To blur an image in Procreate, select the layer, tap the Adjustments icon (the magic wand), choose Gaussian Blur, and slide your finger or Apple Pencil right across the canvas to increase the blur. Tap the Adjustments icon again to commit it. To blur only part of the image, draw a selection first and the blur will apply to just that area. Motion Blur and Perspective Blur sit in the same menu for directional streaks and radial zoom effects.

Blur a Whole Layer with Gaussian Blur

Gaussian Blur is the default way to soften an image in Procreate. It works on the active layer only, so make sure the right layer is selected in the Layers panel before you start.

1. Select the layer you want to blur.
2. Tap Adjustments (the wand icon) and choose Gaussian Blur.
3. Slide right anywhere on the canvas to add blur. A blue "Slide to adjust" bar at the top shows the percentage, starting at 0%.
4. Slide left to reduce it.
5. Tap the Adjustments icon again to commit and leave the menu. To commit and stay in the tool, tap the canvas to open Adjustment Actions and tap Apply.

The percentage readout is useful if you need to match a blur amount across several layers or sessions. Note it down rather than eyeballing it.

Gaussian Blur does not run while you are 3D painting. If the option does nothing, check whether you are working on a 3D model.

Blur Only Part of an Image

The adjustment hits the entire layer by default, which is rarely what you want for a photo or a composited illustration. The fix is to make a selection first.

1. Tap the Selection tool (the S icon).
2. Pick a mode at the bottom of the screen: Automatic (selects by pixel similarity), Freehand, Rectangle, or Ellipse. Freehand suits organic shapes like a face or a figure. Rectangle and Ellipse suit geometric areas.
3. Make sure Add is enabled, then draw around the area.
4. Open Adjustments → Gaussian Blur and slide to set the amount. Only the selected region changes.

Soften the Edge of the Blur

A hard selection can leave a visible seam where the blurred area meets the sharp one. Softening the edge of the selection before you apply the blur usually gives a smoother transition than a hard-edged one. Check the bottom bar once a selection is active to see which controls your version offers.

Isolate the Subject First

For a faux depth-of-field look, blurring the background and keeping the subject sharp is more reliable if the two are on separate layers. Select the subject, copy it to its own layer, then blur the layer underneath. Anything that was hidden behind the subject will be missing, so you may need to paint in the gap before blurring, or the blur will pull in empty pixels along the edge.

Add Directional Blur with Motion Blur

Motion Blur streaks the layer in a direction you choose, which is handy for speed lines, a sense of movement, or a quick whip-pan feel on a still.

1. Select the layer (or make a selection).
2. Tap Adjustments → Motion Blur.
3. Drag in the direction you want the streak. Dragging diagonally produces a diagonal blur, and dragging farther increases the amount.
4. Commit the same way as with Gaussian Blur.

Because the direction follows your finger, it is easy to land on a slightly different angle each time. If you need a precise angle, nail it in the first attempt and avoid re-applying on top of the result.

Create Zoom Effects with Perspective Blur

Perspective Blur produces radial or directional blasts that read as a zoom or a burst.

1. Select the layer.
2. Tap Adjustments → Perspective Blur.
3. A disc appears on the canvas. Drag it to set the point of origin, which is the center the blur radiates from.
4. Slide right, outside the disc, to raise the intensity.
5. Choose a mode from the bottom buttons: Positional radiates the blur outward in every direction from the disc, while Directional radiates it from one side only.

You can keep repositioning the disc after you apply the blur, which makes it easy to try different focal points before you commit.

Blur by Hand with a Brush

Procreate has no dedicated blur brush in the standard toolset, and this has been a recurring request from users. Selection-based blurs can feel too coarse for delicate shading or line work. There are a few workarounds:

• Smudge tool. Use a soft brush as a smudge to blend shading. It also drags colour from surrounding pixels, so it can pull in colours you did not want.
• Soft airbrush as a smudge. Some artists use a soft airbrush in the Smudge tool and set the smudge property to none, then adjust spacing and opacity. Lower spacing tends to give a more solid, quicker-appearing blur.
• Third-party blur brushes. Several creators sell or share brushes built to behave like a blur. Test them on a duplicate layer before relying on them.

Troubleshooting Common Blur Problems

Nothing happens when I slide. Confirm you are not in 3D painting mode and that the correct layer is active. If the layer is locked or empty, the effect has nothing to act on.

The edges look strange. On layers with transparency, blur spreads pixels outward and fades edges. Add a bit of padding or expand the layer content before blurring if you want a clean falloff.

I can't undo it later. Procreate's blurs are applied to pixels. Once you commit and keep working, you cannot dial the amount back. See the next section.

Keep Blurs Non-Destructive

A Procreate blur is baked into the layer. To keep your options open:

• Duplicate before blurring. Duplicate the layer, blur the copy, and hide or keep the original underneath.
• Name layers by amount. Something like "BG blur 18%" saves guesswork when you revisit the file.
• Export the sharp version too. If the piece is headed to animation or video, keep an unblurred layer so you can re-do the blur downstream.

Where Blur Belongs When the Art Goes into Motion

If your Procreate artwork is going to be animated or composited, think about whether the blur should live in Procreate at all. A baked-in blur is fine for a painted glow or a stylized soft background. It becomes limiting when you need to animate focus, vary blur over time, or match a camera.

In a compositing or editing app such as After Effects, the usual approach is to export the layers from Procreate and keep the sharp artwork. Then apply a blur effect to the layer and keyframe the amount, or use masks for selective blurs. The principle is the same across tools: keep the source sharp, and treat blur as an editable parameter.

Quick Reference

FAQ

Can I blur an imported photo in Procreate? Yes. Import it as a layer and use the same Adjustments tools.

Does Procreate have a blur brush? Not as a standard tool. Use the Smudge tool with a soft brush or a third-party brush.

Why can't I use Gaussian Blur on my 3D model? Gaussian, Motion, and Perspective Blur do not work while 3D painting.

Should I blur in Procreate or in After Effects? For a fixed painted look, Procreate is fine. If the blur needs to animate or respond to a camera, keep the artwork sharp and blur it in your compositor.

To blur an image in Procreate, select the layer, tap the Adjustments icon (the magic wand), choose Gaussian Blur, and slide your finger or Apple Pencil right across the canvas to increase the blur. Tap the Adjustments icon again to commit it. To blur only part of the image, draw a selection first and the blur will apply to just that area. Motion Blur and Perspective Blur sit in the same menu for directional streaks and radial zoom effects.

Blur a Whole Layer with Gaussian Blur

Gaussian Blur is the default way to soften an image in Procreate. It works on the active layer only, so make sure the right layer is selected in the Layers panel before you start.

1. Select the layer you want to blur.
2. Tap Adjustments (the wand icon) and choose Gaussian Blur.
3. Slide right anywhere on the canvas to add blur. A blue "Slide to adjust" bar at the top shows the percentage, starting at 0%.
4. Slide left to reduce it.
5. Tap the Adjustments icon again to commit and leave the menu. To commit and stay in the tool, tap the canvas to open Adjustment Actions and tap Apply.

The percentage readout is useful if you need to match a blur amount across several layers or sessions. Note it down rather than eyeballing it.

Gaussian Blur does not run while you are 3D painting. If the option does nothing, check whether you are working on a 3D model.

Blur Only Part of an Image

The adjustment hits the entire layer by default, which is rarely what you want for a photo or a composited illustration. The fix is to make a selection first.

1. Tap the Selection tool (the S icon).
2. Pick a mode at the bottom of the screen: Automatic (selects by pixel similarity), Freehand, Rectangle, or Ellipse. Freehand suits organic shapes like a face or a figure. Rectangle and Ellipse suit geometric areas.
3. Make sure Add is enabled, then draw around the area.
4. Open Adjustments → Gaussian Blur and slide to set the amount. Only the selected region changes.

Soften the Edge of the Blur

A hard selection can leave a visible seam where the blurred area meets the sharp one. Softening the edge of the selection before you apply the blur usually gives a smoother transition than a hard-edged one. Check the bottom bar once a selection is active to see which controls your version offers.

Isolate the Subject First

For a faux depth-of-field look, blurring the background and keeping the subject sharp is more reliable if the two are on separate layers. Select the subject, copy it to its own layer, then blur the layer underneath. Anything that was hidden behind the subject will be missing, so you may need to paint in the gap before blurring, or the blur will pull in empty pixels along the edge.

Add Directional Blur with Motion Blur

Motion Blur streaks the layer in a direction you choose, which is handy for speed lines, a sense of movement, or a quick whip-pan feel on a still.

1. Select the layer (or make a selection).
2. Tap Adjustments → Motion Blur.
3. Drag in the direction you want the streak. Dragging diagonally produces a diagonal blur, and dragging farther increases the amount.
4. Commit the same way as with Gaussian Blur.

Because the direction follows your finger, it is easy to land on a slightly different angle each time. If you need a precise angle, nail it in the first attempt and avoid re-applying on top of the result.

Create Zoom Effects with Perspective Blur

Perspective Blur produces radial or directional blasts that read as a zoom or a burst.

1. Select the layer.
2. Tap Adjustments → Perspective Blur.
3. A disc appears on the canvas. Drag it to set the point of origin, which is the center the blur radiates from.
4. Slide right, outside the disc, to raise the intensity.
5. Choose a mode from the bottom buttons: Positional radiates the blur outward in every direction from the disc, while Directional radiates it from one side only.

You can keep repositioning the disc after you apply the blur, which makes it easy to try different focal points before you commit.

Blur by Hand with a Brush

Procreate has no dedicated blur brush in the standard toolset, and this has been a recurring request from users. Selection-based blurs can feel too coarse for delicate shading or line work. There are a few workarounds:

• Smudge tool. Use a soft brush as a smudge to blend shading. It also drags colour from surrounding pixels, so it can pull in colours you did not want.
• Soft airbrush as a smudge. Some artists use a soft airbrush in the Smudge tool and set the smudge property to none, then adjust spacing and opacity. Lower spacing tends to give a more solid, quicker-appearing blur.
• Third-party blur brushes. Several creators sell or share brushes built to behave like a blur. Test them on a duplicate layer before relying on them.

Troubleshooting Common Blur Problems

Nothing happens when I slide. Confirm you are not in 3D painting mode and that the correct layer is active. If the layer is locked or empty, the effect has nothing to act on.

The edges look strange. On layers with transparency, blur spreads pixels outward and fades edges. Add a bit of padding or expand the layer content before blurring if you want a clean falloff.

I can't undo it later. Procreate's blurs are applied to pixels. Once you commit and keep working, you cannot dial the amount back. See the next section.

Keep Blurs Non-Destructive

A Procreate blur is baked into the layer. To keep your options open:

• Duplicate before blurring. Duplicate the layer, blur the copy, and hide or keep the original underneath.
• Name layers by amount. Something like "BG blur 18%" saves guesswork when you revisit the file.
• Export the sharp version too. If the piece is headed to animation or video, keep an unblurred layer so you can re-do the blur downstream.

Where Blur Belongs When the Art Goes into Motion

If your Procreate artwork is going to be animated or composited, think about whether the blur should live in Procreate at all. A baked-in blur is fine for a painted glow or a stylized soft background. It becomes limiting when you need to animate focus, vary blur over time, or match a camera.

In a compositing or editing app such as After Effects, the usual approach is to export the layers from Procreate and keep the sharp artwork. Then apply a blur effect to the layer and keyframe the amount, or use masks for selective blurs. The principle is the same across tools: keep the source sharp, and treat blur as an editable parameter.

Quick Reference

FAQ

Can I blur an imported photo in Procreate? Yes. Import it as a layer and use the same Adjustments tools.

Does Procreate have a blur brush? Not as a standard tool. Use the Smudge tool with a soft brush or a third-party brush.

Why can't I use Gaussian Blur on my 3D model? Gaussian, Motion, and Perspective Blur do not work while 3D painting.

Should I blur in Procreate or in After Effects? For a fixed painted look, Procreate is fine. If the blur needs to animate or respond to a camera, keep the artwork sharp and blur it in your compositor.