Mountain Cabin
In this tutorial, we’re diving into another relaxing painting session, this time, a cozy little cabin nestled in a mountain landscape. It’s not about copying the reference exactly; instead, I’ll show you how I loosely interpret it and build something a bit more painterly, more stylized, and very us. We’ll play around with composition, texture, lighting and of course, take full advantage of creative freedom. This is one of those projects that lets you focus on shapes and mood without getting lost in the details. So grab your stylus, let’s go!
Brushes used:
- Basic Sketcher
- Flotastic Brush
- Flotastic Sketcher
- Flotastic Hair
- Flotastic Inker
- Flat Painter
- Lighten Line
- Darken Line
- Smear it Around
- Soft Brush
- Dabby
- Flowers 2
- Wild Grass
- Flower Field
Canvas Size:
- 3000 x 2000 pixels
Key Skills Learned:
- Working loosely with clipping masks and alpha lock
You’ll see how I use them to build depth, play with lighting, and add detail without messing up the base layers, super handy! - Creating painterly shapes with expressive brushes
We’re not going for photo-real here. I’ll show you how to use brush shapes and textures to get that loose, impressionistic vibe, especially for the mountain and grass. - Using blur to push depth and softness
Perspective blur adds a nice dreamy effect in the foreground, I’ll guide you through a few smudging tricks too to blend skies and soften shapes. - Layering textures to build detail
We experiment with different brushes (yes, including some “flower” brushes that totally work as grass) to create texture in the rocks, field, and cabin. - Finishing touches that add atmosphere
Little things like a vignette, lighting layers, and a bit of noise go a long way in making the whole piece feel more polished and moody.
Deer in a Forest
In this cozy little tutorial, we’re creating a whimsical fall forest with a sweet stylized deer tucked right in the spotlight. This isn’t about getting everything perfect, it’s all about relaxing, playing with color and texture, and just having fun with your brushes. We start with a loose sketch to set the mood, layer in colorful tree shapes, add some playful patterns, and then bring in our little deer to complete the scene. It’s a gentle, creative process, so no pressure, just enjoy painting something a little magical.
Brushes used:
- Basic Sketcher
- Gatsby
- Lily
- Sanderling
- Soft Brush
Canvas Size:
- 2300 x 3000 pixels
Key Skills Learned:
- Sketching a loose and playful composition
Start off with a light sketch, trees, bushes, and a little deer. Keep it loose and fun, no need for precision here. - Building soft, stylized tree shapes with color harmony
Layer trees from back to front using gentle, matching colors that flow nicely together. Each tree gets its own space and vibe. - Adding textures with clipping masks and hand-drawn patterns
Use light hatching, dots, leafy shapes and lines to give each tree its own personality. It’s all about those small, simple details. - Painting tree trunks and softly fading them into snow
Draw simple, natural trunks and fade the bottoms with the soft brush to make it feel like they’re gently sitting in snow. - Bringing the deer to life with just a few shapes and accents
Keep the deer nice and simple, add soft shadows, a little eye, some dots on the back, and you’re done! Super sweet and easy.
Castle in the Hills
In this cheerful and beginner-friendly Procreate tutorial, you’ll be creating a colorful, whimsical scene of a castle tucked into rolling hills. No drawing experience needed. I’ll guide you step by step. You’ll start with some cozy hill shapes, layer them up for depth, and then build your own fun little castle with playful towers and quirky rooftops. You’ll be adding fluffy clouds, bright flowers, dreamy textures, and a winding path to complete the scene. It’ll be relaxed, messy, and full of charm, and by the end, you’ll have a piece you’ll be proud of!
Brushes used:
- Oberon
- Salamanca
- Jagged
- Niko Rull
- Inker
Canvas Size:
- 3500 x 3000 pixels
Skills Learned:
- Layering with Clipping Masks and Alpha Lock
Use clipping masks and alpha lock to seamlessly apply texture and shading to specific areas without disrupting your base shapes. - Stylized Hill and Background Building
Craft expressive, overlapping hills using different brush sizes, opacities, and hues to build depth and create a playful, stylized look. - Creating a Custom Fantasy Castle
Design a layered castle with towers, roofs, and walls using the selection tool and color fill, adding personality with imperfect lines and wonky shapes. - Texture and Detail with Multiple Brushes
Add life to your artwork using textured brushes like Niko Rull and Jagged to build detail on plants, rocks, paths, and architecture. - Foreground Depth with Flowers and Foliage
Enhance the scene with large foreground flowers, custom stems, and layered plants using expressive strokes and color variation to build visual depth.
Paper Boat
In this cozy realism project, we’re painting a little paper boat floating on the water. We start with a loose sketch, then slowly build up the water using layers of shapes, colors, and textures until it feels believable. No need for a pre-made palette, we’ll pick colors as we go and just have fun experimenting. But of course you can also download the color palette I created along the way.
Brushes used:
- Basic Sketcher
- Soft Brush
- Base Painter
- StandardBlender
- Flo Darka
- Flow Lighta
- Darken Line
- Lighten Line
- Overlay Brush
- Multiply Brush
- Studio Pen
- Soft Light Brush
Canvas Size:
- 2300 x 3000 pixels
Key Skills Learned:
- Building a base sketch: Start with loose lines to find the angles and shapes before refining.
- Layering water textures: Stack darker and lighter strokes to create ripples and depth.
- Blending and blurring for realism: Use smudge, Gaussian blur, and bloom to soften and add atmosphere.
- Crisp-edged object painting: Lock alpha and work with precise brushes for neat, clean boat edges.
- Creating reflections and ripples: Combine multiply layers and light strokes for believable water movement.
Blue House
Today we’re keeping it simple and super fun, we’re painting a sweet little blue house with fluffy clouds, fresh greenery, and all those tiny details that make it feel alive. We’ll start with a nice symmetrical sketch, use a bit of perspective magic for the fences, and then bring it all together with soft shadows, crisp highlights, and lots of playful texture.
Brushes used:
- Basic Sketcher
- Soft Brush
- Studio Pen
- Adjusted Soft Airbrush
- Aurora Brush
- Soft Rounded Mossy Grass Brush
- Dry Ink Brush
Canvas Size:
- 2300 x 3000 pixels
Key Skills Learned:
- Making symmetry and perspective work for you: use the symmetry guide for a perfectly balanced sketch and the perspective guide to nail those fences and tiles so everything sits just right in the scene.
- Laying down flat colors in neat layers: build the sky, house, roof, plants, and details each on their own layer so it’s easy to tweak colors or fix shapes later.
- Bringing surfaces to life with texture: from the soft, fluffy feel of clouds to the grain in wooden fences and stairs, different brushes add personality to each part of the illustration.
- Adding depth with shadows that feel natural: multiply layers and a soft brush help you place gentle shadows in just the right spots to give the house a cozy, three-dimensional look.
- Using light and reflections to add charm: soft highlights on the windows, little glints on the door, and sun-kissed edges on bushes make the whole piece pop.
Bear with Coffee
In this cozy little painting session, we’re creating something super cute, super chill, a sleepy bear on a tree stump, sipping on coffee (or tea, or cocoa, totally up to you), all wrapped in a calm, foresty vibe. It’s loose, painterly, and just really fun to do. We start with a soft sketch, build up those lovely background layers, and then slowly bring our bear and the world around him to life, one gentle brushstroke at a time. Nothing too precise, just relaxing and going with the flow.
Brushes used:
- Basic Sketcher
- Jagged
- Wet Acrylic
- Dry Mixer
- Tapered
- Impressionistic
- Soft Brush
Canvas Size:
- 2300 x 3000 pixels
Key Skills Learned:
- Sketching a peaceful scene with simple shapes
We start loose and light, a bean shape here, a soft circle there, just enough to map things out without overthinking it. - Layering painterly textures for atmosphere
Using big, soft strokes and playing with color gives us that dreamy, almost storybook forest look. - Using color to create calm and depth
We mix warm tones and soft shadows to gently lead the eye, with no harsh lines or loud spots, it’s all about the mood. - Adding soft texture and detail with purpose
Fur, bark, foliage, it’s all about little touches that keep things feeling fluffy, natural, and handmade. - Framing your subject to guide the viewer
We gently surround our bear with leaves, bushes, and soft shadows to keep him cozy and right at the heart of the scene.
Lemonade
Let’s dive into a summery realism piece, painting a juicy glass of lemonade (or maybe orangeade?)! We’ll focus on expression and brush character. This isn’t about pixel-perfect photo realism but more about creating a believable still life with painterly energy. The whole thing is built up from a rough sketch to detailed lighting and textures, layering in color, adjusting shadows, and letting the process breathe and evolve.
Brushes used:
- Basic Sketcher
- Flotastic Brush
- Overlay Brush
- Flo Darka
- Flo Lighta
- Darken Line
- Lighten Line
- Multiply Brush
Canvas Size:
- 2000 x 3000 pixels
Key Skills Learned:
- Creating expressive sketches from reference
Start loose with angular shapes and negative space awareness to define forms before refining. - Layering painterly textures with intentional brushwork
Using textured brushes to build depth while preserving a lively, expressive aesthetic. - Managing color and lighting for realistic glass and fruit
Careful use of lighting and reflection, including overlays and transparency, creates convincing form without over-polishing. - Combining structured process with spontaneous experimentation
Balancing process (alpha lock, layer building, selection tools) with creative detours for color and brush exploration. - Enhancing realism with subtle detailing techniques
Final passes with custom brushes add tactile texture, contrast, and visual interest without flattening the image.
Seaside Shop – Part 1
In this first part of our seaside shop project, we’re laying the groundwork — literally. We’re starting with perspective, getting that sketch in place, and then moving on to line art. It’s a big one, so I’ve split it in two. Take your time with this part, enjoy it, and don’t stress about getting everything perfect. Once we’ve got this base done, the next part will be all about color, texture, and bringing the whole scene to life. For now, just follow along and have fun with it!
Brushes used:
- Basic Sketcher
- Flotastic Inker
Canvas Size:
- 3000 x 2000 pixels
Key Skills Learned:
- Setting up a clean two-point perspective
We place vanishing points off-canvas and use the grid to guide all our structural lines, everything from windows to countertops stays in perfect perspective. - Switching Drawing Assist on and off naturally
You’ll see when it makes sense to draw with assist on and when to switch it off for more organic shapes like clouds, plants, or rocks. - Adding personality with everyday objects
We sketch tons of little shop details: jars, bottles, benches, even a parasol to make the whole scene feel cozy and full of life. - Inking with character, not perfection
Using the Flotastic Inker, we go over our sketch with lines that have a bit of wobble, because that hand-drawn charm makes all the difference.
Realistic Macarons
In this sweet and beginner-friendly Procreate project, we dive into the tasty world of painting macarons. Whether you’re just starting out or brushing up your skills, this tutorial takes you step-by-step through the process—from rough sketching to adding lifelike texture and lighting. It’s all about building confidence with repeatable steps and having fun while painting something deliciously realistic. Grab your iPad and stylus—let’s paint some macarons that practically pop off the canvas!
Brushes used:
- Basic Sketcher
- Soft Brush
- Studio Pen
- Basic Flo Brush
- Dark and Light Shader
- Flo Darka Brush
- Flo Lighta Brush
- Lighten Line Brush
- Darken Line Brush
- Overlay Brush
- Standard Blender
Canvas Size:
- 2300 x 3000 pixels
Key Skills Learned:
- Building perspective and structure using rough sketching
Start with a simple sketch to block out macaron shapes and positions, using negative space to ensure proportion and balance. - Creating clean base shapes with crisp edges
Use the Studio Pen to outline and fill in macaron shapes, choosing base colors that will serve as a foundation for future shading and adjustments. - Applying realistic shading with clipping masks and alpha lock
Use the dark/light shader and Flo brushes to simulate natural lighting, adding dimension with subtle highlights and shadows. - Adding texture using custom detail brushes
Utilize the Flotastic set’s textured brushes to mimic the bumpy, airy surface of macarons, enhancing realism through varied brush strokes and pressure. - Blurring and softening with Gaussian blur and smudge tool
Refine focus by softening background macarons and shadows, creating depth and keeping the main subject sharp and engaging.