The Ultimate Guide To Using Procreates Palm Support
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Palm support may sound like a boring Procreate feature, but it’s a critical feature to understand and use correctly in order for Procreate to work. In fact, you could end up quitting your Procreate work altogether if you get too frustrated with pal support. It’s THAT important.
Procreate’s palm support is a feature that tells your iPad to ignore any touches that come from a large surface, such as your palm. This ensures that you don’t make any accidental marks on your canvas simply from resting your palm on your iPad screen.
In theory, palm support is a basic concept. But, it quickly gets complicated because there are a number of different places and ways to access palm support settings. If you use too many of them, things start to get wonky.
Here’s a rundown of them. Don’t worry, we’ll dive into all of these in detail.
* touch gesture settings in Procreate’s settings
* palm support settings in the Procreate section of the iPad’s general settings
* your stylus may have palm rejection already built in
Important note: when we talk about styluses, we’ll be talking about “palm rejection” instead of “palm support.” Don’t worry though! Palm rejection and palm support are the same thing.
Palm support is a Procreate specific thing, while palm rejection is a general term that refers to your stylus and iPad overall.
Basically, palm support is Procreate’s version of palm rejection. They do the same thing. I was confused when I first learned about all of this too…
Before we dive into too many specifics, let’s talk about the basics.
What is Procreate’s Palm Support?
Procreate’s palm support is a feature that allows you to rest your palm on your iPad without it leaving marks on your canvas. Palm support is Procreate’s version of palm rejection, making it possible to draw with your fingers without your palm and hand getting in the way and leaving marks.
As I mentioned before, palm support is Procreate’s version of palm rejection. This means that it “rejects” any touches that come from your palm.
Basically, if it recognizes a large surface sitting on your iPad, it will “reject” it and won’t let it influence your art – making marks on your canvas, rotating your canvas, etc.
If you’re drawing with your finger on Procreate and need to rest your hand on your iPad screen while doing so, Procreate’s palm support will recognize the difference between your finger and your hand. Procreate will allow your finger to draw, while also making sure that your hand doesn’t leave any marks.
Check out more with Adventures with Art!This is where things get complicated. Activating palm support is going to depend on what you’re drawing with, specifically whether you’re drawing with your stylus or your finger.
The palm support settings you’ll use when you’re drawing with your finger vs. your stylus are VERY different. So, we’re going to talk about the settings you’ll need within the context of drawing with your finger vs. your stylus.
Using Procreate’s Palm Support When Drawing with Your Finger
Procreate’s palm support is most important when drawing with your finger. Make sure that you’ve enabled finger drawing within Procreate’s gesture control settings. In addition, make sure you’ve turned on palm support within your Procreate settings within your general iPad settings.
Deep breath. Phew! I know this is confusing. Don’t worry – we’ll walk through it slowly.
The palm support settings you’ll use when drawing with your finger will be the OPPOSITE of what they’ll be when drawing with your stylus so, if you switch back and forth between your finger and your stylus, make sure to change them.
Alright, so when you’re drawing with your finger, the first thing you’ll need to do is enable finger drawing. You may already have this enabled.
As someone who usually draws with a stylus, I usually have this feature disabled, so I always forget to re-enable it when I need it.
Here’s how to turn on finger drawing in Procreate:
1. Click on the wrench to open the Actions tab
2. Click on the Prefs sub-menu
3. Click on Gesture Controls
4. Within the General settings at the bottom, make sure that “Disable Touch actions” isn’t toggled on
Once you have enabled finger drawing, you’ll want to turn on palm support.
Here’s how to turn on Procreate’s palm support:
1. Open your iPad’s settings (yes, your general iPad settings, not Procreate’s)
2. Scroll down until you see the Procreate button
3. Click on Procreate and then click on Palm Support level
4. Choose either Standard or Fine Palm Support
I generally suggest choosing the Standard Palm Support option instead of the Fine option. People have found that the Fine option can be finicky and, in most cases, Standard will work well enough for you.
That said, feel free to switch back and forth if you want to experiment with them and see what works for you.
Okie dokie, you are ready to draw with your finger in Procreate without your hand or palm getting in the way!
Now, let’s talk about how this changes when you draw with a stylus instead of your finger.
Using Procreate’s Palm Support When Drawing with a Stylus
If you are using a third-party stylus that is not an Apple Pencil or Logitech Crayon, you will likely need to turn on Procreate’s palm support. You will also need to turn off Procreate’s finger drawing settings to make sure you don’t make any accidental marks on your canvas.
No matter what type of stylus you are using, the first step to enabling palm rejection is to disable finger drawing. This is SUPER important!
If you are planning to draw with a stylus, but you still have finger drawing enabled, you will get really frustrated whenever you make accidental marks whenever you touch your iPad screen.
Here’s how to turn off finger drawing in Procreate:
1. Click on the wrench to open the Actions tab
2. Click on the Prefs sub-menu
3. Click on Gesture Controls
4. Within the General settings at the bottom, make sure that “Disable Touch actions”is toggled off
Alright, so once you have finger drawing disabled, the next step is to consider the type of stylus you have. If you have an Apple Pencil or Logitech Crayon, you can skip to the next section about those styluses.
If you have a third-party stylus, check if your stylus has palm rejection built-in. Procreate considers anything other than the Apple Pencil and the Logitech Crayon as a third party stylus.
If your stylus doesn’t have palm rejection, you’ll want to enable Procreate’s palm support.
Here’s how to turn on Procreate’s palm support, which is the same as we reviewed above:
1. Open your iPad’s settings (yes, your general iPad settings, not Procreate’s)
2. Scroll down until you see the Procreate button
3. Click on Procreate and then click on Palm Support level
4. Choose either Standard or Fine Palm Support
If your stylus does have palm rejection, you likely won’t have to turn on Procreate’s palm support. You can likely leave it disabled.
The reason I say “likely” is because Procreate doesn’t make any guarantees about the functioning of third party styluses. Things can get wonky, so it’s best to experiment and see what your stylus does.
If you’re noticing a LOT of issues with how your third party stylus interacts with Procreate, in relation to palm rejection or otherwise, I’d consider getting an Apple Pencil or Logitech Crayon.
These two styluses work seamlessly with Procreate and will make your art life a LOT easier, especially if you’re having issues with your current stylus. The Logitech Crayon is cheaper if you’re on a budget.
Wonky palm rejection can be SUPER frustrating so, if your third party stylus is having issues in this area, I’d strongly consider switching. Here’s a big reason why in relation to palm rejection.
The Apple Pencil and Logitech Crayon Have Palm Rejection Built In
The Apple Pencil and Logitech Crayon have palm rejection built in, which means that they automatically prevent any accidental marks coming from your palm or hand resting on your iPad screen. This means that you can leave Procreate’s palm support disabled.
The palm rejection that’s built into the Apple Pencil and Logitech Crayon are REALLY good. It’s one of the best features and makes either of these styluses a good investment by itself.
Given that I have an Apple Pencil, I never have to worry about palm rejection. The built-in feature just works so well.
Check out more from Adventures with Art!If you have an Apple Pencil or Logitech Crayon, leave Procreate’s palm support disabled. The built-in palm rejection within the styluses works so well that having any additional palm rejection enabled will only complicate things.
So, in summary, if you are using an Apple Pencil or Logitech Crayon, turn off finger drawing and palm support. Just use your stylus and you’ll be good to go!
Of course, if you do decide to draw with your finger at any point, you’ll need to turn in finger drawing and palm support. Just make sure to turn them off again when you’re done.
Important note: palm support is meant to prevent accidental drawing on your canvas. There are other tap gestures that are still possible.
The reason I say this is because there are times when people get frustrated with accidentally tapping their screens and enabling things like undo, redo, or rotate.
Let’s talk about that for a second.
Even with Palm Rejection, Be Careful Touching Your iPad Screen
Depending on your settings, there are important reasons why you would need to tap your iPad screen aside from drawing on it. Palm rejection doesn’t eliminate these tapping features, so it’s important to be mindful of how you’re resting your hand on your iPad screen.
Undo, redo, rotate, and zoom are just a few of the many important features that are activated by tapping and touching our iPad screens.
Check out more from Adventures with Art!Palm rejection and palm support do not influence these, so it’s still important to be mindful of how you are resting your hand on your iPad.
If you find that you are always accidentally undoing things, rotating your canvas, etc, take stock of your grip and hand positioning.
Your iPad is designed to recognize big objects, such as your palm or side of your hand, when figuring out what to reject vs. what is a tapping feature.
While it seems counterintuitive, it’s actually better to be more heavy handed with how you rest your palm on your iPad screen. This will give Procreate a very clear signal that it’s your palm and not an attempt to initiate a tapping feature.
So, if you’re having issues with accidentally initiating tapping features, try to adjust your hand positioning and lay your hand more directly on your iPad screen.
I know that changing your grip and positioning is easier said than done but, it may go a long way in easing your frustrations.
Palm support and palm rejection are very important features to understand and use properly within Procreate. Once you get them set up correctly, they’ll make your Procreate life a LOT easier.
Diana has been an artist for over 25 years and has training in drawing, painting, digital drawing and graphic design. Diana’s latest obsession is digitally drawing with Procreate and creating t-shirt designs with Canva. Diana has experience selling her art across a number of platforms and loves helping other artists learn how to make money from their art as well.