Landscape from a Photo
In this beginner level tutorial I’d like to show you how you can take a photo and use it as inspiration for a slightly stylized landscape illustration. Simplifying the landscape, picking the parts you like most and adjusting the composition.
Brushes used:
- Flotastic Brush
- Soft Brush
- Soft Streaky Mixer
- Pine Trees Brush
- Studio Pen
- Script Brush
Canvas Size:
- 2300 x 3000 pixels
Skills Learned:
- Using a Photo for Inspiration: We’ll use a landscape photo from Unsplash as a guide, focusing on elements like the clouds and reflections to shape our illustration while maintaining creative freedom
- Layering and Composition: Start with a rough sketch and use multiple layers to build up the composition
- Creating Realistic Clouds: Block in cloud shapes with varied colors, then use blending brushes to soften and refine them, capturing the dynamic look of a real sky
- Reflection Techniques: Duplicate the sky layers, flipped them vertically, and apply motion blur to create a realistic water reflection, enhancing the depth of the scene
Cute Dragonfly
Dragonflies are such intriguing creatures and I must say I find them kind of scary when they are in hunting mode. I have heard they can bite really hard! This dragonfly we’re drawing in this tutorial is super cute though! We’ll have fun with chalk like textures and create this children’s book illustration vibe. I hope you like it!
Brushes used:
- Rough Round Brush
- Subtle Chalk Brush
- Round Chalk
- Chalky Liner
Canvas Size:
- 2300 x 3000 pixels
Skills Learned:
- Creating Textured Shapes: Learn how to create simple shapes with a textured brushes
- Layer Management: Master layer creation and organization, ensuring each part of the dragonfly is on a separate layer for easy editing and detailing
- Adding Details: Use different brushes and colors to add eyes, wings, and additional features like rosy cheeks, legs, and stylized eyelashes to give the dragonfly personality
Easy Japanese Street
I would love to visit Japan someday, the cities and their streets intrigue me. I love all the neon signs and how much there is to see and explore. For this week’s tutorial I’d like to use a photo and show you how you can easily turn it into a lovely stylized illustration. It’ll be fun!
Brushes used:
- Studio Pen
- Soft Brush
- Light Pen
Canvas Size:
- 2300 x 3000 pixels
Skills Learned:
- Using a photo as a base: Import a photo, stretch it to fit the canvas, and lower its opacity to use as a reference
- Creating line art: Use the Studio Pen to trace simple shapes and create varied line weights for a dynamic look
- Layering colors: Separate colors into layers, starting with the background, to manage your illustration more effectively
- Adding shadows and highlights: Use screen layers for highlights and multiply layers for shadows to add depth and dimension
- Applying special effects: Incorporate lighting and noise effects to enhance your illustration and make it more dynamic
Sunny Dog
Welcome to another realism tutorial, this time aimed at beginner to intermediate levels. Today, I’ll show you how to trace a photo to create a painting, starting with a cute dog photo. Some people might think tracing is cheating, but as long as you’re honest about it, it’s a great way to learn in my opinion. So let’s have fun!
Brushes used:
- Basic Sketcher
- Flo Darka Brush
- Flo Lighta Brush
- Darken Line Brush
- Lighten Line Brush
- Soft Brush
- Standard Blender
- Basic Flo Brush
- Smudgy Hair Brush
Canvas Size:
- 4000 x 3000 pixels
Skills Learned:
- Adjusting Photo Warmth: Warm up your reference image using hue, saturation, and brightness adjustments along with color balance for shadows, midtones, and highlights
- Tracing and Line Art Creation: Lower the opacity of your photo and trace key lines using the Basic Sketcher brush to establish guidelines for your painting
- Building Base Colors: Start with broad base colors for the background and dog, using the Base Painter brush to fill in large areas with warm tones
- Adding Texture and Detail: Use the Flo Darka and Flo Lighta brushes to deepen shadows and enhance highlights, gradually building up the dog’s fur texture
- Finalizing with Lighting Effects: Add glow and contrast by setting layers to Multiply and Screen, using masks to paint in shadows and highlights, bringing your dog painting to life
Painterly Fall Landscape
I love creating painterly, expressive paintings and letting go of perfectionism. There’s such a joy in creating these expressive strokes. This time we’ll be painting this lovely, early Fall landscape. The weather in the Netherlands feels more like Fall than Summer, so I guess that’s what inspired me 😆 I hope you’ll enjoy it!
Brushes used:
- Nikko Rull Brush
- Smeary Dry Brush
- Tapered Brush
- Dry Mixer Brush
Canvas Size:
- 3000 x 4000 pixels
Skills Learned:
- Layering Colors Effectively:
Learn to layer colors to add depth and realism, giving your painting a vibrant and dynamic look. - Using Reflection Techniques:
Develop techniques for creating realistic water reflections, enhancing the overall composition. - Blending for Natural Effects:
Improve your blending skills to achieve natural, smooth transitions in your painting, especially in areas like clouds and reflections
Painterly Still Life
It’s time for painterly fun again! I love this style for still life pieces, so I thought I’d share the process 😊 I hope you’ll enjoy it too! During this intermediate level Procreate tutorial we’ll create this still life scene with honey, tangerines and flowers.
Brushes used:
- Smeary Damp
- Round Smeary
- Dry Mixer
- Thin Lines
- Rake Brush
- Overlay Brush
Canvas Size:
- 3000 x 4000 pixels
Skills Learned:
- Using a dark base layer: Start with a dark color for the background, enhancing depth and richness in the painting
- Layer management: Separate different elements (e.g., jar, tangerines, flowers) into different layers for easier manipulation and detail work
- Smudging and blending: Use brushes to smudge and blend colors directly on the canvas, creating smooth transitions and realistic textures
- Adjusting colors on the go: Continuously refine colors by dropping them into the palette and adjusting their saturation and brightness as needed
Isometric Balcony
I’m thrilled to hear you’re enjoying the isometric tutorials. This time we’ll create a lovely isometric balcony scene. We’re diving into a new style using a square canvas of 3500 x 3500 pixels. We’ll be creating shapes of color without clean line art, using our sketch to build up the forms and adding final touches later.
Brushes used:
- Basic Sketcher
- Studio Pen
- Soft Brush
- Medium Brush
- Tinder Box
- Foliage Brush
- Soft Scattered Leaves
- Isometric Chair brush
Canvas Size:
- 3500 x 3500 pixels
Skills Learned:
- Setting up and using an isometric grid: Learn to configure and use the isometric grid in Procreate for precise drawing and accurate perspective
- Utilizing layers and masks effectively: Master the use of layers, clipping masks, and alpha lock to keep your artwork organized and clean
- Adding textures and details: Enhance your illustrations with various brushes to add textures, patterns, and intricate details
Ice Cream
Brushes used:
- Basic Sketcher
- Script Brush
- Soft Brush
- Basic Flo Brush
- Darken Line Brush
- Lighten Line Brush
- Flo Darka Brush
- Flo Lighta Brush
- Rough Speckles Brush
- Grunge Rock Brush
- Standard Blender Brush
- Overlay Brush
Canvas Size:
- 3000 x 4000 pixels
Skills Learned:
- Refining Sketches: Start with a basic sketch, then refine it by adjusting proportions using tools like Liquify. This helps to create a more accurate foundation for painting
- Layer Management: Organize elements on separate layers (e.g., ice cream, cone, fingers) to simplify shading and texturing. This structure allows for better control over individual elements
- Adding Texture: Use brushes like Rough Spackles and Grunge Rock to add realistic texture to elements like the waffle cone
- Shading and Lighting: Build shadows and highlights gradually. Use the Darken Line and Lighten Line brushes to enhance contrast and detail, making the painting more lifelike
- Color Adjustment: Don’t worry about getting the perfect color right away. Lay down base colors and adjust them as needed, adding warmth and depth with tools like the Overlay brush
Watercolor Street
Brushes used:
- Basic Sketcher
- Wash Brush
- Tinder Box
- Wet Paper Base
- Round Watery Brush
- Layering Brush
- Half Loaded Brush
- Splatter Brush
Canvas Size:
- 4000 x 3000 pixels
Skills Learned:
- Resizing the Canvas: Learn how to resize your canvas in Procreate to accommodate more elements in your artwork
- Blending Edges with Layer Masks: Use layer masks to seamlessly blend elements together for a cohesive look
- Adding Perspective and Depth: Create the illusion of depth with perspective lines and overlapping elements
- Layering Watercolor Effects: Master the technique of layering watercolor effects to add richness and texture to your painting
- Using Highlights and Textures: Add finishing touches with highlights and paper textures to enhance the watercolor effect