Procreate Setup

Configure Procreate for crisp, perfect pixel art

Why Setup Matters

Pixel art requires precise, hard-edged pixels with no blurring or anti-aliasing. Procreate is designed for smooth digital painting by default, so we need to adjust a few settings to make it pixel-perfect.

This takes about 5 minutes, and you'll only need to do it once!

1Create a New Canvas

Open Procreate and tap the + button to create a new canvas.

Canvas Dimensions:
  • For characters: 32×32 pixels or 48×48 pixels
  • For larger objects: 64×64 pixels or 96×96 pixels
  • DPI: 72 DPI (this doesn't matter much for pixel art)
  • Color Profile: sRGB
New Canvas Width: 32 Height: 32 DPI: 72 Color: sRGB Create

Canvas setup screen in Procreate

Start with 32×32 pixels for your first project. It's the sweet spot: small enough to work quickly, large enough to add detail.

2Turn Off Anti-Aliasing

This is the most important setting for pixel art. Anti-aliasing smooths edges, which makes pixel art look blurry.

How to disable it:
  1. Tap the wrench icon (Actions menu)
  2. Go to Canvas
  3. Toggle Painting ▸ Anti-aliased to OFF (gray)
❌ Anti-aliasing ON (Blurry) ✓ Anti-aliasing OFF (Crisp!)

See the difference? Hard edges = perfect pixel art!

3Enable the Drawing Guide Grid

A pixel grid helps you see exactly where each pixel is. This is super helpful when placing details.

How to enable the grid:
  1. Tap the wrench icon (Actions)
  2. Go to Canvas ▸ Drawing Guide
  3. Toggle Drawing Guide ON
  4. Tap Edit Drawing Guide
  5. Select Grid at the bottom
  6. Set Grid Size to match your pixel size (usually 1)
  7. Tap Done
The grid is just a visual helper — it won't affect your exported artwork. You can toggle it on/off anytime.

4Choose the Right Brush

Procreate has hundreds of brushes, but for pixel art you only need one.

Use the Pixel Brush:
  • Open the brush library (tap the brush icon)
  • Navigate to Calligraphy
  • Select Monoline (this works like a pixel brush)
  • Set brush size to 1px or 2px
Alternative: You can also use the Pencil brush from the Sketching set, but make sure to turn off any texture or grain settings.

5Set Up a Color Palette

Pixel art looks best with a limited color palette. This creates visual harmony and a cohesive retro style.

Start with 8-12 colors:

  • 2-3 skin tones (light, mid, shadow)
  • 2-3 main colors for clothing/objects
  • 1-2 accent colors
  • White and black (or near-white and near-black)
Example Starter Palette Cream Peach Tan Sage Green Sky Dark Light Terra

A simple 9-color palette to get started

Save your palette! Tap the + in the color panel to create a new palette, then add your chosen colors. You can reuse it across all your pixel art projects.

You're All Set!

Your Procreate is now configured for perfect pixel art. These settings will stick around, so you won't need to redo them every time.

Next step: Learn the fundamentals of pixel art and create your first sprite!

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