To blur in Procreate Pocket, select the layer you want to soften, tap Modify, tap the magic wand (Adjustments), choose Blur, and pick Gaussian, Motion, or Perspective Blur. Drag your finger across the screen to set the amount, then tap the Adjustments icon again to commit. The blur only affects the active layer, so make a selection first if you want to soften just one area.

Quick Steps: Apply a Blur in Procreate Pocket

1. Open your canvas and tap the layer you want to blur so it becomes the active layer.
2. Tap Modify, then tap the Adjustments icon (the magic wand).
3. Tap Blur and choose Gaussian Blur, Motion Blur, or Perspective Blur.
4. Slide your finger across the screen. A blue "Slide to adjust" bar at the top shows the blur amount as a percentage, starting at 0%.
5. Tap the Adjustments icon again to commit and leave the menu. To commit but stay in the same blur, tap the canvas to bring up Adjustment Actions, then tap Apply.

The Adjustments menu has four groups: Color Adjustments, Blur, Effects, and Retouch. Blur is one of the simpler ones, but each of its three modes behaves differently, so it helps to know which to reach for.

Gaussian Blur: Soft, Even Defocus

Gaussian Blur gives the active layer an even, out-of-focus softness. It is the one to use for background depth, softening a hard-edged shape, or taking the edge off a texture.

• Go to Modify > Adjustments > Blur > Gaussian Blur.
• Drag right to increase the blur and left to reduce it.
• If you overshoot, slide back toward 0% rather than cancelling and starting over.

Gaussian Blur is the right default for fake depth of field. Put the background elements on their own layer, blur that layer, and leave the subject sharp. Because the blur is applied per layer, how you organize layers before you blur determines how much control you have afterward.

Motion Blur: Directional Streaking

Motion Blur adds a streaky, directional smear that suggests speed. Unlike Gaussian Blur, it follows the direction of your finger.

• Go to Modify > Adjustments > Blur > Motion Blur.
• Slide in the direction you want the streak to run. A horizontal drag gives a horizontal smear, and a diagonal drag gives a diagonal one.
• Drag farther for a heavier effect.

This works well on a layer containing only the moving object, such as a car, a swinging arm, or a flying particle. If you apply it to a flattened image, the whole scene smears, which usually looks like camera shake rather than subject movement. Keep fast-moving elements on separate layers so you can blur them independently.

Perspective Blur: Zoom and Radial Effects

Perspective Blur creates radial, zoom-style blur and "blast" effects that radiate from a point you choose.

• Go to Modify > Adjustments > Blur > Perspective Blur.
• A disc appears on screen. This is the point of origin, and you can drag it anywhere, even after you have started blurring.
• Drag your finger to the right, outside the disc, to increase the intensity. Slide left to reduce it.
• Use the buttons at the bottom to choose between two modes. Positional radiates the blur outward from the disc in every direction. Directional radiates it from one side only.

In Directional mode the disc gets larger and shows an arrow indicating where the blur points. Spin the arrow to change the direction. Moving the disc around while the effect is live is a quick way to see how different focal points change the composition.

Perspective Blur suits speed lines, impact bursts, tunnel-like zooms, and a sense of rushing toward the viewer. Keep the intensity modest if the artwork will end up in a video, since heavy radial blur can read as muddy at lower resolutions.

How to Blur Only Part of a Layer

The Adjustments menu blurs the whole active layer by default, and there is no dedicated blur brush in the standard toolset. Users have asked for one, noting that selection-based blurring can feel too coarse for delicate detail. There are three practical workarounds.

Use a selection

1. Tap the Selection tool (the S icon) and draw around the area you want to soften.
2. Open Adjustments > Blur > Gaussian Blur.
3. Apply a light amount.

Only the selected region is blurred. This is the most predictable method, but it can be slow for intricate shapes.

Use a soft brush in Smudge mode

Many artists use the Smudge tool with a soft airbrush at low size and opacity as a manual softener. Community advice includes keeping the size small, experimenting with opacity, and setting spacing to 0 for a more solid, faster-building effect. A known limitation is that Smudge pulls color from surrounding pixels, so it can drag unwanted colors into the area you are softening. If that happens, isolate the detail on its own layer first.

Use a third-party blur brush

Creators have released brushes designed to blur where you paint, available through marketplaces. Quality varies, so test any brush on a duplicate layer before committing to it on final artwork.

A Simple Glow Effect with Gaussian Blur

Gaussian Blur also works for glows, which is useful for neon, stars, fireworks, and light sources.

1. Duplicate the layer containing the bright element.
2. Place a dark layer beneath it so the glow reads clearly.
3. Select the top copy (or select the area around the element) and apply Gaussian Blur, dragging well to the right.
4. Keep the sharp original underneath so you get a crisp core with a soft halo.

If you want a glow without building it by hand, Procreate's Effects group also includes Bloom, which adds atmospheric glows directly.

Tips to Keep Your Blur Clean

• Duplicate before you blur. Once committed, a blur changes the pixels on that layer. A duplicate gives you an untouched version to return to.
• Check which layer is active. Adjustments hit the current layer only, so a blur that seems to do nothing usually means the wrong layer is selected. Liquify is the exception to the active-layer rule.
• Use Undo, Redo, and Reset. While inside a blur adjustment, you can undo, redo, reset, or cancel before committing.
• Blur in stages. Two light passes often look more natural than one heavy one.
• Separate elements early. Foreground, midground, and background layers let you apply different blur types and strengths without selections.

Blur in Procreate Pocket or in After Effects?

If you are a motion designer, you probably use Procreate Pocket for fast concept sketches, painted textures, matte elements, or hand-drawn plates, not for final animated output. That affects where you should blur.

Blur applied in Procreate is baked into the pixels. That suits a painted texture or a stylized background that will stay static. It is a poor fit for anything that needs to change over time, such as a rack focus, a speed ramp, or a zoom that builds. For those, export your layers from Procreate and apply blur in a compositor such as After Effects, where you can animate the amount and revisit it later.

A reasonable rule of thumb:

• Blur in Procreate when the softness is part of the painting itself: painterly edges, soft light, atmospheric haze, glow.
• Blur in your compositor when the blur needs to animate, respond to depth, or be revisited late in the project.

Exporting the sharp layers and leaving the blur to compositing keeps the most flexibility.

Where Styleframe Fits After Your Procreate Work

Once you have painted frames or style references in Procreate Pocket, Styleframe can help turn them into motion. You can use your Procreate artwork as reference material. In practice, that means you keep painting in Procreate, generate motion from your own frames in Styleframe, and finish with your usual blur, grade, and comp passes in your compositor.

FAQ

Where is the blur tool in Procreate Pocket? Tap Modify, then the Adjustments (magic wand) icon, then Blur.

What types of blur are available? Gaussian Blur, Motion Blur, and Perspective Blur.

Can I blur just one part of my artwork? Yes. Make a selection before opening Gaussian Blur, or use a soft brush in Smudge mode for more delicate control.

How do I apply a blur and keep editing it? Tap the canvas to bring up Adjustment Actions and tap Apply. This commits the change while keeping you in the same blur.

Does blur affect all layers? No. It affects only the active layer.

To blur in Procreate Pocket, select the layer you want to soften, tap Modify, tap the magic wand (Adjustments), choose Blur, and pick Gaussian, Motion, or Perspective Blur. Drag your finger across the screen to set the amount, then tap the Adjustments icon again to commit. The blur only affects the active layer, so make a selection first if you want to soften just one area.

Quick Steps: Apply a Blur in Procreate Pocket

1. Open your canvas and tap the layer you want to blur so it becomes the active layer.
2. Tap Modify, then tap the Adjustments icon (the magic wand).
3. Tap Blur and choose Gaussian Blur, Motion Blur, or Perspective Blur.
4. Slide your finger across the screen. A blue "Slide to adjust" bar at the top shows the blur amount as a percentage, starting at 0%.
5. Tap the Adjustments icon again to commit and leave the menu. To commit but stay in the same blur, tap the canvas to bring up Adjustment Actions, then tap Apply.

The Adjustments menu has four groups: Color Adjustments, Blur, Effects, and Retouch. Blur is one of the simpler ones, but each of its three modes behaves differently, so it helps to know which to reach for.

Gaussian Blur: Soft, Even Defocus

Gaussian Blur gives the active layer an even, out-of-focus softness. It is the one to use for background depth, softening a hard-edged shape, or taking the edge off a texture.

• Go to Modify > Adjustments > Blur > Gaussian Blur.
• Drag right to increase the blur and left to reduce it.
• If you overshoot, slide back toward 0% rather than cancelling and starting over.

Gaussian Blur is the right default for fake depth of field. Put the background elements on their own layer, blur that layer, and leave the subject sharp. Because the blur is applied per layer, how you organize layers before you blur determines how much control you have afterward.

Motion Blur: Directional Streaking

Motion Blur adds a streaky, directional smear that suggests speed. Unlike Gaussian Blur, it follows the direction of your finger.

• Go to Modify > Adjustments > Blur > Motion Blur.
• Slide in the direction you want the streak to run. A horizontal drag gives a horizontal smear, and a diagonal drag gives a diagonal one.
• Drag farther for a heavier effect.

This works well on a layer containing only the moving object, such as a car, a swinging arm, or a flying particle. If you apply it to a flattened image, the whole scene smears, which usually looks like camera shake rather than subject movement. Keep fast-moving elements on separate layers so you can blur them independently.

Perspective Blur: Zoom and Radial Effects

Perspective Blur creates radial, zoom-style blur and "blast" effects that radiate from a point you choose.

• Go to Modify > Adjustments > Blur > Perspective Blur.
• A disc appears on screen. This is the point of origin, and you can drag it anywhere, even after you have started blurring.
• Drag your finger to the right, outside the disc, to increase the intensity. Slide left to reduce it.
• Use the buttons at the bottom to choose between two modes. Positional radiates the blur outward from the disc in every direction. Directional radiates it from one side only.

In Directional mode the disc gets larger and shows an arrow indicating where the blur points. Spin the arrow to change the direction. Moving the disc around while the effect is live is a quick way to see how different focal points change the composition.

Perspective Blur suits speed lines, impact bursts, tunnel-like zooms, and a sense of rushing toward the viewer. Keep the intensity modest if the artwork will end up in a video, since heavy radial blur can read as muddy at lower resolutions.

How to Blur Only Part of a Layer

The Adjustments menu blurs the whole active layer by default, and there is no dedicated blur brush in the standard toolset. Users have asked for one, noting that selection-based blurring can feel too coarse for delicate detail. There are three practical workarounds.

Use a selection

1. Tap the Selection tool (the S icon) and draw around the area you want to soften.
2. Open Adjustments > Blur > Gaussian Blur.
3. Apply a light amount.

Only the selected region is blurred. This is the most predictable method, but it can be slow for intricate shapes.

Use a soft brush in Smudge mode

Many artists use the Smudge tool with a soft airbrush at low size and opacity as a manual softener. Community advice includes keeping the size small, experimenting with opacity, and setting spacing to 0 for a more solid, faster-building effect. A known limitation is that Smudge pulls color from surrounding pixels, so it can drag unwanted colors into the area you are softening. If that happens, isolate the detail on its own layer first.

Use a third-party blur brush

Creators have released brushes designed to blur where you paint, available through marketplaces. Quality varies, so test any brush on a duplicate layer before committing to it on final artwork.

A Simple Glow Effect with Gaussian Blur

Gaussian Blur also works for glows, which is useful for neon, stars, fireworks, and light sources.

1. Duplicate the layer containing the bright element.
2. Place a dark layer beneath it so the glow reads clearly.
3. Select the top copy (or select the area around the element) and apply Gaussian Blur, dragging well to the right.
4. Keep the sharp original underneath so you get a crisp core with a soft halo.

If you want a glow without building it by hand, Procreate's Effects group also includes Bloom, which adds atmospheric glows directly.

Tips to Keep Your Blur Clean

• Duplicate before you blur. Once committed, a blur changes the pixels on that layer. A duplicate gives you an untouched version to return to.
• Check which layer is active. Adjustments hit the current layer only, so a blur that seems to do nothing usually means the wrong layer is selected. Liquify is the exception to the active-layer rule.
• Use Undo, Redo, and Reset. While inside a blur adjustment, you can undo, redo, reset, or cancel before committing.
• Blur in stages. Two light passes often look more natural than one heavy one.
• Separate elements early. Foreground, midground, and background layers let you apply different blur types and strengths without selections.

Blur in Procreate Pocket or in After Effects?

If you are a motion designer, you probably use Procreate Pocket for fast concept sketches, painted textures, matte elements, or hand-drawn plates, not for final animated output. That affects where you should blur.

Blur applied in Procreate is baked into the pixels. That suits a painted texture or a stylized background that will stay static. It is a poor fit for anything that needs to change over time, such as a rack focus, a speed ramp, or a zoom that builds. For those, export your layers from Procreate and apply blur in a compositor such as After Effects, where you can animate the amount and revisit it later.

A reasonable rule of thumb:

• Blur in Procreate when the softness is part of the painting itself: painterly edges, soft light, atmospheric haze, glow.
• Blur in your compositor when the blur needs to animate, respond to depth, or be revisited late in the project.

Exporting the sharp layers and leaving the blur to compositing keeps the most flexibility.

Where Styleframe Fits After Your Procreate Work

Once you have painted frames or style references in Procreate Pocket, Styleframe can help turn them into motion. You can use your Procreate artwork as reference material. In practice, that means you keep painting in Procreate, generate motion from your own frames in Styleframe, and finish with your usual blur, grade, and comp passes in your compositor.

FAQ

Where is the blur tool in Procreate Pocket? Tap Modify, then the Adjustments (magic wand) icon, then Blur.

What types of blur are available? Gaussian Blur, Motion Blur, and Perspective Blur.

Can I blur just one part of my artwork? Yes. Make a selection before opening Gaussian Blur, or use a soft brush in Smudge mode for more delicate control.

How do I apply a blur and keep editing it? Tap the canvas to bring up Adjustment Actions and tap Apply. This commits the change while keeping you in the same blur.

Does blur affect all layers? No. It affects only the active layer.