Banish Pixelated Lines in Procreate: The Ultimate Fix Guide

As a professional illustrator and Procreate enthusiast, I know firsthand how frustrating it can be to have your linework turn out pixelated and jagged, ruining an otherwise perfect piece. Whether you‘re a hobbyist or a seasoned pro, pixelation issues can strike when you least expect it, costing you precious time and effort.

But here‘s the good news: fixing pixelated lines in Procreate is easier than you might think! With a few simple tweaks to your canvas settings and brush tools, you can ensure your artwork always looks clean, crisp, and pixel-perfect.

In this guide, I‘ll walk you through the three key steps to eliminate pixelation in your Procreate drawings, along with expert tips and resources to help you create your best work yet. Let‘s get started!

Understanding Pixelation: Why It Happens and Why It Matters

Before we dive into the fixes, let‘s take a moment to understand what causes pixelation in the first place. Pixelation refers to the appearance of visible pixel edges or "jaggies" in a raster image, often resulting in a low-quality, stair-stepped look. It‘s especially noticeable in linework, where smooth curves and diagonals can break down into unsightly right angles.

[Include side-by-side example of smooth vs. pixelated linework]

There are two main culprits behind pixelated lines in Procreate:

1. Low Canvas Resolution

The most common cause of pixelation is drawing on a canvas with too low of a resolution, or DPI (dots per inch). DPI measures how many pixels are squeezed into one square inch of your screen. The higher the DPI, the more detail is captured and the smoother your lines will appear.

To illustrate, imagine drawing on a piece of graph paper. The more squares per inch, the finer the lines you can create. Conversely, if the squares are too big, your lines will look blocky and uneven. The same principle applies to digital canvases – the higher the DPI, the more "squares" or pixels you have to work with.

Most pixelation issues stem from using a canvas with a DPI under 150. For clarity, here are some common DPI targets to aim for:

Use Case	Target DPI
Digital display (websites, social media)	150-200 DPI
Printing (posters, stickers, shirts)	300+ DPI

If you‘re seeing pixels in your linework, I‘d bet my Apple Pencil your canvas DPI is set too low for your intended use. But don‘t worry, I‘ll show you how to fix it in Step 1!

2. Incompatible Brush Settings

The other sneaky perpetrator of pixelated lines is using brushes with textures or settings that don‘t play nice with your canvas. Certain brushes, like those in the Sketching set, are designed to create grainy, hatched strokes that mimic traditional pencils and charcoal. While they‘re great for loose gesture drawings, these brushes will always produce pixelated "crumbs" around your lines that become more obvious as you zoom in.

Additionally, brushes with too much spacing between bristles or ones with a ragged/speckled shape can contribute to jagged, pixelated edges. As a general rule, solid round or oval brushes (like the Studio Pen or Syrup inking brushes) will yield the cleanest lines.

Step 1: Increase Your Canvas Resolution

Now that we know low DPI is the prime suspect for pixelated linework, let‘s nip it in the bud by bumping up that canvas resolution. Here‘s how to do it:

1. Open your canvas in Procreate and tap the wrench icon to access the Actions menu
2. Select "Canvas" and then "Crop and Resize"
3. Double-tap the DPI field and enter a higher value (at least 150 for digital, 300+ for print)
4. Make sure the "Resample canvas" toggle is ON to preserve your artwork
5. Tap "Done" to apply the changes

[Include annotated screenshot of Crop and Resize menu]

Voila, your canvas DPI is now optimized for clean, crisp lines! But what if you‘re working on an existing piece and don‘t want to risk distorting it by changing the DPI? In that case, you can try the following workaround:

1. Duplicate your artwork onto a new layer
2. Flatten the duplicate layer (tap to select, then choose "Flatten" from the Layer Options menu)
3. Follow the steps above to increase the DPI of the flattened layer
4. Use this high-res layer as a guide to clean up the original linework at a lower zoom level

It‘s not a perfect solution, but it can help you salvage pixelated artwork in a pinch!

Step 2: Optimize Your Brush Settings

With your canvas resolution squared away, let‘s turn our attention to your brush arsenal. As I mentioned earlier, brushes with chalky, speckled textures or irregular shapes are more prone to creating pixelated lines. To achieve the smoothest strokes, I recommend sticking to solid round or oval brushes from the Calligraphy and Inking categories.

My go-to brushes for clean linework are:

• Studio Pen (Inking)
• Syrup (Inking)
• Monoline (Calligraphy)
• Round Brush (Sketching)

But even the best brushes can benefit from some fine-tuning. Here are two key settings to adjust for pixel-perfect lines:

Streamline

Streamline is like a magic smoothing filter for your strokes. It works by averaging multiple points along your stroke into a single, smoother line. The higher the Streamline percentage, the more stabilized and polished your lines will appear.

To adjust Streamline:

1. Open your chosen brush in the Brush Studio (tap the brush icon, then "Edit")
2. Navigate to the "Stroke Path" section in the Properties menu
3. Increase the Streamline percentage closer to 100% for smoother lines

I find that a Streamline value between 75-95% works best for inking and detail work, but feel free to experiment and find your sweet spot!

Spacing

Brush spacing controls how frequently the brush shape is stamped along your stroke. Too much spacing can result in dotted, disconnected lines that appear pixelated. To ensure a solid, continuous stroke, decrease your brush‘s spacing value.

To adjust Spacing:

1. Open the Brush Studio and select the Shape Properties menu
2. Locate the Spacing setting and decrease the percentage until the preview stroke looks solid

You‘re looking for a Spacing value that creates a smooth line without any gaps or overlaps. I usually start at 1% and increase as needed.

Step 3: Vectorize Your Linework (Optional)

If you really want to bulletproof your artwork against pixelation, you can convert your raster linework to vectors. Vector images are resolution-independent, meaning they maintain their crisp edges and smooth curves no matter how much you scale them up or down.

While Procreate is primarily a raster-based app, it does offer some basic vectorization features. Here‘s how to vectorize your linework:

1. Create a new layer and trace over your original lines using the Monoline brush (under Calligraphy)
2. Activate the Magnetics tool (under Preferences > Guides and Grids) to snap your strokes to a crisp, uniform weight
3. Tap the vector stroke and select "Layer Options" > "Rasterize" to convert it back to pixels

This method works best for simple, clean linework without a lot of fine details. For more complex artwork, you may need to export your sketch to a dedicated vector editing program like Adobe Illustrator to trace and refine.

Bonus Tips for Pixel-Perfect Artwork

In addition to the steps above, here are a few more tips to help you create clean, professional-looking artwork in Procreate:

• Work at a higher zoom level (at least 100%) to see pixelation issues more clearly
• Use reference layers to trace and refine messy sketches
• Manually clean up jagged lines with the Hard Airbrush eraser tool
• Export your final artwork as a high-res PNG or PDF to preserve quality

With practice and patience, you‘ll develop an eye for spotting and correcting pixelation issues before they can ruin your hard work. Don‘t be afraid to zoom in, experiment with different brush settings, and take your time to polish every last pixel.

You‘ve Got This!

And there you have it, folks – the three essential steps to banishing pixelated lines from your Procreate projects for good! By optimizing your canvas resolution, choosing the right brushes, and vectorizing your strokes, you can ensure your linework always looks flawless, no matter how many Instagram hearts it racks up.

But don‘t just take my word for it – try these techniques out for yourself and see the difference they can make in your art. Remember, the key to mastering any skill is experimentation and perseverance. Keep practicing, stay curious, and most importantly, have fun!

If you found this guide helpful, I‘d love to hear about your experience fixing pixelation in Procreate. Share your before-and-after shots, brush recommendations, and any other tips you‘ve discovered in the comments below. Let‘s learn and grow together as a community of passionate, pixel-pushing artists!

Thanks for reading, and happy illustrating!