Landscapes

Your First Drawing

This can be your first drawing in Procreate, because I will guide you through every single step of this Procreate drawing for beginners! In this easy step by step tutorial I will explain the basic features of Procreate while we create this lovely landscape illustration in Procreate.

Brushes used:

  • Soft Brush
  • Monoline Brush
  • Studio Pen
  • Sword Grass Brush

Canvas Size:

  • 2300 x 3000 pixels

Skills Learned:

  • Creating a Custom Canvas and Color Palette: Learn how to set up a custom-sized canvas, import color palettes, and adjust layers to start your project
  • Mastering Layer Techniques: Use alpha lock, clipping masks, and layer pinching to organize and enhance your artwork efficiently
  • Using Adjustment Tools: Add effects like Gaussian blur and bloom to create gradients, glows, and a sense of depth
  • Symmetry and QuickShape Tools: Create mirrored designs and perfect shapes like circles and straight lines with ease
Creatures

Paper Cutout Penguin

Winter is around the corner! So it’s time for winter themed tutorials. For this fun project we’ll draw a cute little penguin together and give it a paper cutout effect. The steps are easy and I’ll guide you through all of them!

Brushes used:

  • Studio Pen
  • Monoline
  • Soft Brush

Canvas Size:

  • 2500 x 2500 pixels

Skills Learned:

  • Drawing Basic Shapes: Use the Procreate’s Quick Shape tool to create the base shapes for the penguin
  • Create a Paper Cutout Effect in Procreate: Learn what steps to take to make your illustration look as if it’s cut out from paper
  • Symmetry Tool use: Use Procreate’s symmetry tool to create simple snowflakes to add extra interest to your winter illustration
  • Alpha Lock for Shading: Add soft gradients without going outside of the shape you want to paint on
Food

Realistic Pumpkin

It’s the pumpkin season! So it’s the perfect time to paint one. I thought it would be nice to paint a realistic one and I think the reference picture has the perfect mood. In just a few steps we’ll create the perfect pumpkin painting. Have fun!

Brushes used:

  • Base Painter
  • Shader Brush
  • Flow Darka
  • Flo Lighta
  • Darken Line Brush
  • Lighten Line Brush
  • Standard Blender
  • Overlay Brush
  • Light Shader
  • Dark Shader
  • Soft Airbrush

Canvas Size:

  • 3500 x 3500 pixels

Skills Learned:

  • Setting Up Reference and Canvas: Easily set up a reference image by dragging it into a split screen or using Procreate’s built-in reference feature
  • Creating a Base Shape: Use the Base Painter brush to create a solid base layer, starting with dark, muted colors for an opaque pumpkin shape
  • Shading and Layer Masking: Apply Alpha Lock and use the Shader brush to add depth, darkening the lower areas for dimensional shading without affecting the background
  • Refining with Texture: Utilize Flo Darka and Flo Lighta to add subtle details and texture, giving the pumpkin a realistic appearance while building up soft creases
  • Adjusting and Blending: Use the Liquify tool and smudge tools for final adjustments, then add highlights and refine edges for a smooth, natural fade into the background
Portraits

Full Color Eye

Let’s take that eye drawing from YouTube and bring it to life with color! In this tutorial, we’ll layer shadows, refine edges, and add vibrant details to create a realistic and dynamic eye. We’ll focus on blending colors, adding light and shadow, and refining textures like the iris and lashes for a final, polished look. Whether it’s adding warmth to the skin or getting that perfect shine in the pupil, you’ll learn how to make your eye pop with depth and dimension.

Brushes used:

  • Basic Flo Brush
  • Flo Darka
  • Flo Lighta
  • Darken Line
  • Lighten Line
  • Lashes Brush
  • Standard Blender

Canvas Size:

  • 3000 x 2000 pixels

Skills Learned:

  • Building up shadow and light: Gradually layers shadows with darker colors and overlays, focusing on natural eye creases, the pupil, and the edges of the iris to bring depth to the drawing
  • Refining details with precision brushes: Uses the “Darken Line” and “Lighten Line” brushes to create crisp, clean lines for the iris and eyelashes, adding texture and definition
  • Creating a colorful iris: Incorporates a mix of bright colors like purples, greens, blues, and yellows to form a vibrant, rainbow-like iris, blending hues smoothly for a lifelike effect
  • Adding highlights for realism: Enhances the 3D effect by adding reflective highlights on the tear duct, lower eyelid, and iris, making the eye appear moist and shiny
  • Smudging for softness: Softens transitions between shadows and highlights, using rounded motions to maintain definition while achieving a smooth blend
Characters

Fox Picking Flowers

Foxes always look cute! That’s why they are so perfect for children’s book illustration style projects 😊 This time we’ll draw this cute little fox picking flowers and we’ll create a lovely textured look. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Brushes used:

  • Round Chalk
  • 6B Compressed
  • Flotastic Sketcher
  • Soft Edge Faded

Canvas Size:

  • 2500 x 2500 pixels

Skills Learned:

  • Creating and adjusting shapes: Use Procreate’s quick shape tool to create smooth ovals for the fox’s head and body
  • Building texture and layers: By layering textures with different brushes and using clipping masks, we’ll the fox and background a hand-drawn feel
  • Using Alpha Lock for shading: Alpha Lock is key for adding texture and color variation without spilling outside of specific shapes
Landscapes

Felt Landscape

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a colorful, felt-inspired landscape in Procreate. It’s a fun and easy process, and I’ll guide you through every step. With two brand-new brushes from the Procreate Treasure Chest, you’ll build textured hills, mountains, clouds, and more. By the end, you’ll have a soft, fabric-like design that you can apply to all sorts of projects. Grab your iPad, follow along, and let’s get creative!

Brushes used:

  • Felt Texture Brush
  • Blotchy Felt Brush
  • Tinder Box Brush
  • Oberon Brush

Canvas Size:

  • 2000 x 2300 pixels

Skills Learned:

  • Creating felt-like textures: Use the Felt Texture and Blotchy Felt brushes to simulate fabric textures
  • Building shapes with layers:  Separate layers for hills, mountains, and other elements allow for easier texturing and shadow effects
  • Adding realistic shadows and highlights: Utilize multiply and screen layers to add depth, adjusting opacity for subtle blending
  • Using Alpha Lock for precision: Apply textures and colors directly to specific shapes using Alpha Lock
  • Incorporating stitching details: Add stitch effects around hills and water edges for a finished felt look
Drawing Fundamentals

Value Study Exercise

In this tutorial, we dive into a value study using a black-and-white photo of a statue. This exercise is designed to help you better understand light, shadow, and midtones by starting with a simple sketch and then refining it with three core values: dark, midtone, and light. The tutorial takes you step by step, from blocking in basic shapes to adding subtle details with brushes and blending tools, emphasizing the importance of soft transitions and refining edges for a more polished result.

Brushes used:

  • Basic Sketcher
  • Base Painter
  • Basic Flo Brush
  • Darken Line Brush
  • Lighten Line Brush
  • Standard Blender

Canvas Size:

  • 2300 x 3000 pixels

Skills Learned:

  • Blocking in Shapes: Begin by sketching the main shapes, focusing on negative spaces and proportions, which lays the foundation for the value study
  • Establishing Core Values: Use three primary values to carve out the statue, simplifying complex lighting into basic light, midtone, and dark areas
  • Softening Transitions: Use the Smudge Tool to blend and soften edges, which helps in creating more realistic and smooth transitions between values
  • Refining Details: Gradually refine the study by adding smaller details and sharpening edges with brushes like the Darken Line and Lighten Line brushes
Food

Painterly Avocado

Grab your digital painting brushes! It’s time for some more expressive painterly fun. This time we’ll use a reference photo and paint this lovely avocado. It’ll be fun!

Brushes used:

  • Oil Paint Brush
  • Broad and Smeary
  • Smeary Damp
  • Random Strokes Brush
  • Lighten Brush
  • Multiply Brush
  • Tapered Brush

Canvas Size:

  • 2300 x 3000 pixels

Skills Learned:

  • Blending with the Broad and Smeary brush: This technique creates a natural transition between colors and enhances the painterly texture
  • Experimenting with light and shadow: Utilizing brushes like Multiply and Lighten to play with value without losing texture, adding depth and realism to the artwork
  • Final touches with texture overlays: Adding subtle texture using overlay layers and the Random Strokes brush to bring a cohesive feel to the painting
  • Layer masks for controlled texture: Using layer masks to selectively add texture and highlights, maintaining control over the final look
Creatures

20 Fun Doodles Vol.2

Here’s Volume 2 of 20 fun doodles to draw in Procreate! I have come up with 20 new doodles for you, I’ll guide you through all the steps of drawing them! You can pick your favorites or combine them into one unique doodle artwork. We’ll be using the Dry Ink brush and working on a 2500×2500 pixel canvas. Get your iPad ready, grab your pen, and follow along!

Brushes used:

  • Dry Ink Brush

Canvas Size:

  • 2500 x 2500 pixels

Skills Learned:

  • Creating Simple Shapes: Learn how to draw basic shapes like sausages, triangles, and curves to form the foundation of your doodles
  • Adding Facial Features: Discover techniques to add cute faces to your doodles, including eyes, mouths, and expressions
  • Using Line Weight: Explore the impact of varying line thickness to emphasize different parts of your doodles and add texture