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Procreate is primarily a drawing app, and if you plan to use it as your main note-taking tool, you’ll encounter several challenges. I mainly use the app to trace diagrams, but there are some significant limitations to keep in mind.
One of the biggest issues is organization. Unlike most note-taking apps that offer folders for easy sorting, Procreate only allows you to stack (group) and unstack (ungroup) individual pages. That’s the extent of organization within the app, which can be frustrating.
Another major drawback is the lack of auto-backup. It’s surprising that such a powerful app doesn’t offer this feature, which is essential for preserving important work. The only way to back up your Procreate files is to back up your entire iPad. Additionally, once you delete a file, it’s gone for good—there’s no way to recover it. So, be absolutely sure before hitting that delete button.
On a positive note, Procreate offers a lot of flexibility when it comes to creating your own canvas. You can start with the templates provided or create one from scratch. Keep in mind that the more pixels you use, the larger the file size and the higher the resolution of your notes.
As a drawing app, Procreate offers an extensive range of inking and drawing tools. With some patience, you can customize your pens to get exactly the feel and look you want for your notes. It took me a while to get my pens just right, but now they work perfectly. You can even download custom brushes from platforms like Patreon.
Color customization is another strong point of Procreate. You can create as many palettes as you need, which is great if you’re particular about the colors in your notes. For those who prefer writing on ruled, squared, or dotted backgrounds, you can import PNG templates, though I personally use the drawing guide feature to help me write in straight lines on blank paper.
However, there are some drawbacks when it comes to customization. For example, I use a 2D grid for my notes and have to adjust the spacing, color, and thickness of the grid lines every time. Unfortunately, there’s no way to save these preferences, which adds unnecessary steps to the process.
The app requires a lot of manual adjustments, which may be ideal for artists who need precision, but it could benefit from more presets to streamline common tasks.
One of the features I do appreciate is the layers function. It makes tracing diagrams much easier, and being able to separate different sections of notes into layers is convenient. You can merge the layers when you’re finished.
Writing in Procreate feels great once you’ve customized the tools to your liking. You can zoom in and out while writing, though it would be helpful if the app displayed the zoom percentage so you could easily return to your original view.
A major downside is that you can only open one page at a time. If you need to refer to something on a previous page, you have to exit your current workspace, go back to the app’s homepage, open the previous page, and then repeat the process to return to your current page. This makes Procreate impractical for note-taking.
You can rotate your page to any orientation, but this also zooms in and out, which can be disorienting since there’s no way to see how zoomed-in you are. Returning to your original zoom level is tricky, so I tend to avoid using the rotation feature.
Procreate offers various export options, including PDF, JPEG, and PNG, which are useful for note-takers. When exporting as a PDF, you can choose the quality—good, better, or best. Naturally, opting for the best quality is recommended.
I’m still working on figuring out the best resolution for my notes, which has been a bit challenging. But overall, while Procreate is an exceptional drawing app, it has some significant limitations when used for note-taking.
