Professional digital artists swear by the Wacom Cintiq tablet as the go-to artist’s tool, but in recent years, Australia-based Savage Interactive has challenged that supremacy with its beloved app called Procreate.
Procreate was created and is maintained by a relatively small team. But despite its small size, the app boasts a passionate user following. Ask almost any longtime Procreate user what they think of the app (which is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars in the iOS app store) and you’ll soon have to ask them to stop gushing about how awesome it is. But they’re right, Procreate is amazing. Outside of augmented reality and VR apps, it’s probably my favorite app, hands down. And now, it turns out that Procreate has joined the ranks of augmented reality with its 5X update, which was released this week.
The new AR feature is called FacePaint and it allows iPad users to take their digital rendering and easily transport them into AR for use as animated or static face-tracked graphics.
Using the iPad’s front-facing camera, Procreate users can now map their digital drawings to their face with a simple selection of the eyes, nose, and mouth point guides layered over any Procreate-created illustration.
Users can also apply any of the app’s traditional and new effects and filters to the AR mask. And experienced Procreate users will be happy to know that the time-lapse effect also works with FacePaint, allowing you to show off how you built your AR masterpiece.
There only one downside to the AR update: FacePaint requires a new-ish iPad to work. The feature is only supported by iPads from 2018 and later, specifically, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 2018 and 2020 version, iPad Pro 11-inch 2018 and 2020 version, iPad Air 3 and 4 or mini 5 running iPadOS 14, and iPad 8th generation running iPadOS 14.
So if you’re an old school Procreate user, this might be the excuse you’ve been looking for to finally upgrade.
Cover image via Procreate