Procreate Dreams vs Blender Grease Pencil: Which is Better for 2D Animation?

[@davidpikedesigns]

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[@fnv870]

Thankyou for the comparison. I am someone who's trying to get into 2D animation. I think when it comes to 2D animation, I do like the fact that Dreams tend to be much closer to how you would draw on a paper, compared to Blender Grease Pencil. I have used Blender, but for 3D work, and it is honestly amazing in that. But for 2D animation, I have always had a hesitation towards Grease Pencil, maybe it's because it's not as equipped as the 3D part of Blender. And Procreate Dreams on the other hand, seems to make me want to do 2D animation and there are less hurdles between me and the frame.

[@davidpikedesigns]

Thanks for the great response! I completely agree. From just a drawing perspective, I think Procreate Dreams is the better option. If you want the natural feeling of drawing, erasing, and coloring, I don't think Blender can give it to you. It is similar to drawing in Adobe Illustrator, which is not something I enjoy. Grease Pencil can feel more technical than artistic. Sometimes you need technical, but sometimes you just want to draw. At the moment though, I'm not convinced that I can work strictly on an iPad. I'm still trying to figure out if it is right for me. Thanks for watching!

[@MichaelKarius]

Nice comparison of both programs. These are a great match together.

[@davidpikedesigns]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@HaunaniPao]

Thank you for your insights. I'm a novice in both, but I like to use procreate, and have heard about Blender Grease Pencil. I use these tools to play and be creative, it's good practice. cheers.

[@davidpikedesigns]

Glad it was helpful! Both programs are great. I do use them in different ways, but they are definitely good for trying things and being creative. Thanks for watching!

[@clarewillison9379]

Great comparison video, I like your conclusion and ‘horses for courses’ is better than trying to cram everything into one app and failing. Also, nice personality.

[@davidpikedesigns]

Thanks for the great comment and for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@Templar1129]

Thanks for a straight forward review! I was thinking of using Procreate Dreams for most of the animation and for backgrounds, etc… and Grease Pencil for scenes that have more dramatic camera angle changes and for objects that change direction/perspective.

[@davidpikedesigns]

That is probably the best route if you are hand drawing characters.

[@JosiahL87]

I fully agree with this assessment. Very well put. Blender is near and dear to my heart but I am so happy procreate is doing what they are doing. I am not a drawing artist, so their tools likely aren't for me but kudos to them. David, you have plenty of personality so don't worry about that!

[@davidpikedesigns]

Thanks for the great comment and for watching! I've worked in a few 3D programs (Modo, Cinema 4D, ZBrush), but with the new interface and the rapid development, Blender is such a great and unique software. I really enjoy working in it and look forward to using it combined with 2D programs.

[@johndeggendorf7826]

Incredibly direct & concise insights, David…my ruminations exactly. 🤔 I’m going with my heart on this one: the pencil rules. ✏️✏️Although Dreams is spartan right now, I think a lot of the whiners completely miss the beautiful interface. It’s a nice way to look at your work…images spread out in tracks…and with a couple quick gestures, duplicate & drop them in wherever…presto. But you gotta figure it out, can I use these tools to make my thing? Figure it out…it’s different. No hot keys for geeks, go play with your computer. Dreams is like Garage Band for animation…just add talent & a little know how and professional results are possible. Just discovered your channel, bro. Outstanding. ✊🍷🎩🎩🎩🙏

[@davidpikedesigns]

Glad it was helpful! I think from a purely drawing perspective, Procreate Dreams is great. I feel like I adapted to Dreams' interface fairly quickly, so hopefully others will have a similar experience. I've also been trying ToonSquid, Callipeg, and Rough Animator. I'm still trying to decide which one I like drawing in the most. Thanks for watching!

[@Sketching1]

Good video 😊

[@davidpikedesigns]

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I appreciate you watching.

[@Sketching1]

@@davidpikedesigns ♥️♥️

[@ashpal1484]

Sir, I’m just starting on the 2D animation journey, so apologies in advance if this sounds like an obtuse question. I’m using Procreate for characters and environments. Which animation software would be best where we can import characters from Procreate and animate them?

[@davidpikedesigns]

If I were starting out, and I wanted to balance cost with functionality, and I didn't need to animate on the iPad, I would look at Moho Pro for 2D animation. I like Blender, and it is free; however, working on 2D character animation within Blender has its challenges. I prefer creating my environments in Blender and animating characters in Toon Boom Harmony. If I didn't already have a Harmony perpetual license, I would be using Moho. They have a robust range of tools that allow you to rig and manipulate images. They also have an extensive, free training course on KZbin, and they frequently load tutorials. I would expect them to have a holiday sale as well, so I would keep an eye out for that. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching!

[@ashpal1484]

@@davidpikedesigns Thank you so much. I’ll definitely check out Moho Pro. 🙂

[@MitheleshKilari-hs5vv]

thank you for these information please can you make a video about difference between android and apple pad please please please please

[@davidpikedesigns]

Thanks for watching! I'll check into that tutorial idea! Thanks!

[@TripFontain]

TOONSQUID is King for animation for Ipad Hands down.... 🤷🏿‍♂️🤷🏿‍♂️🤷🏿‍♂️🤷🏿‍♂️

[@davidpikedesigns]

Thanks! I'm going to check it out this week!

[@TripFontain]

@davidpikewritesanddesigns Trust me man you'll probably never use Procreate Dreams again because it's what Procreate should be... you can even import PS brushes and TPL PS brush sets and it has an actual Camera

[@davidpikedesigns]

Sounds great! I'm going to really dig into it; however, I've been using Blender Grease Pencil for awhile, and I don't know if I can completely give up working with a keyboard and mouse. :)

[@therealdannydanvers]

Any thoughts on using the iPad with Astropad studio or sidecar if running Blender on Mac? I know the screen real estate does not compare to larger tablets, but it is also unbeatable in portability

[@davidpikedesigns]

I've tried it and it worked fairly well for me, but I'm at a desktop most days. I have an older Cintiq that I use with my computer, so I ended up not using the iPad option. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching!

[@marcus_ohreallyus]

Procreate dreams doesn't have keyframe interpolation (unless I'm mistaken). That instantly gives Blender the win.

[@davidpikedesigns]

Thank for watching! Dreams does have interpolation. If you hold between two keyframes, you get a popup window and you can change it; however, it is very limited in how it can be customized, so Blender still gets that win on that one.

[@_gesho]

Your wife is a legend! 😂

[@davidpikedesigns]

She has her moments. :) Thanks for watching!