RindrawApple Pencil not working in Procreate
When the Pencil stops drawing, loses pressure, leaves palm marks or skips, the cause is usually a setting in Procreate or the iPad, not a broken Pencil. Here are the four problems, what causes each, and how to fix it, in the order to check.
For Procreate 5.4. From Procreate's Handbook and Community, where these threads have been read over 360,000 times. Checked November 2, 2026.
1. The Pencil doesn't draw at all
Procreate works with Apple Pencil on its own; there's no pairing inside the app. If nothing appears:
- Test on a clean canvas. Procreate's team suggests a new canvas, a dark color, and a simple brush such as Inking › Technical Pen or Painting › Round, with the Size and Opacity sliders in the sidebar pushed to the top. A white brush, a hidden or locked layer, or opacity near zero all look like a broken Pencil.
- Re-pair it. In Settings › Bluetooth, tap Apple Pencil › Forget This Device, restart the iPad, then attach or plug the Pencil in again. Check the tip is screwed on firmly.
- Check Gesture Controls. In Actions › Prefs › Gesture Controls, look under the Smudge and Erase tabs: if Apple Pencil is switched on there, the Pencil smudges or erases instead of painting. Turn it off.
2. Pressure stopped working
- The pressure curve. Actions › Prefs › Pressure and Smoothing holds App Pressure Sensitivity, a curve for every brush. Dragged to the top, it gives full size at the lightest touch, so pressing harder changes nothing. Tap Reset all at the bottom to go back to the straight default.
- The brush itself. Not every brush varies with pressure. Tap the brush to open Brush Studio and look at the Apple Pencil section: its pressure settings for size and opacity say what the brush does. Test with Painting › Round, which varies with pressure.
- The Pencil itself. Moderators note that a Pencil's pressure or tilt sensor can fail in a way that shows in Procreate but not in apps that use pressure less. If a reset curve and the Round brush still don't vary, have Apple test the Pencil.
3. Your palm or finger leaves marks
With Apple Pencil, the iPad tells apps which touches are the Pencil, and Procreate ignores your palm. Stray marks usually come from a finger or palm being taken for a finger stroke:
- Stop fingers painting. Actions › Prefs › Gesture Controls › Disable Touch actions makes fingers do only gestures (pinch, undo taps), never paint, smudge or erase.
- Check the iPad's own setting. In Settings › Apple Pencil, Only Draw with Apple Pencil does the same across apps that support it.
- Unplug from the computer. One artist on Procreate's forum found palm rejection failed only while the iPad was charging from a computer, and came back the moment it was unplugged.
4. Lines skip or break
Gaps in a stroke usually come from the screen, not Procreate. Moderators suggest cleaning the screen (oily patches make the Pencil skip), checking for dust under a screen protector or a thick glass one, and making sure the tip isn't loose. Some artists found a magnetic case or cover caused it, and that taking it off helped.
How Rindraw handles the Pencil
We make Rindraw. Fingers draw until your Apple Pencil first touches the canvas; from then on only the Pencil draws, and fingers zoom, pan and undo, so a resting palm can't paint. It follows the iPad's Only Draw with Apple Pencil setting too, and Draw with Finger is one switch away. Settings › Apple Pencil has its own pressure curve, and a Pencil without pressure (or a finger) gets pressure from the stroke's speed.
Questions
Why is my Apple Pencil not working in Procreate?
Test on a new canvas with a dark color, the Round or Technical Pen brush and both sidebar sliders at the top. If nothing draws, forget and re-pair the Pencil in Settings › Bluetooth, restart, and check Actions › Prefs › Gesture Controls › Smudge and Erase, where Apple Pencil should be off.
Why did pressure sensitivity stop working in Procreate?
Usually the App Pressure Sensitivity curve in Actions › Prefs › Pressure and Smoothing has been pushed up; tap Reset all. Some brushes don't vary with pressure, so test with Painting › Round. If it still doesn't vary, the Pencil's sensor may be faulty.
How do I stop my palm making marks in Procreate?
Turn on Disable Touch actions in Actions › Prefs › Gesture Controls, so fingers only do gestures, or Only Draw with Apple Pencil in the iPad's Settings › Apple Pencil.
Why does my Apple Pencil skip in Procreate?
Clean the screen, check the screen protector and the tip, and try without a magnetic case; skipping usually comes from the screen or Pencil, not the app.
Sources
- Procreate Handbook (5.4), Preferences: Actions › Prefs › Pressure and Smoothing: App Pressure Sensitivity curve and Reset all; Gesture Controls: Disable Touch actions.
- Procreate Handbook, Apple Pencil: Apple Pencil's dynamic range and the App Pressure Sensitivity curve; double-tap, hover and squeeze.
- Procreate Community, Apple Pencil won't work with Procreate: about 93,000 views; Procreate supports Apple Pencil natively; test with Technical Pen and full sliders.
- Procreate Community, Turning off palm rejection?: about 87,000 views; how Procreate tells a palm from a stroke.
- Procreate Community, Palm Rejection not working: about 68,000 views; palm rejection failing while charging from a computer.
- Procreate Community, Pressure Sensitivity NOT working: about 47,000 views; restart, re-pair and test with full sliders.
- Procreate Community, Apple Pencil doesn't work, only finger: about 36,000 views; Apple Pencil under Gesture Controls › Smudge and Erase; hardware faults showing only in Procreate.
- Procreate Community, Apple Pencil skipping when drawing: about 35,000 views; screen, protector, tip and case.
Related guides
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Procreate is a trademark of Savage Interactive Pty Ltd, and Apple Pencil, iPad and iCloud of Apple. Rindraw is made by Sawir Studio and isn't affiliated with Procreate or Savage Interactive.
