10 Procreate tips every aspiring illustrator should know

1.  Just draw!

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by a flood of thoughts, new information, tutorials, and so on. Which iPad is the best? Which brushes should I buy? Which guides should I follow? Stop worrying, and just start drawing! Start at the beginning with the basics; use pens, pencils, crayons, watercolour, plasticine, or whatever you want – have fun and don’t be afraid to experiment. Let the child in you run free. Your initial motivation should be having fun creating art that’s humorous and beautiful, or whatever else you want it to be.

2. Explore the brush library

We all have our own unique style – that’s what sets us apart! And when you’re trying to create a new design, the huge variety of brushes built into Procreate is fantastic for helping your ideas stand out from the crowd. And if that’s not enough, you can also easily import external brushes into Procreate to build up an even bigger library of tools. For added ease, brushes can be grouped, exported, duplicated, and edited to create new sets, while you can also use your own textures to create a unique brush.

3. Go from Simple to complex

Do you have a great idea but feel like something is holding you back? Building scenes from simple, linear bases into complex isometric projections with different perspectives and several vanishing points can be tricky. Don’t overcomplicate
it; choose the easiest method and try to create a message that grabs people not by how it’s built, but because of what it represents. Procreate is great when working with perspectives and other compositional factors, as you can use its grid or the Symmetry tool to guide you in the right direction.

4. Work your way up

Experience and technique will come with time. At the beginning, sketch a lot and add colour when you’re ready. Draw the outline of the shape with a hard brush and fill it first. Level up by using Procreate’s Clipping Mask to add texture and colour to shapes. Next, try filling an irregular shape or a jagged outline, but be careful not to bleed colour all over the page. Lower the fill and colour any imperfections manually.

5. Collect colours

Colour can be difficult to master, especially for things such as skin tone and backgrounds. Collecting custom Palettes can help with this, as they’ll allow you to pick from tried and tested colours, tones, and other elements. You can prepare sets for night-time or underwater scenes, as an example. And if you’re working on a project across multiple files, this is also great for consistency. Scan the QR code above for more.

6. Take criticism on board

What if people don’t like your art? At the beginning of my adventure with drawing, I read comments under my posts saying, “It looks creepy”, “the head is too big”, “I don’t like it”, and so on. It was frustrating and made me angry. But when I replied, I received clear answers and advice, which felt great. Not every comment is malicious – criticism is the best thing that can happen to you. Positive comments are a pat on the back but do little to develop us, and a lack of development is regression. There’s a grain of truth in every criticism, so take it on board and use it to continue growing as an artist.

7. Spark your imagination

It can feel like such a trivial question, but what should you draw next? If you’re struggling for ideas, use the hashtag #dtiys (draw this in your style) to find other people’s work to recreate, or take part in regular events such as Inktober, where you receive prompts. This will help stimulate your imagination to create ideas from a prompt before adding your own twist; you could add humour and emotion, or use a new art style. If you’re new to Procreate, these are also great ways to get to know the software without having to worry about what to draw.

8. Learning takes time

If you’re hoping to make a career out of your art, it can be frustrating not to receive any commissions early on. But try not to worry about it. Commissions aren’t the goal – you’re here to have fun and improve your skills. Draw several times a week and celebrate your successes. Even one finished drawing a week means 52 pieces in a year! And the more you draw, the more you improve over time. Art apps like Procreate have countless tools and functions, so take time to try them out and see what fits your workflow.

9. Quick tricks

A Use the Warp function to bend elements. Remember, this slightly reduces the quality, so it’s good to initially draw objects slightly larger than needed so they can then be reduced to the appropriate size after being warped.

B When you run out of layers, duplicate the project and merge the layers when you’re sure they won’t need any corrections.

C In Procreate, you can export a timelapse movie of your drawing process. This is a fun way to look back at how you work and share it with others.