Is Procreate Easier than Adobe Illustrator? An In-Depth Comparison for 2024
When it comes to digital illustration and graphic design, two of the most popular tools are Procreate and Adobe Illustrator. Both programs offer robust features for creating beautiful artwork, but they have some key differences. One common question is which one is easier to use, especially for beginners.
As a digital art educator with over a decade of experience, I‘ve taught countless students how to use both Procreate and Illustrator. In this article, I‘ll give you my expert perspective on how these two powerful apps compare in terms of ease of use, features, and overall value. By the end, you‘ll have a clear idea of which one might be the best fit for your needs and skill level.
First, let‘s start with an overview of each program:
What is Procreate?
Procreate is a digital illustration app designed exclusively for iPad. It‘s known for its intuitive interface, responsive brush tools, and robust layering capabilities. Procreate is hugely popular with illustrators, character designers, and comic artists who want a mobile drawing solution that feels as natural as traditional media.
Some key features of Procreate include:
- Customizable brushes that simulate mediums like pencils, inks, paints, and more
- Intuitive gestures for functions like undo/redo, layer select, and quick shape adjustments
- Powerful layer blending and masking capabilities
- Ability to import and export PSD files for Photoshop compatibility
- Built-in animation features for creating looping GIFs and videos
- Affordable one-time purchase pricing (currently $9.99)
What is Adobe Illustrator?
Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor that is part of the Adobe Creative Suite. It‘s an industry-standard tool used by graphic designers, web designers, and visual artists. Compared to raster-based programs like Procreate and Photoshop, Illustrator‘s main strength is its ability to create infinitely scalable vector graphics.
Key features of Adobe Illustrator include:
- Precise shape and line tools for creating crisp, resizable graphics
- Robust type tools for typography design
- Expansive library of effects, symbols, and graphic styles
- Powerful Pathfinder functions for combining and altering shapes
- Integration with other Creative Cloud apps and services
- Monthly/annual subscription-based pricing (currently $20.99/month)
Procreate vs. Illustrator: Ease of Use
Now let‘s compare these two programs head-to-head, starting with ease of use. When it comes to usability and intuitiveness, Procreate has a clear edge – especially for beginners and anyone transitioning from traditional art mediums.
With Procreate, you can simply pick up an Apple Pencil and start sketching immediately. The interface is thoughtfully designed with touch in mind, offering handy gestures to streamline your workflow. Procreate also includes helpful features like QuickShape, which can automatically snap your strokes to perfect shapes and symmetry.
While Procreate is certainly deep, with a ton of advanced features to explore, it doesn‘t overwhelm you up front. The interface feels familiar and friendly, with skeuomorphic icons and intuitive tool locations. You can start making great art with Procreate almost immediately, then discover more techniques as you go.
Adobe Illustrator, by comparison, has a much steeper learning curve. As a professional desktop application, its interface is packed densely with tools and panels. Some key features, like the Pen tool, Pathfinder, and Clipping Masks, simply take time and practice to understand fully.
That‘s not to say Illustrator is inherently difficult – but it‘s aimed more at trained designers than casual hobbyists. The workflows tend to be quite technical and precise. Unless you‘re already familiar with vector concepts or other Adobe apps, Illustrator‘s terminology and methods can feel obtuse at first.
Drawing and Brushes
Let‘s talk about actual drawing tools. This is one area where Procreate really shines. It offers an incredible selection of brushes that not only look great, but feel fluid and responsive, taking full advantage of Apple Pencil‘s pressure and tilt features.
Procreate‘s inking brushes in particular are unmatched. With features like streamline, taper, and pressure adjustments, you can create beautiful line work that looks convincingly hand-drawn. Procreate also has best-in-class smudge and blending tools for creating painterly effects.
While Illustrator does have a brush tool, as well as some natural media brushes, they don‘t feel as organic and nuanced as Procreate‘s offerings. Illustrator is more geared toward shape building and crisp edges than expressive drawing. Many Illustrator users prefer to sketch on paper or in Photoshop, then trace their art using the Pen tool.
Text and Typography
Here‘s one area where Illustrator has the advantage. As a vector app, Illustrator has long been the app of choice for designing logos, wordmarks, and other typographic elements. It offers precise control over text blocks, paths, and styling.
With Illustrator, you can create stunning wordmarks that scale infinitely, fine-tune custom kerning/tracking, and apply effects that remain fully editable. You can also convert text to outlines for further fine tuning. It‘s a typographer‘s dream.
Procreate does have solid text features, including full access to iPad fonts, styling options, and rasterization. However, it lacks some of Illustrator‘s vector text superpowers. Working with paragraph text can also feel a bit clunky compared to desktop apps.
Unique Strengths
To wrap up the feature comparison, I want to highlight a few unique strengths of each program:
Procreate Strengths:
- Animation tools for creating looping GIFs and videos
- Augmented reality 3D paint feature
- Intuitive assistive features like Symmetry and Drawing Guides
- Ultra high-resolution canvas (up to 16K with M1 iPad)
- Customizable UI elements and gesture controls
- Impressive smudge/blend capabilities
- "Recolor" feature for instantly replacing hues
- Integrated feedback (Apple Pencil hover previews)
Illustrator Strengths:
- Precise shape building and combining tools (Pathfinder)
- Robust symbol and asset management
- Faster/more flexible gradient features
- Extensive chart and graph tools
- Slice tool for web graphics
- Better expanded format/color mode support
- Advanced package design features (dielines, spot colors, etc.)
- Plug-in and extension ecosystem
Pricing and Value
Finally, let‘s talk about bang for your buck. Procreate is a one-time purchase, currently priced at $9.99 USD. Considering its deep feature set and lack of recurring costs, Procreate is one of the best software deals around.
Adobe Illustrator, like all Creative Cloud apps, is only available via subscription. The current base plan is $20.99/month, or $239.88/year. For professional designers already using other Adobe apps, this may be trivial. But for most hobbyists, it‘s a big pill to swallow.
The main thing Illustrator offers over Procreate is deep vector editing and desktop publishing features. Unless you need that specific functionality, Procreate is simply a much better value overall.
The Verdict
So, which one is easier – Procreate or Illustrator? The answer really depends on your needs and prior experience. But in general, I believe Procreate is significantly easier to learn and use, especially for artists coming from a traditional drawing background.
Procreate has a more intuitive, tactile interface that feels familiar from the start. Its amazing brush engine, smudge tools, and assistive features make creating great art fun and accessible. With a smaller (but well-chosen) toolset, Procreate‘s learning curve is quite gentle.
Illustrator is more powerful in some ways, with its precise vector tools, typography features, and graphic design utilities. But it‘s also more complex and technical, with an intimidating interface full of options. Illustrator is overkill for most hobbyists – it‘s really geared toward design professionals.
To summarize:
Choose Procreate if:
- You‘re new to digital art and want an intuitive, fun experience
- You want to draw/paint expressively with natural media brushes
- You‘re looking for a great value and don‘t need vector features
- You want animation tools and high-res output in a low-cost app
Choose Illustrator if:
- You‘re a professional designer who needs precise vector control
- You already pay for Creative Cloud and want to stay in that ecosystem
- You need to design logos, icons, infographics, or design layouts
- You don‘t mind a steeper learning curve in exchange for power/flexibility
Personally, I believe every digital artist should own Procreate. It‘s an astounding app that just keeps getting better with each update. The value is almost unbeatable and the usability is best-in-class. Illustrator is fantastic too, but it‘s more of a specialized tool for certain use cases.
I hope this comparison has given you some helpful insights! Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy creating!