Create

Create a wide array of Drawing Guides to help you build the structure of your artwork. Activate a guide, choose the functions you need, and tweak how it looks.

Activate

Add a visual guide to your canvas to help you build realistic environments and objects.

Tap the wrench button in the top left of the screen to open the Actions menu, then tap Canvas, and flip the Drawing Guide switch.

Your Drawing Guide is now activated.

You can also activate a Drawing Guide from the Layers panel. Tap your primary layer once to bring up Layer Options, then tap Drawing Assist.

Default Settings

If this is the first time you’ve used a Drawing Guide on your current canvas, Procreate will default to the 2D Grid guide.

If you’ve used a Drawing Guide on this canvas before, Procreate will remember your previous settings, and default to those.

Drawing Guides Screen

Choose from a variety of Drawing Guides to suit every purpose.

In Actions > Canvas, tap Edit Drawing Guide. This will take you to the Drawing Guides screen.

The Drawing Guides screen will automatically zoom to display your whole artwork, so you can see the full effect of your chosen Drawing Guide.

You can use Drawing Guides as visual cues, or activate Drawing Assist to automatically align your brushstrokes in the direction of the guide lines.

Drawing Guides Interface

Cancel edits and return to canvas.

Commit edits and return to canvas.

Set the color of your guide lines.

Access the 2D Grid, Isometric, Perspective, and Symmetry modes.

Set the opacity of your grid lines.

Set the thickness of your grid lines.

Set the size of your 2D or Isometric grid. You can move the slider, or tap the numerical readout to enter an exact grid size.

Activate or deactivate Drawing Assist.

Choose a Drawing Guide

The buttons beneath your artwork give you the choice between four types of drawing guide, each designed to assist your work in different ways. They’re explored in the Handbook pages that follow.

1. 2D Grid - a square grid for building flat shapes.

2. Isometric - a triangular grid for building 3D shapes without foreshortening, e.g. technical illustrations.

3. Perspective - a star-shaped guide used for building 3D shapes with vanishing points, offering one-point, two-point, or three-point perspective, e.g. cityscapes, backgrounds for comics, etc.

4. Symmetry - a guide designed to work with Drawing Assist to mirror your strokes horizontally, vertically, across a quadrant, or radially - perfect for creating reflected shapes, tiled designs, and kaleidoscopic patterns.

Change Appearance

Your Drawing Guide appears as thin lines that overlay your artwork. Use the options at the bottom of the Drawing Guides interface to change the appearance of your guide. These options are explored in more detail in the individual Drawing Guide pages.

To commit your changes, tap Done.