Astropad Studio vs. Procreate
Both Astropad Studio and Procreate are apps designed to be used for the iPad and Apple Pencil. They each have unique advantages that can be used at different points in your workflow.
What is Astropad Studio?
Astropad Studio is our software solution that utilizes your iPad as a mirrored display of your primary computer, allowing it to function as a drawing tablet.
With Studio, you can work with the full functionality of your favorite art programs that can be found on a computer, without the need for an expensive pen display. This is what makes Studio a great software for both hobbyists and professionals alike.
Astropad Studio includes features designed to customize your workflow, such as:
While some simplified versions of art programs, like Photoshop, exist on the iPad as standalone apps, they are typically limited in functionality and do not boast the usual range of features found in the computer version. This is why having a more traditional setup with Astropad Studio can be useful compared to apps found on your iPad.
What is Procreate?
Procreate is a painting app for iOS. It has most of the essentials that illustrators or hobbyist artists need, though it is limited to illustration, painting, and simple animation. Despite this limitation on functionality, it is one of the most comprehensive and affordable painting programs on the iOS App Store. This makes it a very popular option for artists of all skill levels looking for an easy-to-use alternative to more expensive painting apps.
Comparing resolution limitations in Studio and Procreate
In Procreate, you are limited to creating pieces that are only as large as the resolution of your iPad. This creates a unique challenge if you are using the maximum resolution available on your device because Procreate will limit you to work on one layer in this scenario. A lot of artists prefer to work on projects utilizing more than one layer for flexibility and separation between the different steps of their creation.
With Astropad Studio, the pieces you create are only limited by the resolution your primary device can push in your preferred art program. Most computers have better processing power than an iPad, so there are far fewer limitations to the scale and layer count of your projects.
Can Procreate be used with Astropad Studio?
Unfortunately, the short answer to this is "no," since Procreate is a drawing program that is an iPad-only app. Since Astropad Studio leverages the iPad's screen to mirror the display of your computer, there is no way to use an iPad-only app like Procreate while Studio is in use.
How to use Procreate and Studio at different parts of your workflow
There are still many users that incorporate both programs into their workflow! Since Procreate can export multiple file types, many artists will start with Procreate for sketching and creating thumbnails on the go. Then, they will switch to a desktop program like Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint to complete the project using Astropad Studio.