> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://theprocreate.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Procreate Liquify: Distort a Copy and Keep the Original Recoverable
- URL: https://theprocreate.com/learn/procreate-liquify/
- Published: 2026-11-01T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-01T14:59:59.000Z
- Description: Warp a duplicate with Push or directional Twirl, control the stroke strength, and finish Reconstruct or Amount changes before committing.
- Author: Nathan Reed
- Tags: learn, #topic-layers, #section-layers-choose-and-move-a-shape

Liquify warps the pixels of a layer, so before bending a finished drawing, duplicate the layer and run Liquify on the copy. The original then stays available for comparison. [Liquify is unavailable in 3D Painting](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/adjustments/adjustments-liquify?ref=theprocreate.com).

Open [Layers with the overlapping-squares button at the top right](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/layers/layers-interface?ref=theprocreate.com) and tap the source layer. If other layers are selected, tap the word **Layers** and choose **Deselect All**, then tap the source again. [Swipe that layer from right to left](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/layers/layers-organize?ref=theprocreate.com) and tap **Duplicate**.

Tap the new copy explicitly to make it the active layer. Clear any other selected layers the same way so only the copy is selected. Hide the original with its **Visibility Checkbox** and keep the working copy visible. Then open [**Adjustments > Liquify**](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/adjustments/adjustments-liquify?ref=theprocreate.com) and work on the copy.

![Working copy is the only active visible layer; Original is hidden below it.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/87/95/8795a9f5-73f0-42fe-8d7c-6a02022d8b40/content/images/2026/10/procreate-liquify-body1-redo-v2.webp)

Select only the working copy and hide the untouched original before opening Liquify.

## Choose the movement first

The leftmost button in the bottom menu starts at **Push**. [Tap it to open the Liquify Mode list](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/adjustments/adjustments-liquify?ref=theprocreate.com), then tap the mode you want. Push moves pixels along a stroke. **Twirl Left** and **Twirl Right** rotate them in opposite directions, **Pinch** draws them inward, and **Expand** pushes them outward. **Crystals** creates sharp, uneven shards, while **Edge** pulls pixels inward toward a line.

For example, pick Push to move a contour along your stroke, Pinch to contract a region inward, or Edge to pull pixels toward a line. Make a short stroke on the duplicated layer and check the outline before you extend the effect.

![The same contour moves locally along a straight arrow with Push and curls around a contact point with Twirl.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/87/95/8795a9f5-73f0-42fe-8d7c-6a02022d8b40/content/images/2026/10/procreate-liquify-body2-redo-v1.webp)

Push moves pixels in the direction of your stroke; Twirl twists them around it.

Set the bottom dynamics before the next stroke. **Size** determines the affected area, **Pressure** sets the maximum strength, **Distortion** introduces irregularity, and **Momentum** continues the movement after the stroke ends. With a finger, Liquify applies the maximum set by Pressure. A [pressure-sensitive Apple Pencil](https://theprocreate.com/fixes/apple-pencil-pressure-not-working-procreate/) can vary the effect, but [Apple Pencil (USB-C) has no pressure sensitivity](https://www.apple.com/apple-pencil/?ref=theprocreate.com). For a small correction, I'd start with a smaller Size and low Pressure, then increase only the control the result calls for.

## Reduce or undo the current adjustment

While still in the current Liquify session, [**Reconstruct** paints back the artwork under the current effects](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/adjustments/adjustments-liquify?ref=theprocreate.com) in the areas you brush over. Tap **Adjust** to reveal the **Amount** slider, then drag it left to reduce the effect already applied. **Reset** clears the current Liquify changes while keeping you in the interface. Inspect the edited outline at the same zoom before committing. A pleasing close-up can hide a stretched edge elsewhere. After making any Reconstruct or Amount changes you need, tap the Adjustments icon again to commit the changes and leave Liquify.

![Liquify Adjust reveals Amount, with a leftward pointer for reducing the current effect.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/87/95/8795a9f5-73f0-42fe-8d7c-6a02022d8b40/content/images/2026/10/procreate-liquify-body3-redo-v2.webp)

Tap Adjust, then move Amount left to reduce the effect from the current Liquify session.

## Decide whether the warp helped

While the adjustment is still open, check the outer contour, nearby straight lines, and any repeated details that should still look consistent. When one edge has moved too far, I'd use Reconstruct, because it paints back only the areas brushed over. If the overall direction is wrong, reduce Amount or Reset and try a shorter stroke. After committing, reopening Liquify starts another adjustment, so Reconstruct isn't a recovery tool for an earlier committed warp. Open Layers, hide the edited copy and show the original. Then hide the original and show the edited copy. Compare the two at the same zoom with only one of them visible at a time. Keep the untouched layer until the composition is approved. If the problem is selecting a specific part of the artwork rather than bending its pixels, start with the site's [selection guide](https://theprocreate.com/learn/procreate-selections/) instead of treating Liquify as a general selection tool.