Savage Interactive releases Procreate 5.2
Originally posted on 21 April 2021. We’ve updated the story with details from the final release.
Savage Interactive has released Procreate 5.2, the next version of its iPad sketching and painting app.
The update adds a new 3D painting system, making it possible to import and paint onto 3D models, plus native support for Apple’s M1 processors, automatic stroke stabilisation, and new accessibility features.
A professional sketching and painting tool with an interface tailored to touchscreen devices
Used by artists at studios including Pixar and Blizzard, ProCreate packages a range of professional drawing and painting tools inside an interface tailored for use on a touchscreen device.
The app currently features close to 200 brushes, both natural media and abstract, plus a smaller range of vector drawing and transform tools.
It includes a layer system with layer groups, masks and blending modes, can export to the PSD file format, works in DCI-P3 colour space, and supports canvases up to 16,000 x 8,000px on new iPad Pros.
As well as gestural inputs, Procreate supports pressure-sensitive drawing via the Apple Pencil stylus.
New in Procreate 5.2: new 3D painting system with support for PBR materials
Procreate 5.2, originally previewed at Apple’s Spring Loaded event, introduces a new 3D painting system, making it possible to use the app to paint onto 3D models, as well as on a blank 2D canvas.
Users can import a 3D object in OBJ or USDZ format to use as a canvas and paint on it from any angle. Brush strokes are automatically snapped to the model’s surface.
The new material brushes support PBR materials, with users able to paint colour, metallic and roughness channels directly. Normal and ambient occlusion maps are preserved from the imported model.
The model can be lit using Procreate’s new Lighting Studio, using up to four light sources, and any of the 11 readymade natural and artificial lighting environments.
Models can also be viewed in the real world via a new AR-based display system.
Users can export textured models to other DCC software, also in OBJ or USDZ format; with a new built-in system to create customisable turntable animations.
Automatic stroke stabilisation and other new usability features
Other new features in the update include automatic stablisisation of freehand strokes via Motion Filtering, a “groundbreaking new stablisation method … inspired by audio processing”.
Users can also now import PDFs into Procreate, complemented by a new Page Assist feature to help navigate multi-page documents like storyboards or comics.
In addition, it is possible to display larger Color Cards rather than standard colour swatches. Color Cards include colour names: generated automatically, but user-customisable.
New accessibility features include simplified touch controls, audio feedback and custom interface scaling.
Native support for M1 processors in new iPad Pros
The 5.2 update also adds support for Apple’s new M1 processors. According to Savage Interactive, Procreate runs “up to four times faster” on iPad Pros with M1 chips.
Pricing and system requirements
Procreate 5.2 is available for iPadOS 14.4+. New licences cost $9.99.
Read more the new features in Procreate on Savage Interactive’s website