing, reading and playing the same handful of video games—even as the playtime on Steam reaches the quadruple digits. Currently playing: Baldur's Gate 3 & Oxygen Not Included.

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