Seeking underutilized Procreate features to speed up frame-by-frame animation.

[Jacob.S]

I've been using Procreate for a few months to create digital illustrations, but I feel like I'm barely scratching the surface, especially with its animation features and more advanced brush customization. My workflow is slow, and I want to create more fluid, frame-by-frame animations for short loops. For artists who use Procreate extensively, what are some of the most powerful but underutilized features or workflow tips that significantly improved your efficiency or the quality of your final pieces?

[ScottH]

Enable Animation Assist in Procreate and start with a comfortable frame rate (12–24 fps). Sketch a quick 8–12 frame loop focusing on strong key poses, then fill in the in-betweens. Don’t aim for perfect lines on the first pass—iterate and refine.

[Joseph92]

Make onion skin your best friend: show 2–3 frames before and after, so you can see the motion arc clearly. Work in grayscale first to lock the silhouette and timing, then layer color and shading on top. Organize your scene with separate layers for each element (character, foreground, background) so tweaks don’t ripple through everything.

[Dennis.T]

Workflow I use for a short loop: 1) block the motion with 6–8 key poses on separate frames. 2) duplicate frames to create in-betweens and use Transform/Liquify to nudge limbs or silhouettes instead of redrawing. 3) render a quick grayscale pass to check depth and timing, then add color on a new layer with a clipping mask. 4) set up a subtle lighting pass on top (soft light or overlay) to sell light direction; 5) test the loop by watching it 5–10 times, note any jitter, and adjust. 6) export a draft, get feedback, then iterate. Keep brushes consistent to maintain a cohesive look.

[Mia.P]

Take advantage of brush dynamics: increase Streamline for cleaner lines, adjust jitter for more organic motion, and customize brush tips to simulate textures on clothing or hair. Also, try Drawing Assist and Symmetry if your character is symmetric; it keeps poses balanced while you animate.

[Jerry_J]

Use shortcuts and a small production pipeline: set up a short, repeatable frame count (e.g., 60 frames for a 2-second loop at 30fps), and lean on QuickMenu to speed up actions you repeat (toggle onion skin, duplicate frame, insert blank frame). Name layers and frames clearly, and export early as video or GIF for quick feedback.

[SofiaB]

What’s your target loop length and typical subject? If you share your current workflow or a clip you’re stuck on, I can sketch a tiny, concrete 1-week plan to push your speed and polish.