If you're looking to take the next step and delve into the world of digital illustration, the Procreate app is the best tool to start with.
Procreate is the most downloaded app on the App Store and one of the highest-rated apps for digital design and illustration. It offers a variety of features that will help you unleash your artistic potential, whether you're a beginner or a professional in the art world.
In this post, we'll tell you how to draw in Procreate step by step , in a simple way, and give you some tips if you're new to this.
What is Procreate?
You have to start with the simplest, and that is knowing what Procreate is and what is behind this application.
Procreate is a digital art application, created by Savage Interactive in 2011.
Since its release, it has revolutionized the digital illustration app market and become the go-to application for anyone interested in digital art. This is thanks to its power, ease of use, and versatility. The interface is very intuitive, so after a short time exploring it, you'll find it very easy to use.
It is an application only available for iPad or iPad Pro, with which to create illustrations ranging from simple to very detailed.
How to draw in Procreate
In this post we'll see how to create drawings in Procreate step by step in a simple way , following these steps:
- How to create a new canvas
- How to change brush or eraser
- How to create a new layer
- first sketch
- Idea development
- starting to color
- Final touches, add shadows
How to create a new canvas
Creating a new canvas is the first step we need to know to get started in Procreate.
It's a very simple step, the first thing we must do is open the application on our iPad, select the file + in the upper right of our screen, then a window will appear in which we must select the canvas size we want to work with.
If we happen to want a custom canvas , of a size that the application does not offer, we can create our own.
Go to the Procreate canvas gallery and tap the + icon in the top right corner of your screen. After tapping this icon, a pop-up window will appear where you can select the option to customize the canvas size and enter your desired values.
How to change brush or eraser
Another very important basic point is how to change the brush or eraser. It's very easy to do, and there's a wide variety to choose from.
Once we have our canvas, we look for the brush tab located in the upper right corner. A menu opens, and we choose the brush option that best suits our needs.
How to create a new layer
Procreate, like other design programs, works through a layer system . These layers help keep your work organized, and by dividing it, it's easier to make changes, combine layers, or delete them.
To create different layers, we have to position ourselves on the canvas, tap on the layer file located in the upper right part of the screen, and select the + and Procreate will create a new layer level.
first sketch
The first thing we need to have is one of the ideas we want to bring to life in Procreate.
We position ourselves in front of our blank canvas, and tap the key icon in the top left, select the canvas option, and below enable the drawing guides option.
Let's start sketching, and for that we choose a grayish color, it doesn't matter what color you choose, we tap the brush icon and choose the sketch brush and the 6B pencil, and we start quickly drawing our idea.
Once we have the sketch of our illustration, we will refine and revise it to define the shapes.
Idea development
As we've said, once we have our sketched illustration, the next step is to define the shapes and the elements that make it up. To start adding details.
We will achieve these details by playing with the different brushes that Procreate offers, or those that we have downloaded, since with them we can play with volumes and textures.
starting to color
Once we have our drawing defined, the next step we have to follow is to color it , and it's not like in other design programs where you have to select the parts and color them, in Procreate you point to the color you want in the upper right part of the canvas, and drag it to the design and once you release the Apple Pencil or the finger with which you have dragged, the marked space will be filled with color.
It is very important that the area to be colored is well closed, otherwise, the color will cover the entire canvas.
Procreate, with its clipping mask, allows you to paint without going outside the boundaries; that is, you can clip one layer onto another, but you can only paint on the layer below and not on the other.
To create a clipping mask, first you have to create a new layer, a menu will be displayed, we will touch the clipping mask option and you have it. An arrow will appear on this layer pointing to the layer below. Once you start drawing, you will see only what is inside the bottom layer.
Final touches, add shadows
Source: Apple
Once we have our illustration finished, colored, and with the details we have given it, it is time to give it the final touches.
To avoid a flat illustration , we need to create volume , so we have to play with brushes and colors. If you have a shadow brush, perfect; otherwise, we'll explain how to easily create a shadow.
First, we need to know the area where we want to place that shadow. We select the brush and a color similar to the one used in the illustration . There are two options: either we take a very soft tone close to pastel, or we lower the opacity of the color and color the selected area until we create the perfect shadow.
Procreate is an application with multiple tools and options to help you when drawing. As we already know, it has a wide assortment of brushes, but there's always the option of downloading more brush varieties from websites or importing those from Adobe Photoshop if you're used to working with them.
We hope these basic steps for drawing in Procreate have helped you to start unleashing your imagination when drawing.