Most people don’t resist using Procreate because it’s “too hard.” They stop because it feels confusing in a very specific way. It’s easy to experience a low-level friction that slowly drains your confidence until you decide you’re “just not good at digital.”
Here’s the important part up front: That feeling usually has NOTHING to do with talent. It has everything to do with how people try to learn Procreate.
Today, I’m giving you a rundown on the most common things I see people getting wrong, plus what you can do differently starting today.
Mistake #1: Trying to learn Procreate by learning everything
A lot of people approach Procreate like a checklist. They try to understand every menu, every gesture, every tool, every brush category (the brush one is a major no-no). They watch tutorials, bookmark tips, download brush packs, and still feel stuck the moment they open a blank canvas.
That’s because Procreate isn’t meant to be learned all at once. In fact, no art medium or style is! It’s meant to be used repeatedly with a small set of tools.
Try this today:
Pick three restrictions and ignore everything else for one session.
For example:
- one brush
- one color palette
- ten layers max
That’s it! You’ll be surprised how much easier it is to focus and produce quality work when the app stops feeling infinite.
Mistake #2: Confusing watching with practicing
Watching Procreate tutorials feels productive. Your brain lights up. You recognize tools. You think, “oh yeah, I get that.” But recognition isn’t skill.
Skill comes from doing the same thing badly multiple times until your hands start remembering it without you thinking. That’s why so many people feel busy but don’t feel better.
Try this today:
Instead of watching a full tutorial, do this:
- Watch 1-3 minutes, covering one simple technique.
- Pause
- Do exactly that one thing on your own canvas
- Stop!
Resist the urge to keep watching. The goal isn’t to finish the video right now. It’s to repeat a single action enough times that it starts to feel familiar.
Mistake #3: Restarting instead of refining
Starting over feels productive. You open a new canvas and you have fresh energy. “This one will be better.” But restarting over and over keeps you in the starting phase, which is where most people feel the least confident.
Improvement happens when you stay with a piece a little longer than you want to.
Try this today:
Open a piece you’ve abandoned and do one specific refinement only. You’re not looking to “fix everything” or to “make it good.”
Focus on one thing:
- adjust a shape
- clean up one edge
- simplify one area
Learning how to continue is just as important as learning how to begin.
Mistake #4: Assuming knowledge should come first
A lot of people think they’ll feel ready before they start.
🚨 Spoiler alert: They won’t.
Confidence in Procreate comes after you’ve repeated a process enough times that it stops feeling mysterious. That means confusion is not a sign you’re failing. It’s a sign you’re early.
Try this today:
Instead of asking “do I know what I’m doing?” ask: “What’s the next small action?”
- Zoom in.
- Make a mark.
- Undo it (yes - permission to press undo as much as you want).
- Make another.
Momentum beats certainty every time.
Mistake #5: Treating mess as a problem instead of part of the process
Tell me if this tracks:
- messy layer stacks
- multiple file versions
- inconsistent naming conventions
- hidden artwork you forgot existed.
None of that means you’re bad at Procreate. It means you’re thinking.. processing.. visually.
Clean files come later. Clarity comes later. The mess is often how you get there.
Try this today:
Give yourself permission to make something only you will see without feeling pressure to clean it up or to organize it or to fix it.
You don’t need to earn the right to experiment.
The real issue isn’t skill. It’s structure.
Most people don’t struggle because they’re incapable. They struggle because Procreate gives you a lot of freedom and very little direction. Without structure, that freedom turns into overwhelm.
The good news is this: Structure doesn’t replace creativity. It supports it.
Once you know what to focus on first, everything else gets lighter.
If you want help building that structure, without muting the play, that’s exactly what I focus on inside Procreate Bootcamp. We learn and practice what matters in an order that makes sense.
And in the meantime, try just one of the small shifts above today. You don’t need a full reset. You just need a clearer starting point!
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