Apple Pencil vs. Others

Introduction

If you’ve ever taken a course from me, you know I always say you need an Apple Pencil, not another brand. The reason for this is that Procreate works its best with the Apple Pencil. Let’s talk about why!

Pressure Sensitivity

The Procreate app can tell how hard or soft you're pressing with your stylus. Most of my brushes have been designed to react to pressure. The Apple Pencil shines here because it can sense even tiny changes in pressure, so you can smoothly go from thin to thick lines. Like in my hand-lettering workbook above. See how the thickness and thinness of my letters vary? This would not be possible with a different pencil. The letters would all be the same width. So this REALLY matters here.

Tilt

Another cool thing about Procreate is how brushes can react to tilt. With the Apple Pencil, when you tilt it, the app knows-making it more like using a real pencil or brush where the angle changes how your strokes look. This feature adds depth and realism to your digital art. While not every brush needs this, some do. So, to get the look you might need, you would need an Apple Pencil becasue it works with this function.

Palm Rejection

Palm rejection means you can rest your hand on the screen while drawing, and the app won't accidentally add any stray marks. It's a feature that works really well with the Apple Pencil, so your designs stay clean.

Precision and Responsiveness

When you're drawing, you want things to be just right. The Apple Pencil gets that. It's super good at making exactly the lines you want, and it follows your hand quickly on the screen. This makes drawing in Procreate feel smooth and easy. You get lines that look just how you planned them, without any delays.

Cocclusion

Even though you might be able to draw in Procreate with other pencils, you won’t get the same results The Apple Pencil in Procreate lets you draw lightly for thin lines and press harder for thicker ones, just like using real pencils or brushes do. This makes drawing on the iPad feel more like drawing on paper. Easy peasy!