After the update to Procreate 5, changing the opacity has been a significant challenge because you can’t find it where it used to be.
It is now located within the layer and can be accessed by clicking the layer with two fingers simultaneously to reveal the opacity control.
Procreate is among the best programs for digital drawings and art-related work on an iPad.
Procreate is an excellent program for your artwork, and it is easy to use when you understand how to use all its tools.
All you just need to do is really take time to learn about the layer opacity because it is one of the critical areas that will help you get the most out of the program.
Before I begin to show you how to change the opacity of a layer in Procreate, let’s look at what exactly an opacity is and how it can help you with your design.
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What Is An Opacity In Procreate?
In Procreate, an opacity can also be referred to as blending, which is a way of making a layer transparent in other to blend other layers underneath.
Many people also refer to opacity as transparency, which means the same thing. Other editing software like Canva may use the word transparency but Procreate to use the word opacity.
The opacity in Procreate measures how much light passes through a given layer. A layer in Procreate with a low opacity level will let more light go through them.
Therefore, when you either choose to increase or decrease the opacity of any layer in Procreate, it becomes more or less transparent.
How To Change Opacity In Procreate
There are primarily two ways to change the opacity in Procreate. Follow the instructions below carefully to correctly achieve this.
These are the 2 ways:
- Hand Gesture – The hand gesture method requires both of your fingers to click on the layer, which automatically opens the opacity control.
- Layers Panel – The layer panel method requires you to click on the N symbol representing the blend mode and find the opacity control underneath it.
Hand Gesture
Here’s how:
1. Create a new layer
2. Tap on the layers in the top right.
3. Use two fingers to tap on the layer.
4. You will see an opacity slider at the top.
5. Drag to the left to lower the opacity.
6. Drag to the right to increase the opacity
Layers Panel
Here’s how:
1. Tap on the layer at the top right.
2. Tap on the blend mode next to any layer, usually set as N.
3. Above the blend mode, you will see an opacity slider.
4. Drag the opacity to the left to increase it.
5. Drag it to the right to decrease it.
How To Increase Opacity Of A Layer In Procreate
To increase opacity in Procreate will require you to drag your screen to the right-hand side.
The moment you begin to drag the opacity, you will notice that your layer or color will become less transparent.
This means that Procreate does not let much light into it to avoid being transparent. This can be a great option if you don’t want to blend your layer but want something solid instead.
How To Decrease Opacity Of A Layer In Procreate
To decrease or lower opacity in Procreate will require you to drag your screen to the left-hand side.
As you drag to the left-hand side, you will notice that Procreate will begin to let more light pass through and layers and color will become more transparent.
Decreasing your opacity can help you blend layers or colors together and help you come out with a unique design.
How To Change The Opacity Of A Layer In Procreate Pocket
Procreate created their application for iPhone, which is known as Procreate pocket. It won’t work for the iPad because it wasn’t designed for it.
The functions and features are very similar to the iPad version, and the only difference is the screen size.
Here’s how:
1. Click on the modify at the top left corner.
2. Click on the magic wand symbol.
3. Select opacity inside the adjustment section.
4. Move your fingers right or left to increase or decrease the opacity.
Where Is The Opacity Control In Procreate
Many people struggle to find the opacity layer tool after the Procreate 5 update. Procreate removed the opacity tool from the default area, which was located previously in the adjustment tab.
Now they have placed the opacity in a new location inside the layer and can be accessed by using two fingers.
Once accessed, you will see the opacity control slider at the top, and you can either increase it by dragging your pen to the right or reduce it by dragging your pen to the left.
Another way to find the opacity in Procreate is to click on the layer and click again on the N, also known as blend mode in your layer.
Once you click on it, you will see the opacity control slider underneath, and you can move it either right or left to increase it or decrease it.
Things To Keep In Mind When Changing Layer Opacity
As you change the opacity in Procreate, there are some things you may want to keep in mind.
These are the things:
You Can Only Change One Layer at a time
Whenever you are trying to change or control your opacity layers, you can only select one layer.
You will be unable to select multiple layers whenever you try to adjust the opacity because it will result in an error.
Procreate only made it possible to select one layer before you change the opacity. Not many people like this and unfortunately, there’s no other way to deal with this.
Check Opacity For Missing Layer
After accumulating too many layers together and you are unable to find any of them, this can result from setting the opacity to 0 mistakenly.
All you need to do to get them back is to simply check the opacity and increase it to a decent percentage to make it visible again.
Looking for a missing layer is common. The primary cause is that the user would have forgotten that he left the opacity set to 0.
You can easily avoid this for the sake of next time by reducing the number of layers you use.
Deselect Layers To hide them
If you want to avoid any missing layer, which is when you have forgotten that you set the opacity to 0, you can easily deselect them.
You can deselect them through the layer options by checking the box. You will notice the N beside it, also referred to as blend mode.
Why You Should Change Opacity In Procreate
Design can be complex when you don’t know how to use all the tools provided in the Procreate app, especially the opacity tool.
Most people may overlook the opacity tool, thinking it is not helpful, but I’m here to share with you why you should begin to apply it to your Procreate designs.
These are the reasons:
Blend Layers And Color
Opacity will help you blend your layer and color to make it look more transparent and blend together. It helps you to be able to work with two distinct layers or colors that you may think are incompatible.
When you need to improve any sets of layers or colors, you can add any overlay to it with the help of opacity to introduce a unique color that blends everything together.
A solid background layer or color will look plain but when you introduce an overlay into it using the opacity, the layer or color will look much softer, which you can work with.
Tell A Story
Another reason you may want to introduce opacity in your Procreate design is how you can tell a story with the help of the opacity control.
Playing around with the layers and colors and implementing the opacity feature can significantly bring your art to life.
Blending your layers and colors with an overlay while using opacity will allow you to express yourself in a unique way that can tell a story.
People are always interested in stories, and introducing opacity in your design can make people interested in your work.
Create Depth
The benefit that several people fail to notice when using opacity in Procreate is that you can place multiple layers together to create depth.
When you add your layers and colors together, your design can create a fantastic visual effect that won’t be possible on a solid layer.
You can uniquely arrange your layers to get a unique look and then ad some overlay to it with the help of opacity to come out with an exciting design.
The ball is in your court, and you are free to test different designs as you will use the opacity to develop some unique depth.
Define Space
One cool thing about using the opacity in Procreate is that it can help you manage different design layers in a small space.
Since each layer will be transparent to help you blend and reveal each layer together, you can work with several layers in a small space.
When your design begins to look full, you should take advantage of the opacity to create more overlays in which you can be able to add more information to your design.
Using the opacity won’t get you stuck on your next design because you can take advantage of it to add more design to it.
Create A Focal Point
Whenever you present your art to your clients, there’s a message you are expecting them to find in it and using opacity can help you make this possible quickly.
Think of it as a call to action for an image. You can set your overlays to specific areas in your designs with unique colors to make it stand out.
You can easily find these types of ideas on magazines where some areas are blended together, including some type of information for the viewer to notice.
So if you are intentional about your designs and want to send out specific messages through it, you may want to test out the opacity tool.
