Happy Avocados
Ready for some serious cuteness? In this cozy, beginner-friendly Procreate tutorial, we create an adorable avocado couple – perfect as a sweet gift or just for fun. The steps are super chill and easy to follow, and there’s plenty of room to play with expressions, colors, and little touches like rosy cheeks or textures. You’ll leave with a finished illustration full of charm and personality!
Brushes used:
- Inka
- Shale
- Copperhead
- Quoll
Canvas Size:
- 2300 x 3000 pixels
Skills Learned:
- Building layered base shapes: Start with rough, egg-like shapes and build up complexity by stacking colored layers for depth and dimension.
- Using Alpha Lock for clean shading: Apply Alpha Lock to shapes like the pit or avocado body to shade without spilling over edges.
- Mixing brushes for detail work: Switch between expressive and tidy brushes—like the Copperhead and Shale—to balance sketchy charm with clean outlines.
- Adding personality with minimal facial features: Use just a few lines for eyes, mouths, and limbs to give the characters playful expressions and gestures.
- Enhancing illustrations with subtle texturesL Use texture brushes and layer masks to softly distress or enrich the drawing, especially on the background and outer edges.
Watercolor Love Jars
In this cheerful little tutorial, we’re making a super sweet Mother’s Day-themed illustration—but honestly, this one’s perfect for anyone you love (including yourself!). We’re keeping things loose, playful, and a little bit messy, just how we like it. You’ll sketch some cute jars, add inky outlines with character, and finish it off with soft watercolor vibes. Whether you’re brand new or a seasoned doodler, it’s all about having fun and making something from the heart. Let’s dive in!
Brushes used:
- Basic Sketcher
- Flotastic Inker
- Watery Dual Color Brush
- Splatter Brush
- Ultra Soft Mixer
Canvas Size:
- 2300 x 3000 pixels
Key Skills Learned:
- Using Symmetry for Balanced Sketching: Quickly block out the jar shape and maintain proportion while allowing for playful imperfections.
- Loose Inking for Expressive Texture: Incorporate wobbliness, broken lines, and hatching for a charming, handmade feel without pressure for perfection.
- Layering Watercolor with Dual Colors: Apply rich, blended washes using Procreate’s dual color functionality to create a vibrant, blotchy background and object fills.
- Non-destructive Painting on Separate Layers: Preserve ink lines while experimenting with color options and maintaining flexibility throughout the process.
- Adding Final Touches with Splatter and Blender: Finish the piece with textured splatter and softened edges using the ultra soft mixer, enhancing the watercolor look.
Watercolor Lemon
Want to create a fresh, watercolor-style lemon slice in Procreate? This tutorial breaks it down into approachable, mess-friendly steps that feel just like painting with real watercolors—minus the cleanup. Using free brushes and a vibrant color palette, you’ll be working with symmetry, blending techniques, and subtle highlights to bring your digital citrus to life.
Brushes used:
- Round Watery Brush
- Fineliner Brush
Canvas Size:
- 2500 x 2500 pixels
Skills Learned:
- Using Procreate’s radial symmetry tool: Helps easily create balanced shapes like citrus slices by auto-mirroring brush strokes across radial segments.
- Mastering watercolor-style blending: The Round Watery brush allows seamless color blending by keeping your Apple Pencil pressed to the screen—just like layering wet paint.
- Layer masking for highlights: Non-destructive layer masks are used to mimic moisture and shine with soft white highlights painted using black on the mask layer.
- Adding texture and contrast with multiple colors: By layering from light to dark yellows and oranges, the lemon slice gains dimension and realism while still keeping that painterly looseness.
- Combining line work with painterly strokes: A fineliner adds just a touch of crispness to select edges without making the artwork feel too perfect or rigid.
Golden Berries
This tutorial is all about keeping it loose and painterly with a still life inspired by golden berries. No sketching—just diving straight in with expressive brush strokes, exploring texture, color, and light. It’s more about the feeling and less about the details, making this a perfect exercise to let go and loosen up. Grab your brushes and let’s make something beautiful together!
Brushes used:
- Round Smeary
- Smeary Damp
- Basic Sketcher
- Overlay
- Opaque Thin
- Painterly Mixer
- Flo Darka
- Flo Lighta
Canvas Size:
- 3000 x 2000 pixels
Key Skills Learned:
- Blocking in without sketching: Jump straight into painting by laying down big, expressive shapes, skipping the traditional sketch phase to keep things fluid and intuitive.
- Using painterly brushes for texture: Learn to blend and layer using textured brushes like Round Smeary and Smeary Damp, building depth while maintaining looseness.
- Manual brush tracking and labeling: Smart tip: jot down the brushes you use on a dedicated layer with a writing brush to keep track for future projects or tutorials.
- Photo editing tricks for painterly contrast: Use duplicated layers with Multiply and Screen blend modes plus layer masks to add contrast, depth, and light, borrowing techniques from photography.
Easter Bunny
In this playful and vibrant Easter-themed tutorial, we’re ditching perfectionism and diving into expressive painting techniques with bold strokes and joyful color. The goal? A colorful, painterly Easter Bunny holding an egg, surrounded by an energetic, texture-rich background. It’s loose, fun, and totally about enjoying the process over precision.
Brushes used:
- Turpentine
- Styx
Canvas Size:
- 2300 x 3000 pixels
Key Skills Learned:
- Using Alpha Lock to Keep It Neat: We turn on Alpha Lock to shade and add details without coloring outside the lines—super handy for keeping things tidy while staying expressive.
- Creating a Loose, Textured Background: By layering big, bold strokes with different brushes and colors, we build a playful, textured base that sets the mood for the whole piece.
- Working with Layers for Flexibility: Each part—bunny, egg, background—gets its own layer, so we can easily tweak things as we go without messing anything up. Super helpful!
- Keeping Things Messy and Fun: Instead of aiming for perfection, we focus on bold shapes, playful lines, and just going with the flow—perfect for building confidence and enjoying the process.
Cat on a Roof
In this super fun and easy Procreate tutorial, we’re going to paint a dreamy, starry night scene—complete with a glowing sky, textured rooftops, and of course, a cute little cat looking up at the stars. We’ll be using only brushes that are already in Procreate, and I’ll walk you through every single step so you can follow along with ease. I’ve also chosen a nice tall canvas for this one to really emphasize the sky—can’t wait to see what you’ll create! Let’s get started!
Brushes used:
- Quoll
- Niko Rull
- Oberon
- Flicks
- Splatter
- Soft Brush
- Tinderbox
Canvas Size:
- 1500 x 3000 pixels
Skills Learned:
- Blending painterly gradients: Using the Quoll brush with varied pressure to create rich color transitions while preserving texture in the sky.
- Layering textures with alpha lock: Learn to use Alpha lock to shade and texturize areas like the roof, chimney, and cat without coloring outside their shapes.
- Adding atmosphere with light effects: Use glow layers, splatter brushes, and the Bloom effect to enhance the dreamy night vibe with starry accents and a glowing moon.
House with a Garden
This tutorial is pure springtime joy. We’re painting a cheerful, impressionistic house nestled in a colorful, blooming garden, and you’ll only need two brushes to make it happen. No need for perfection—this style thrives on loose, expressive strokes. It’s such a fun, forgiving process, perfect for getting into that warm-weather creative vibe. Let’s dive in!
Brushes used:
- Basic Sketcher
- Flotastic Brush
Canvas Size:
- 2300 x 3000 pixels
Key Skills Learned:
- Layering for texture and depth: You learn how to gradually build up detail by layering shapes and brushstrokes from background to foreground, using size and opacity variations.
- Color mixing through brushwork: Instead of blending, you apply a variety of shades with deliberate dabs and strokes to create depth and vibrancy, especially in the foliage and flowers.
- Adding detail through controlled brush size: By gradually decreasing brush size and switching colors, you create the illusion of detailed flowers, windows, and textures without overworking.
- Using Alpha Lock for clean shading and accents: Alpha Lock becomes essential in keeping your textures and highlights inside the shapes—especially on elements like the roof, windows, and clouds.
Tree with Hearts
In this tutorial, we’re making a simple yet stunning heart tree design, perfect for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or just showing someone you care. Using a carefully crafted brush pack and color palette, we’ll layer watercolor effects to create soft, artistic textures. Let’s dive in!
Brushes used:
- Studio Pen
- Flotastic Sketcher
- Hearts Brush
- Wet Mixer Brush
- Round Watery Brush
- Watery Brush Pen
- Half Loaded Brush
Canvas Size:
- 2500 x 2500 pixels
Key Skills Learned:
- Building a tree structure
Sketching the trunk and branches with organic strokes, keeping branches thinner as they extend outward. - Adding realistic bark texture
Using Alpha Lock and a textured brush to create natural, streaky bark details. - Creating watercolor heart foliage
Layering heart stamps, blending edges with wet brushes, and softening shapes for a watercolor effect. - Enhancing depth with masks and smudging
Using layer masks and smudge tools to create a soft, realistic bleed effect in the hearts. - Painting textured grass and ground
Mixing colors with wet brushes and adding expressive strokes for a natural grassy base.
Cute Fox
Welcome to this simple and fun tutorial for creating a charming, painterly fox in Procreate! Using just the default brushes, you’ll learn to craft expressive strokes and vibrant textures while keeping things light and easy.
Brushes used:
- Old Brush
- Dry Brush
- Gloaming Brush
- Burnt Tree
Canvas Size:
- 2300 x 3000 pixels
Skills Learned:
- Creating expressive fur textures: Use outward strokes and varied brush sizes for a natural fur effect, highlighting areas with lighter tones for depth
- Adding painterly details with layers: Separate elements like the body, ears, and tail into distinct layers to keep work organized and editable
- Using Alpha Lock and Smudge tools: Alpha Lock refines painting within shapes, while smudge tools blend colors and textures
- Final touches with Bloom and Backgrounds
Adding subtle bloom effects creates a gentle glow, while textured brush strokes bring the background to life