Procreate
Procreate is a powerful digital illustration app for iPad that provides professional-grade creative tools like custom brushes, advanced layering systems, and high-resolution canvases for artists and designers.
Storyboarder
Storyboarder is a free, open-source storyboarding software that provides artists with a fast, simple interface to draw, animate, and export visual stories directly to professional creative suites.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Procreate | Storyboarder |
|---|---|---|
| Website | procreate.com | wonderunit.com |
| Pricing Model | One_time | Free |
| Starting Price | $??/month | Free |
| FREE Trial | ✘ No free trial | ✘ No free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✓ Has free plan |
| Product Demo | ✘ No product demo | ✘ No product demo |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2011 | 2017 |
| Headquarters | Hobart, Australia | New York, USA |
Overview
Procreate
Procreate is a complete art studio designed specifically for the iPad and Apple Pencil. You can create high-resolution digital paintings, complex illustrations, and expressive animations using a vast library of handcrafted brushes and an intuitive layering system. The interface stays out of your way, letting you focus entirely on your artwork while providing advanced features like color harmony tools, perspective guides, and a powerful brush engine.
Whether you are a professional concept artist, a freelance illustrator, or a hobbyist, you can take your entire workflow on the go. You can record your creative process with time-lapse exports or use the 3D painting tools to texture models directly. It solves the problem of needing a bulky desktop setup by offering desktop-class performance in a portable, touch-first experience that feels natural and responsive.
Storyboarder
Storyboarder provides you with the fastest way to visualize your stories. Whether you are a filmmaker, animator, or novelist, you can quickly draw rough sketches to test your ideas without the friction of complex tools. You can use the built-in drawing tools or print out paper templates to draw by hand, then snap a photo to import your frames instantly.
The software integrates deeply with your existing creative workflow, allowing you to open your boards in Photoshop for detailed editing. You can also export your finished boards directly to Premiere, Final Cut, or Avid for timing and assembly. Because it is open-source and community-driven, you get a professional-grade toolset entirely for free, making it accessible for independent creators and large studios alike.
Overview
Procreate Features
- Brush Studio Design your own custom brushes or choose from hundreds of built-in options to achieve the exact texture and stroke you want.
- Valkyrie Engine Experience lightning-fast performance with a 64-bit painting engine that keeps your strokes smooth and responsive at 120fps.
- Advanced Layering Organize your artwork with a sophisticated layer system that includes blend modes, masks, and groups for non-destructive editing.
- Animation Assist Create frame-by-frame animations and motion graphics easily with onion skinning and instant playback directly on your iPad.
- 3D Model Painting Import 3D models and paint directly onto their surfaces with full lighting and material control for immersive design.
- Time-lapse Recording Record every stroke of your creative journey automatically and export high-quality videos to share your process with others.
Storyboarder Features
- Quick Drawing Tools. Use a light pencil for roughing, a hard pencil for lines, and a brush for tones to create boards quickly.
- Shot Generator. Type a description to instantly generate 3D characters and sets when you need to visualize complex camera angles.
- Paper Import. Print storyboard templates, draw with a real pencil, and take a photo to automatically import and crop your frames.
- Photoshop Integration. Edit any board in Photoshop with one click and see your changes update automatically inside Storyboarder.
- Professional Export. Send your storyboards directly to Premiere, Final Cut, Avid, or PDF to begin your editing and production process.
- Layer Management. Organize your drawings with simple layers to separate characters, backgrounds, and notes for better visual clarity.
Pricing Comparison
Procreate Pricing
- One-time purchase
- Full brush library
- Advanced layering system
- Animation Assist tools
- 3D painting capabilities
- Free lifetime updates
- Designed for iPhone
- Portable painting engine
- High-resolution canvases
- Full layer support
- Time-lapse recording
- One-time purchase
Storyboarder Pricing
- Unlimited storyboards
- Shot Generator 3D tool
- Photoshop integration
- Export to Premiere and Final Cut
- Printable paper templates
- Open-source source code access
Pros & Cons
Procreate
Pros
- One-time purchase with no recurring subscription fees
- Extremely responsive interface with zero lag
- Massive library of high-quality community brushes
- Intuitive gestures speed up your creative workflow
- Regular free updates that add significant features
Cons
- Exclusive to iPad and iOS devices only
- Limited text and vector manipulation tools
- Layer limits depend on iPad hardware specs
- No cloud-based file syncing between devices
Storyboarder
Pros
- Completely free and open-source for all users
- Extremely fast interface for rapid sketching
- Seamless round-trip editing with Adobe Photoshop
- Unique 3D shot generator for non-artists
Cons
- Limited advanced drawing features compared to Photoshop
- Occasional stability issues on certain hardware
- Smaller community support compared to paid alternatives