Procreate

You won’t learn how to use Procreate overnight, especially if you’ve never used a digital drawing program before. But as you spend more time experimenting and using the app, you’ll find you become more comfortable with the menus and options, and can confidently navigate the space and make beautiful drawings. When it comes to drawing in general, continuing to practice and draw from life will always improve your skills. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect straight away, but stay confident that you’ll get to the point where you can make artwork that you’re really proud of using just your iPad, Pencil and Procreate. Procreate has helped to make digital art more affordable and accessible for everyone, though it can take some time to learn about the numerous menus and settings available within the app. There is so much you can do in Procreate, so this article really just skims the surface of what’s on offer. But I hope it has given you the introduction you need to feel con

Because Procreate is so customizable, you can use it to create wildly different styles of artwork. Artists on Skillshare have used it to create soft, textured botanicals, hard-edged tattoo motifs, lettering projects, cartoonish illustrations and so much more. If you’re just getting started with the program, take some time to experiment! Don’t be afraid to try new mediums, brushes and approaches to making your art. The road to artistic achievement is paved with fun risks, welcome surprises and new skills.

Once you’ve got your initial sketch, you’re ready to add more detail. Tap on the layers icon and name your current sketch. Then create another layer by clicking on the plus sign. This adds a layer on top of your existing sketch. Use your second layer to add detail to your image, trace and formalize any of the lines you drew earlier, and make adjustments to your initial sketch. Jarom decided he wanted to adjust the position of his character’s arms, so he’s doing that in the second layer: Using The Selection Tool By the time you’re finished, the second layer should be a finalized, detailed version of your original sketch. If you’re happy with the way it looks, go ahead and delete the first layer, so that you’re only working with your final sketch. Now, we’re ready to start blocking out our basic shapes, so we can add color and additional detail. Create a new layer, and click on the S icon to activate the selection tool. You’re going to start outlining the section of your sketch that you

First things first: you need a canvas to work on. Upon opening the Procreate app, you’ll see the gallery view. This is where you can view all of the existing artwork you’ve made. Click the plus sign in the top right corner of the screen. Tapping on the first option, “Screen Size” will take you right into the canvas. Once in canvas, you’ll see tools organized in three sections: the top right of the screen, top left of the screen, and along the left side. There are a lot of tools to digest, so we’re only going to focus on the main ones you need to get started: Actions Clicking on the wrench icon in the top left toolbar gets you to Procreate’s settings. This is where you can make adjustments to your canvas and tools. Play around with the settings to find what works best for you. We recommend turning on the light interface and brush cursor. Quick Menu After you’ve exited out of the Actions menu, tap and hold anywhere on the canvas screen to bring up Quick Menu. You can customize this menu

What’s the best iPad for Procreate? The latest version of the Procreate for iPad app is 4.2.1, and it requires an iPad running iOS 11.1 or newer. That means the latest version of Procreate can run on all five of the iPad models currently on sale from Apple: iPad Pro (12.9-in., 11-in., and 10.5-in. models), iPad (6th Generation, 2018) and iPad Mini 4. Previous iPad models capable of running the latest version of Procreate are iPad Pro 9.7-in., iPad 5th Generation (2017), iPad Air, iPad Air 2, and iPad Mini 2 and 3. Older versions of Procreate run on many older iPad models. To get the full, up-to-date Procreate experience, you’ll want to have one of the two iPad models that arrived in November 2018: the 12.9-in. or 11-in. iPad Pro. These two models are the only devices compatible with the new Apple Pencil. From Libby VanderPloeg’s class, Animation for Illustration: Adding Movement with Procreate & Photoshop Procreate’s FAQ and discussion forums have more information on technical r

One of the best ways to understand Procreate’s real-world capabilities is to learn about professional artists’ experiences with the app. A post written for the VMA (Visual Media Alliance) Design Conference blog profiles three successful professionals who made the leap to Procreate but use the app in different ways. Emma Bergerworks for film production company Laika while maintaining a freelance illustration career and uses a combination of hand drawing, Photoshop on an iMac, and Procreate to create her illustrations. Artist Trudi Castle uses Procreate only for “sketching and roughing ideas” and leisure-time exploration. Freelance character designer and illustrator Nicholas Kole creates all his artwork in Procreate. From Brooke Glaser’s Skillshare class, Intro to Procreate : Illustrating on the iPad Taken together, the stories of these three artists prove another crucial point for those considering a leap to Procreate: a fully customized workflow can have a profound effect on your final

Procreate makes it easy to organize your artwork in a gallery format familiar to Photoshop users; import files from other devices and locations; use hand gestures to zoom in and out of your artwork and undo changes to work. You can also perform professional-level compositing and adjustment of layers and generally create and develop your artwork at a speed that can keep up with your imagination. Perhaps most important to many seasoned professionals, Procreate offers easy integration with existing workflows — you can move back and forth between other apps and platforms as required by your preferred methods, your clients, or the needs of a specific project. There are other professional-grade digital art apps available, but at the moment none match the power, flexibility, and complete functionality and feature-set of Procreate.

Procreate is an award-winning illustration, sketching, and painting app made exclusively for iPad. For the many illustrators, designers and artists who rely on Procreate, the responsiveness of the app, particularly when used with an Apple Pencil, makes it feel very similar to making art on paper. That “natural” feeling, combined with the wide variety of Procreate brushes (plus the ability to customize and add more) have tipped the scales in the app’s favor, even among veteran commercial and fine artists. Many have been willing to move beyond analog art tools or old-school digital drawing tablets tethered to desktop computers, all in favor of the ease, flexibility, portability, and newfound inspiration provided by Procreate for iPad.

The Brush Library is inarguably one of the best aspects of Procreate. There is a wide selection of brush types, from pencils to watercolors to charcoals. Each brush is categorized in sections ranging from Sketching to Water for easy navigation. To access Procreate’s vast range of default brushes, select the brush icon at the top of the program. Mockup via blackzheep. Many illustrators work with texture to deviate from the typical solid geometric shapes and smooth clean lines. I prefer to use texture to bring in some variation and add in unique shadows and highlights to imagery. Some default brushes I frequent include the Charcoal and the Inking brushes for a hint of subtle texture. Click on an individual brush to edit its properties even further. Just as with any aspect of Procreate, play around with the brush library and experiment with various styles of brushes.

Many lettering artists rely on Procreate to create stunning typography designs. Procreate’s extensive brush library and tools translate very well when applied to calligraphy or hand drawn lettering. Mockup via blackzheep. When first testing out some brushes, you may notice that your curves appear wobbly and uneven. To fix this, click on a brush from the Brush Library and select the Stroke tab at the bottom. Use the slider to adjust the percentage of StreamLine. I typically settle around 75-80% when using the StreamLine function; too much of it can constrict your curves and letters.

In instances where you need a little bit of typography but aren’t skilled in lettering or calligraphy, Procreate’s new text tool is everything you need and more. This tool has all of the editing capabilities as any Adobe program, from kerning to style to outline options. You can also further manipulate the text with brushes, effects, and masks. Mockup via blackzheep. To add text to your canvas, head up to the wrench icon and select Add > Add Text. This will bring up a text box where you can quickly type out letters or a phrase with the keyboard. From there, you can alter font type, font size, text alignment, and more.

Blend modes are an underrated tool in many design programs; they create a blend of two adjourning layers, often rendering unique results. Many designers and illustrators are knowledgeable on blend modes due to their presence on Adobe software. Similar to Photoshop’s layer modes, Procreate contains blend modes within the layers tab. Access these within the Layers menu by clicking the letter next to the check box on an individual layer. Mockup via blackzheep. The layer modes allow you to adjust opacity and modify its appearance with familiar blend modes. Darken: Contains Multiply, Linear Burn, Color Burn, Darken Lighten: Lighten, Screen, Add, Color Dodge Contrast: Overlay, Hard Light, Soft Light Difference: Exclusion, Difference, Subtract Color: Hue, Saturation, Color, Luminosity A good rule of thumb when using blend modes in Procreate is to experiment with them and get a feel for the results they produce. Decrease the opacity to create a more subtle blend, or amp up the opacity to 100%

Sometimes it can be difficult to draw out a perfect circle or triangle in a composition. Procreate’s Quick Shape command comes in handy by straightening out uneven lines to create a more geometric shape. Mockup via blackzheep. Simply draw out a shape, such as a triangle, with the Brush Tool and hold down the pencil cursor until the shape snaps into place. A menu will pop up above the canvas, initiating you to edit the shape. Click on the button to manipulate individual points on the shape. Hit the cursor icon to return back to the canvas.

When using Procreate, there will be times where you will need to recolor a single shape or an entire layer. The ColorDrop technique is great for recoloring a few shapes, while the Alpha Lock Fill Layer method works great for recoloring an entire layer. Mockup via blackzheep. To use the ColorDrop method, select the layer that you’re working with and click and drag the color circle to the shape you’d like to recolor. The new hue will fill in the boundaries of your shape, like seen above. This method only works if your illustration is completely closed off; using this technique on an open shape will fill the entire layer with the selected hue. Mockup via blackzheep. When working with a more complex composition, using the Alpha Lock Fill Layer command is a much quicker way to go. Instead of dragging the ColorDrop onto each line, shape, or letter, you can change the entire layer’s colors in one fell swoop. Go to the layer you’d like to edit, then click on its thumbnail and select Alpha Lock

When working in the Procreate application, it’s important to have your color palettes both organized and accessible. Each color palette can be accessed within the Palettes tab in the color circle icon. Mockup via blackzheep. Just as with layers, it’s also important to label each of your color palettes. Organizing each palette by color theme (such as retro hues) or project type is a great way to get started. Hit the plus sign icon at the top of the Palettes tab to create a new palette, then select Untitled to rename the palette. To arrange the color squares, hold down on the hue and then move as needed; hold down on the square to delete the swatch. Enable the Set Default button to quickly access the palette in the Color section.

Procreate’s powerful mask options provide a way to non-destructively edit a single (or multiple) layers in a given document. Designers and illustrators alike use masks to bring in texture, shadows, highlights, patterns, images, and more. There are three mask options to choose from in the Procreate application: Alpha Lock, Mask, and Clipping Mask. While the names may appear similar, each mask option has its own unique functions. Mockup via blackzheep. To bring up the mask commands, click on the layer’s thumbnail and choose from the three in the dropdown menu. Here’s a rundown of each mask option’s capabilities: Alpha Lock : This command is conveyed by a gray checkerboard grid, like seen above in the highlighted layer. Alpha Lock gives you the ability to draw within that layer’s shape; this command is ideal for drawing within the shape’s boundaries. While many rely on the Alpha Lock command to apply textures, shadows, and highlights, Alpha Lock is extremely useful to quickly change the l

Just like in other design and creative programs, layers are a way to organize and preserve your work. Procreate’s layers behave similarly to Adobe Photoshop’s with its blend modes, opacity options, and general setup. Mockup via blackzheep. When setting up your illustration, be sure to name each layer in a way that describes the content within the layer. Doing so avoids frustration when navigating or editing each layer. If you’re creating a detailed illustration, it’s crucial to work within the specified layers instead of compiling all shapes, textures, typography, and lines onto a single layer.

Procreate gestures increase your efficiency when drawing by shortening the amount of time used to carry out basic actions. Instead of navigating where the undo or zoom command is on the Procreate app, you can simply tap, swipe, or pinch your fingers on the screen. The gestures listed in the infographic above are default shortcuts that come with Procreate; you can easily customize these shortcuts by going to Actions > Prefs > Gesture Controls.

Interested in diving into Procreate, but don’t know where to begin? Check out these ten essential tips to jumpstart your Procreate workflow. The Procreate application has gained in popularity over the years with its endless creative abilities. With the app’s extensive brush library, impressive modes and effects, and newly added typography tools, it’s evident that Procreate has become a go-to for many designers, illustrators, and hobbyists. Upon first glance, the Procreate program appears simple and versatile; if you’re new to the program, navigating the app can be overwhelming and downright daunting. Learning the ins and outs of Procreate from the get-go is crucial to getting a feel for the program and understanding its capabilities. Read on to learn ten essential tips to improve your Procreate workflow and get you on the track to making impressive illustrations.