Can we talk about the 'noise' filter in Procreate?

I added it to a finished piece thinking it would just give some texture, but it completely flattened the colors and made everything look muddy. I learned the hard way to duplicate the layer first, lol. Anyone have a better way to add grit without wrecking the whole thing?

3 comments

3 Comments

mia_anderson2mo ago

Have you tried using the noise filter on a separate layer set to overlay or soft light? That way it adds texture without flattening the base colors. I also like making a new layer, filling it with 50% gray, and then adding the noise to that before changing the layer's blend mode. It gives you a lot more control over the effect's strength and keeps your original work safe.

lisa6712mo ago

Actually used to just slap noise right on the image. That gray layer trick is way smarter, keeps things from getting muddy.

shah.shane19d ago

Kind of surprised nobody's mentioned doing it on a smart object before. Drop that gray layer with noise on a smart object and you can double click into it later to adjust the noise amount or even swap out the texture entirely without messing up your whole file. Makes it super easy to try different looks (like film grain vs. digital static) after you've already done the rest of your editing. Plus you can mask the smart object if you only want the noise in the shadows or highlights.