To change a layer to Multiply in Procreate, open the Layers panel, tap the small "N" on the right side of the layer, tap the blend mode name at the top of the menu, and choose Multiply. Tap outside the list to confirm it. Multiply is the first option in the list, and the layer's colors now darken whatever sits beneath them, which is why it's the standard choice for shadows, shading, and texture overlays.

Step-by-Step: Set a Layer to Multiply in Procreate

1. Open the Layers panel. Tap the double-rectangle icon in the top-right corner of the interface.
2. Find the blend mode letter. Each layer shows one or more letters on its right side. A new layer shows N, for Normal.
3. Tap the letter. A small menu opens with two controls: the current blend mode name and an Opacity slider.
4. Tap the mode name. A scrolling list of blend modes appears. Procreate previews each mode on your layer as you scroll, so you can see the result before committing.
5. Select Multiply. It sits at the top of the list, at the start of the darkening group.
6. Close the menu. Tap anywhere outside the list. The layer's letter changes from N to M.

Blend modes only affect the layer you select. If nothing seems to happen, check that you tapped the N on the layer you meant to change, not the one above or below it.

What Multiply Does to the Pixels Beneath It

Multiply multiplies the color values of the layer by the colors underneath it. Procreate's own description is that it multiplies the luminosity of the base by the blend color, giving a darker, more intense result.

Three practical consequences follow:

• White has no effect. White pixels on a Multiply layer leave the base unchanged, so you can paint with white and see nothing.
• Black stays black. Black pixels on a Multiply layer produce black in the result.
• Mid-tones darken proportionally. A mid-gray darkens the base by roughly half. A saturated color tints the base while darkening it.

That behavior is why Multiply works so well for cast shadows, ambient occlusion-style shading, paper grain, and darkening line art. It never lightens anything, so it is hard to wreck a painting by overdoing it.

Multiply is also available in other digital art software, such as Photoshop and Clip Studio, so the concept carries over.

Control the Strength with Opacity

The same menu that holds the blend mode name also holds the Opacity slider. In Normal mode, opacity controls transparency. In other blend modes, it can also affect things like color intensity or darkness. For Multiply, lowering opacity softens the darkening.

Slide left for a lighter touch and right for a stronger effect. This adjusts the entire layer and ignores any active selection.

There is also a faster route. Tap the layer with two fingers, and a thin blue bar appears at the top of the canvas. Slide left or right on the canvas to adjust opacity without opening the menu. It is handy when you are tuning a shadow layer against the artwork and want to keep your eyes on the canvas.

Make Multiply Layers Work Harder

Setting the mode is the easy part. These habits make Multiply useful in production.

Use a clipping mask for shadows

Put your shadow layer directly above the color layer it affects, set it to Multiply, and clip it to the layer below. Shading then stays inside the shape boundaries, and you can paint loosely without masking afterward. If the shadow isn't right, you delete or tweak one layer. The base art stays untouched.

Pick shadow colors deliberately

Pure gray on Multiply gives you a flat, desaturated shadow. A cool purple or blue-leaning tone usually reads richer, because the multiplied hue shifts the base color instead of just darkening it. Experiment with a few tones and compare them by toggling the layer.

Layer textures on top

Scanned paper, grain, or halftone textures that are light with dark marks work well on Multiply. The light areas drop out, and the marks darken the artwork beneath. For a stronger or weaker texture, adjust opacity rather than repainting.

Stack with other darkening modes if needed

Color Burn and Linear Burn also darken but behave differently. Per Procreate's documentation, Color Burn raises contrast and mid-tone saturation and usually lands darker than Multiply. Linear Burn is darker than Multiply but less saturated than Color Burn. If Multiply feels too mild, try those before piling on more Multiply layers.

Troubleshooting: When Multiply Doesn't Look Right

The layer looks unchanged. The content may be white or very light, or the layer sits at the bottom of the stack with nothing beneath it to multiply against. Multiply needs something underneath.

The result is too muddy. Dark colors on Multiply push toward black fast. Lower the opacity or lighten the color on the layer itself.

You see Shade instead of Darken. Since Procreate 5.4, older projects that used Darken were switched to a mode called Shade, so that Procreate's Darken matches how other software handles it. This doesn't affect Multiply, but it can be confusing if you open an older file.

The mode didn't carry over after export. If you export to PSD or another format and open it in another tool, verify the blend mode on import. Don't assume it carried across. Multiply is common enough that most apps handle it, but check the mapping instead of trusting it.

Taking Multiply Layers into a Motion Pipeline

For motion designers, animators, and VFX artists, Procreate often serves as a sketchbook or a quick source for style frames, textures, and hand-painted elements. The Multiply layer you build on an iPad can easily end up inside a composite.

A few ways to carry that work over:

• After Effects: Import your layered file and check each layer's blend mode. Set a shadow layer to Multiply there if it didn't come through.
• Premiere Pro: Place the exported shadow or texture on a track above your footage and set its blend mode to Multiply.
• Nuke: Use a multiply operation to composite a texture pass or a painted shadow element.
• Blender and Cinema 4D: Many 3D tools offer a Multiply option for mixing textures, so a hand-painted shading pass can darken a base color map.

Because Multiply is a simple, predictable operation, a shadow or texture painted in Procreate should behave similarly across many of these tools.

Where Styleframe Fits Beside Your Procreate Work

Multiply layers are a way to control a look in a still frame. Carrying that look across motion is a different problem. Styleframe is an AI video and motion tool.

If you've painted a shaded style frame in Procreate, you can use it as a reference image in Styleframe, so the look you built can help steer the result.

You keep your existing pipeline by bringing the output into your compositing app, where you can still apply Multiply, Screen, or any other blend mode in the composite.

Quick Reference

FAQ

Does Multiply permanently change my layer? No. It is a layer setting, so you can switch back to Normal or pick another mode at any time without losing your pixels.

Can I use Multiply on any color? Yes. Multiply always darkens or keeps the base the same, and lighter colors produce a gentler effect than dark ones.

Why is white invisible on a Multiply layer? White multiplied by anything returns the original value, so it leaves the base unchanged. That makes it useful for painting only the areas you want to darken.

Is Multiply the best mode for shadows? It is the most common starting point. If you want more contrast or saturation in the shadow, try Color Burn or Linear Burn.

To change a layer to Multiply in Procreate, open the Layers panel, tap the small "N" on the right side of the layer, tap the blend mode name at the top of the menu, and choose Multiply. Tap outside the list to confirm it. Multiply is the first option in the list, and the layer's colors now darken whatever sits beneath them, which is why it's the standard choice for shadows, shading, and texture overlays.

Step-by-Step: Set a Layer to Multiply in Procreate

1. Open the Layers panel. Tap the double-rectangle icon in the top-right corner of the interface.
2. Find the blend mode letter. Each layer shows one or more letters on its right side. A new layer shows N, for Normal.
3. Tap the letter. A small menu opens with two controls: the current blend mode name and an Opacity slider.
4. Tap the mode name. A scrolling list of blend modes appears. Procreate previews each mode on your layer as you scroll, so you can see the result before committing.
5. Select Multiply. It sits at the top of the list, at the start of the darkening group.
6. Close the menu. Tap anywhere outside the list. The layer's letter changes from N to M.

Blend modes only affect the layer you select. If nothing seems to happen, check that you tapped the N on the layer you meant to change, not the one above or below it.

What Multiply Does to the Pixels Beneath It

Multiply multiplies the color values of the layer by the colors underneath it. Procreate's own description is that it multiplies the luminosity of the base by the blend color, giving a darker, more intense result.

Three practical consequences follow:

• White has no effect. White pixels on a Multiply layer leave the base unchanged, so you can paint with white and see nothing.
• Black stays black. Black pixels on a Multiply layer produce black in the result.
• Mid-tones darken proportionally. A mid-gray darkens the base by roughly half. A saturated color tints the base while darkening it.

That behavior is why Multiply works so well for cast shadows, ambient occlusion-style shading, paper grain, and darkening line art. It never lightens anything, so it is hard to wreck a painting by overdoing it.

Multiply is also available in other digital art software, such as Photoshop and Clip Studio, so the concept carries over.

Control the Strength with Opacity

The same menu that holds the blend mode name also holds the Opacity slider. In Normal mode, opacity controls transparency. In other blend modes, it can also affect things like color intensity or darkness. For Multiply, lowering opacity softens the darkening.

Slide left for a lighter touch and right for a stronger effect. This adjusts the entire layer and ignores any active selection.

There is also a faster route. Tap the layer with two fingers, and a thin blue bar appears at the top of the canvas. Slide left or right on the canvas to adjust opacity without opening the menu. It is handy when you are tuning a shadow layer against the artwork and want to keep your eyes on the canvas.

Make Multiply Layers Work Harder

Setting the mode is the easy part. These habits make Multiply useful in production.

Use a clipping mask for shadows

Put your shadow layer directly above the color layer it affects, set it to Multiply, and clip it to the layer below. Shading then stays inside the shape boundaries, and you can paint loosely without masking afterward. If the shadow isn't right, you delete or tweak one layer. The base art stays untouched.

Pick shadow colors deliberately

Pure gray on Multiply gives you a flat, desaturated shadow. A cool purple or blue-leaning tone usually reads richer, because the multiplied hue shifts the base color instead of just darkening it. Experiment with a few tones and compare them by toggling the layer.

Layer textures on top

Scanned paper, grain, or halftone textures that are light with dark marks work well on Multiply. The light areas drop out, and the marks darken the artwork beneath. For a stronger or weaker texture, adjust opacity rather than repainting.

Stack with other darkening modes if needed

Color Burn and Linear Burn also darken but behave differently. Per Procreate's documentation, Color Burn raises contrast and mid-tone saturation and usually lands darker than Multiply. Linear Burn is darker than Multiply but less saturated than Color Burn. If Multiply feels too mild, try those before piling on more Multiply layers.

Troubleshooting: When Multiply Doesn't Look Right

The layer looks unchanged. The content may be white or very light, or the layer sits at the bottom of the stack with nothing beneath it to multiply against. Multiply needs something underneath.

The result is too muddy. Dark colors on Multiply push toward black fast. Lower the opacity or lighten the color on the layer itself.

You see Shade instead of Darken. Since Procreate 5.4, older projects that used Darken were switched to a mode called Shade, so that Procreate's Darken matches how other software handles it. This doesn't affect Multiply, but it can be confusing if you open an older file.

The mode didn't carry over after export. If you export to PSD or another format and open it in another tool, verify the blend mode on import. Don't assume it carried across. Multiply is common enough that most apps handle it, but check the mapping instead of trusting it.

Taking Multiply Layers into a Motion Pipeline

For motion designers, animators, and VFX artists, Procreate often serves as a sketchbook or a quick source for style frames, textures, and hand-painted elements. The Multiply layer you build on an iPad can easily end up inside a composite.

A few ways to carry that work over:

• After Effects: Import your layered file and check each layer's blend mode. Set a shadow layer to Multiply there if it didn't come through.
• Premiere Pro: Place the exported shadow or texture on a track above your footage and set its blend mode to Multiply.
• Nuke: Use a multiply operation to composite a texture pass or a painted shadow element.
• Blender and Cinema 4D: Many 3D tools offer a Multiply option for mixing textures, so a hand-painted shading pass can darken a base color map.

Because Multiply is a simple, predictable operation, a shadow or texture painted in Procreate should behave similarly across many of these tools.

Where Styleframe Fits Beside Your Procreate Work

Multiply layers are a way to control a look in a still frame. Carrying that look across motion is a different problem. Styleframe is an AI video and motion tool.

If you've painted a shaded style frame in Procreate, you can use it as a reference image in Styleframe, so the look you built can help steer the result.

You keep your existing pipeline by bringing the output into your compositing app, where you can still apply Multiply, Screen, or any other blend mode in the composite.

Quick Reference

FAQ

Does Multiply permanently change my layer? No. It is a layer setting, so you can switch back to Normal or pick another mode at any time without losing your pixels.

Can I use Multiply on any color? Yes. Multiply always darkens or keeps the base the same, and lighter colors produce a gentler effect than dark ones.

Why is white invisible on a Multiply layer? White multiplied by anything returns the original value, so it leaves the base unchanged. That makes it useful for painting only the areas you want to darken.

Is Multiply the best mode for shadows? It is the most common starting point. If you want more contrast or saturation in the shadow, try Color Burn or Linear Burn.