To make Procreate respond mostly to the Apple Pencil, open the Actions menu (wrench icon), go to Prefs > Gesture Controls, and review the General tab for options that turn off finger gestures, such as rotate with pinch zoom. Then check the Smudge and Erase tabs: if Apple Pencil is turned on there and the Pencil isn't drawing, turn it off. Finally, open iPad Settings > Procreate and adjust Palm Support Fine Mode if stray palm touches still leave marks. The exact options in Gesture Controls can vary between Procreate versions, so look through the General tab to see what your version offers.

Why Procreate reacts to touch in the first place

Procreate treats the iPad screen as two input channels: the Apple Pencil for drawing, and fingers for navigation and shortcuts. Fingers pinch to zoom, rotate the canvas, tap to undo, and swipe to adjust sliders. They can also draw, smudge, or erase if you've assigned those tools to touch.

That's convenient for sketching, but it's a nuisance when you're tracing animatic frames, drawing a storyboard panel, or cleaning up a rotoscope pass. A resting knuckle or an accidental two-finger tap can undo a stroke or leave a stray mark. Locking the app to the pen removes that whole class of error.

Getting to a pen-only setup means combining a few settings in different places, and the steps below cover each one.

Step 1: Review touch gestures in Gesture Controls

1. Tap the wrench icon to open the Actions menu.
2. Tap Prefs, then Gesture Controls.
3. Open the General tab.
4. Look through the options that control finger gestures, such as rotate with pinch zoom, and turn off the ones you don't want. If your version offers an option that disables touch actions altogether, that is the broadest way to stop finger shortcuts.

Turning off finger gestures broadly may cost you finger zoom and pan, which most artists rely on. If you want to keep those but stop everything else, turn off individual gestures instead (see Step 3).

Step 2: Check the Smudge and Erase tabs

In the same Gesture Controls panel, check the Smudge and Erase tabs. Procreate's own support forum advises that if Apple Pencil is turned on in these tabs and the Pencil won't draw, you should turn it off. If the Pencil isn't drawing the way you expect, this is the first place to look.

Step 3: Turn off individual finger gestures

If you'd rather keep some touch navigation, go through the remaining Gesture Controls tabs and disable only what's causing trouble. Common ones:

• Rotate with pinch zoom. One tutorial creator recommends switching this off in the General tab, so a two-finger zoom can't tilt your canvas by a few degrees. It's especially useful if you work in a square, locked frame and expect your canvas to stay aligned.
• Two-finger tap for undo and three-finger tap for redo. Reassign or disable them if you trigger them accidentally.
• Four-finger tap for full screen and related shortcuts. Turn these off if your resting hand sets them off.

This approach keeps pinch zoom while removing the gestures that cause accidents. It's a better fit for artists who zoom constantly while cleaning up linework.

Step 4: Adjust palm rejection

Palm rejection is a separate layer. Procreate's Palm Support is always active. It detects touches of a certain size, treats them as a palm, and ignores them. Because hands vary, there's a Fine Mode toggle that changes the size threshold.

To find it:

1. Close Procreate and open the iPad's Settings app.
2. Scroll down to Procreate in the app list.
3. Toggle Palm Support Fine Mode.

Note that this doesn't turn palm rejection off. According to Procreate's team, Fine Mode is on by default and works for most people, and some users do better with it off. If you get stray marks from the side of your hand, try both states and test with your usual grip. You may need to slightly change how you perform multi-finger gestures after switching.

If your issue is a finger mark appearing mid-zoom, the palm threshold may be misreading one of two fingers. Pausing for a moment before zooming helps, but changing Fine Mode is the cleaner fix.

Step 5: Turn off the Apple Pencil double-tap shortcut if it fires by accident

This isn't touch input, but it creates the same kind of interruption. On a second-generation Apple Pencil, the flat side registers double taps. By default this switches between your current tool and the eraser. If you grip the barrel loosely or move your fingers a lot while drawing, the tool can flip back and forth without warning.

You change it outside Procreate:

1. Open iPad Settings.
2. Tap Apple Pencil.
3. Change the double-tap action to something less likely to misfire, or set it to Off.

The available iPadOS options are switching between the current tool and the eraser, switching between the current tool and the last used one, showing the color palette, or off. Procreate's Gesture Controls also offers its own Pencil actions, such as invoking the eyedropper, QuickShape, QuickMenu, toggling full screen, or clearing a layer. If you use the shortcut deliberately, assign it a harmless action like the eyedropper.

Step 6: Fix a Pencil that isn't drawing at all

Sometimes the opposite happens: the Pencil selects menu items but won't draw, and only your finger works. Procreate's support community suggests this order:

1. In iPad Settings > Bluetooth, select the Apple Pencil, tap Forget This Device, hard reboot the iPad, then pair the Pencil again.
2. Make sure the Pencil tip is screwed on firmly.
3. In Gesture Controls, check the Smudge and Erase tabs for Apple Pencil being enabled and turn it off if so.
4. Test several default brushes. Some respond to pressure with size variation, some with opacity, some with both, and some with neither. Open a brush in Brush Studio and check the Apple Pencil tab to see what it's supposed to do.
5. Open Prefs > Edit Pressure Curve and drag both end nodes to the top of the graph, forming a flat line across the top. If the Pencil then draws, the app is receiving input but pressure data is the problem.

That last test matters. A Pencil with a pressure or tilt hardware fault can seem fine in other apps and only fail in Procreate, because Procreate relies on those signals more heavily than most apps. If a flat curve fixes drawing, the Pencil may need testing or replacement.

Step 7: Tune pressure sensitivity once touch is sorted

Once the pen is the only input, you'll want it to feel right. The Apple Pencil has a wide dynamic range, so lighter-handed artists may find they never reach full opacity or size at default settings. Procreate's App Pressure Sensitivity curve lets you reshape that response so your normal pressure produces the output you want.

Per-brush behavior is separate. In Brush Studio you can tie size to pressure, opacity to tilt, or even blend textures based on Pencil input. If a brush feels dead after you've locked down touch, check its Apple Pencil settings before assuming something else is wrong.

A practical setup for animation and motion work

Here's a configuration that works well for storyboards, animatic panels, and hand-drawn frames:

• Turn off finger gestures you don't need, at least pinch-rotate, so the canvas stays locked to your composition's aspect ratio.
• Check that Apple Pencil isn't switched on in the Smudge and Erase tabs if it interferes with drawing.
• Set the Pencil double-tap to the eyedropper or turn it off.
• Test Palm Support Fine Mode with your real grip.
• Save a brush set with a consistent pressure curve so line weight stays predictable across frames.

Predictability matters when you're drawing a sequence. If every frame's line weight and canvas orientation behave the same, you spend less time fixing inconsistencies later in After Effects or Nuke.

Where Styleframe fits after the sketch

If you use Procreate to draw boards, key poses, or style references, those frames often become inputs to the rest of your pipeline. Styleframe is one tool you might look at for that next stage; check its site for current features and export options.

The takeaway: a clean, pen-focused Procreate setup gives you reliable source frames to build on in whatever tools you use next.

Quick troubleshooting reference

• Fingers still draw: Check the Smudge and Erase tabs, and review the finger gesture options in the General tab.
• Stray marks from the hand: Toggle Palm Support Fine Mode in iPad Settings > Procreate.
• Tool keeps switching: Change or turn off the Apple Pencil double-tap in iPad Settings.
• Canvas rotates unexpectedly: Turn off rotate with pinch zoom.
• Pencil won't draw: Re-pair it, check the tip, flatten the pressure curve to test, and try several brushes.
• Strokes feel too light or heavy: Edit the App Pressure Sensitivity curve and review the brush's Apple Pencil settings.

Procreate spreads these controls across Gesture Controls, Prefs, and iPad Settings, so it can take a few minutes to find them all. Once they're set, the app behaves much more like a dedicated pen surface.

To make Procreate respond mostly to the Apple Pencil, open the Actions menu (wrench icon), go to Prefs > Gesture Controls, and review the General tab for options that turn off finger gestures, such as rotate with pinch zoom. Then check the Smudge and Erase tabs: if Apple Pencil is turned on there and the Pencil isn't drawing, turn it off. Finally, open iPad Settings > Procreate and adjust Palm Support Fine Mode if stray palm touches still leave marks. The exact options in Gesture Controls can vary between Procreate versions, so look through the General tab to see what your version offers.

Why Procreate reacts to touch in the first place

Procreate treats the iPad screen as two input channels: the Apple Pencil for drawing, and fingers for navigation and shortcuts. Fingers pinch to zoom, rotate the canvas, tap to undo, and swipe to adjust sliders. They can also draw, smudge, or erase if you've assigned those tools to touch.

That's convenient for sketching, but it's a nuisance when you're tracing animatic frames, drawing a storyboard panel, or cleaning up a rotoscope pass. A resting knuckle or an accidental two-finger tap can undo a stroke or leave a stray mark. Locking the app to the pen removes that whole class of error.

Getting to a pen-only setup means combining a few settings in different places, and the steps below cover each one.

Step 1: Review touch gestures in Gesture Controls

1. Tap the wrench icon to open the Actions menu.
2. Tap Prefs, then Gesture Controls.
3. Open the General tab.
4. Look through the options that control finger gestures, such as rotate with pinch zoom, and turn off the ones you don't want. If your version offers an option that disables touch actions altogether, that is the broadest way to stop finger shortcuts.

Turning off finger gestures broadly may cost you finger zoom and pan, which most artists rely on. If you want to keep those but stop everything else, turn off individual gestures instead (see Step 3).

Step 2: Check the Smudge and Erase tabs

In the same Gesture Controls panel, check the Smudge and Erase tabs. Procreate's own support forum advises that if Apple Pencil is turned on in these tabs and the Pencil won't draw, you should turn it off. If the Pencil isn't drawing the way you expect, this is the first place to look.

Step 3: Turn off individual finger gestures

If you'd rather keep some touch navigation, go through the remaining Gesture Controls tabs and disable only what's causing trouble. Common ones:

• Rotate with pinch zoom. One tutorial creator recommends switching this off in the General tab, so a two-finger zoom can't tilt your canvas by a few degrees. It's especially useful if you work in a square, locked frame and expect your canvas to stay aligned.
• Two-finger tap for undo and three-finger tap for redo. Reassign or disable them if you trigger them accidentally.
• Four-finger tap for full screen and related shortcuts. Turn these off if your resting hand sets them off.

This approach keeps pinch zoom while removing the gestures that cause accidents. It's a better fit for artists who zoom constantly while cleaning up linework.

Step 4: Adjust palm rejection

Palm rejection is a separate layer. Procreate's Palm Support is always active. It detects touches of a certain size, treats them as a palm, and ignores them. Because hands vary, there's a Fine Mode toggle that changes the size threshold.

To find it:

1. Close Procreate and open the iPad's Settings app.
2. Scroll down to Procreate in the app list.
3. Toggle Palm Support Fine Mode.

Note that this doesn't turn palm rejection off. According to Procreate's team, Fine Mode is on by default and works for most people, and some users do better with it off. If you get stray marks from the side of your hand, try both states and test with your usual grip. You may need to slightly change how you perform multi-finger gestures after switching.

If your issue is a finger mark appearing mid-zoom, the palm threshold may be misreading one of two fingers. Pausing for a moment before zooming helps, but changing Fine Mode is the cleaner fix.

Step 5: Turn off the Apple Pencil double-tap shortcut if it fires by accident

This isn't touch input, but it creates the same kind of interruption. On a second-generation Apple Pencil, the flat side registers double taps. By default this switches between your current tool and the eraser. If you grip the barrel loosely or move your fingers a lot while drawing, the tool can flip back and forth without warning.

You change it outside Procreate:

1. Open iPad Settings.
2. Tap Apple Pencil.
3. Change the double-tap action to something less likely to misfire, or set it to Off.

The available iPadOS options are switching between the current tool and the eraser, switching between the current tool and the last used one, showing the color palette, or off. Procreate's Gesture Controls also offers its own Pencil actions, such as invoking the eyedropper, QuickShape, QuickMenu, toggling full screen, or clearing a layer. If you use the shortcut deliberately, assign it a harmless action like the eyedropper.

Step 6: Fix a Pencil that isn't drawing at all

Sometimes the opposite happens: the Pencil selects menu items but won't draw, and only your finger works. Procreate's support community suggests this order:

1. In iPad Settings > Bluetooth, select the Apple Pencil, tap Forget This Device, hard reboot the iPad, then pair the Pencil again.
2. Make sure the Pencil tip is screwed on firmly.
3. In Gesture Controls, check the Smudge and Erase tabs for Apple Pencil being enabled and turn it off if so.
4. Test several default brushes. Some respond to pressure with size variation, some with opacity, some with both, and some with neither. Open a brush in Brush Studio and check the Apple Pencil tab to see what it's supposed to do.
5. Open Prefs > Edit Pressure Curve and drag both end nodes to the top of the graph, forming a flat line across the top. If the Pencil then draws, the app is receiving input but pressure data is the problem.

That last test matters. A Pencil with a pressure or tilt hardware fault can seem fine in other apps and only fail in Procreate, because Procreate relies on those signals more heavily than most apps. If a flat curve fixes drawing, the Pencil may need testing or replacement.

Step 7: Tune pressure sensitivity once touch is sorted

Once the pen is the only input, you'll want it to feel right. The Apple Pencil has a wide dynamic range, so lighter-handed artists may find they never reach full opacity or size at default settings. Procreate's App Pressure Sensitivity curve lets you reshape that response so your normal pressure produces the output you want.

Per-brush behavior is separate. In Brush Studio you can tie size to pressure, opacity to tilt, or even blend textures based on Pencil input. If a brush feels dead after you've locked down touch, check its Apple Pencil settings before assuming something else is wrong.

A practical setup for animation and motion work

Here's a configuration that works well for storyboards, animatic panels, and hand-drawn frames:

• Turn off finger gestures you don't need, at least pinch-rotate, so the canvas stays locked to your composition's aspect ratio.
• Check that Apple Pencil isn't switched on in the Smudge and Erase tabs if it interferes with drawing.
• Set the Pencil double-tap to the eyedropper or turn it off.
• Test Palm Support Fine Mode with your real grip.
• Save a brush set with a consistent pressure curve so line weight stays predictable across frames.

Predictability matters when you're drawing a sequence. If every frame's line weight and canvas orientation behave the same, you spend less time fixing inconsistencies later in After Effects or Nuke.

Where Styleframe fits after the sketch

If you use Procreate to draw boards, key poses, or style references, those frames often become inputs to the rest of your pipeline. Styleframe is one tool you might look at for that next stage; check its site for current features and export options.

The takeaway: a clean, pen-focused Procreate setup gives you reliable source frames to build on in whatever tools you use next.

Quick troubleshooting reference

• Fingers still draw: Check the Smudge and Erase tabs, and review the finger gesture options in the General tab.
• Stray marks from the hand: Toggle Palm Support Fine Mode in iPad Settings > Procreate.
• Tool keeps switching: Change or turn off the Apple Pencil double-tap in iPad Settings.
• Canvas rotates unexpectedly: Turn off rotate with pinch zoom.
• Pencil won't draw: Re-pair it, check the tip, flatten the pressure curve to test, and try several brushes.
• Strokes feel too light or heavy: Edit the App Pressure Sensitivity curve and review the brush's Apple Pencil settings.

Procreate spreads these controls across Gesture Controls, Prefs, and iPad Settings, so it can take a few minutes to find them all. Once they're set, the app behaves much more like a dedicated pen surface.