While I love drawing with a pencil and paper, being able to draw on Procreate is much easier to do if you want to publish at the end. It’s so simple, from drawing to publishing. You might think, “what’s easier than using paper and pencils?” Well, it’s a bit more difficult to trace and copy photographs without buying fancy drafting paper. When we learn a new skill-like cooking-we rarely attempt to create something from scratch. The same thing goes for drawing in Procreate. Too many Procreate tutorials try to get you to look at a blank page and tell you to draw while looking at their video. It’s not easy staring at a blank canvas, wondering what you should draw. The best way to learn at first is by copying or tracing in our case. We’ll also create hand-drawn text by tracing over something we typed out in Procreate. But mainly, I use this technique for my writing because it is difficult to draw ideas from brain to paper.
If I need to draw a hand in Procreate, I’ll take a picture of myself and trace them in my style. Most Procreate tutorials highlight digital illustration ideas based on the artwork of other artists. Instead of replicating an existing drawing, come up with an idea for a drawing using words or ideas. There’s nothing more personal than our name. I recommend starting with one letter because it’s large enough to allow you to appreciate the character of your typeface. First, we’ll type out our names or initials using the text tool. Then pick a font that looks fun to trace. Setting the opacity back gives us the ability to see what we’re drawing over. On a third layer, add color or fill in with one of the Procreate brushes under the outline layer you created before.
From idea to composition: building your frame
Sometimes the best Procreate ideas come from the things you love the most. I start by taking copious notes. I recently read the book, Hello my name is Awesome, and I had to write about it. It’s a book on naming, and so I decided to take a literal approach and use the keyword “Name.” But instead of just drawing out the word in Procreate, I thought about the refrigerator magnets you might find and how you can create any word or sentence with those magnets. There are moments when you buy an item, and you either love it or hate it. I wrote a satirical review recently about an expensive Lomi Compost bucket, and all I did was take a picture of it on my counter and took another image of some strawberries to add to the image. The best images come from the unexpected collision of ideas. Non-obvious ideas with a twist. You don’t get here by drawing still life fruits on a table. But what if you combined a picture of a watermelon sliced open with the insides filled with the water of a swimming pool?
Start with a search of your favorite food. Or your favorite animal. Or your favorite plant. The point is, find something you love and start there. Search Google images and pick two images to work their way into a single composition. This part requires a little bit of imagination. But you’ll want to create a basic composition by scaling, cropping, or rotating your images in a way that gets you 80% of the way there. On a new layer, start by outlining your composition with a pencil or pen, by directly tracing over your own image. Use one of the Procreate brushes and pick a color to add to your new layer.
Working with text and typography on Procreate
Start by drawing out and exploring the letters of your name. Play with your initials, your signature, and get everything on the page. You know the saying, “If you’re getting something for free, you’re the product.” In other words, we’re being bombarded by cultural ads every single day, demanding our attention. If you’re not careful, you’ll drown in information. But, instead of drowning, you can draw your way out of it by creating. Use the cultural moments as an opportunity to take images and icons to transform your ideas into art. Look around you, and you’ll notice what is demanding our attention. Save these images, quotes, story ideas, and bring them into Procreate.
Being able to create original artwork can set your writing or posts apart from everyone else. But most importantly, being excited about what you can create on a daily basis is how you stick to it for the long haul. If you’re ready to dive deeper, check out my complete 10-step guide to learning how to draw in Procreate, or learn what makes things easy to draw on Procreate. Because of that, there are so many tutorials out there that it can be hard to navigate. We've featured Procreate tutorials for lettering, illustration, animation, and more.
Practical learning: beginner-friendly routes and resources
Ready to learn? If you're new to Procreate, it can be helpful to read the handbook. But let's be honest, there's a lot packed in there. Since Procreate is such a powerful tool, there are a number of brushes and digital downloads for the program. We've collaborated with artists from around the globe to create exclusive brush sets for you to use for free. Feeling overwhelmed? These tutorials are perfect for artists just getting started with Procreate. Watch this video to get you up to speed with all the basic tools and functions of the Procreate app. You might be surprised by all that the app can do, but don't worry. The videos are perfectly paced for beginners to follow along.
The Procreate channel shares videos highlighting the creative community that loves and uses the app. Adding coloring to your work can be a difficult part of the creative process. This video explains one way of creating the perfect color palette in Procreate. The Symmetry Guide in Procreate can give you beautifully mirrored strokes that can help fill out your composition. In this tutorial, you'll follow artist Aurelie Maron step by step to learn the different features of the Symmetry Guide in Procreate. Then, she demonstrates how symmetry can be used to create lettering and illustrations.
Want to animate your lettering but aren't sure what effect to use? Demonstrated with a short word, you'll be able to follow along as you learn about using Onion Skins, Animation Assist, and more. You’ll learn five different options for animating your work using the Animation Assist feature. With this tool, you can create your own GIFs and bring your work to life in new ways. Each technique has its own level of difficulty, giving you something to work towards as you grow more confident in the app. By the end, you'll be able to export a looping GIF that you can use on social media!
- Learn how to draw a stylized cartoon from a photo.
- Learn how to import and combine text and images.
- Learn how to create hand-lettering compositions.
- Learn how to transform lighting in three ways.
Authored tutorials feature many creators who share processes for shading, lighting, and adding texture. For example, you can learn to draw a flower using clipping masks and blend modes, or practice neon lettering effects with bloom and glow. The aim is to move from simple shapes to richer, more dimensional art by layering, masking, and blending.
Idea prompts: a broad list to kickstart projects
Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned, you can start with mandalas, monstera leaves, citrus fruits, hand lettering, animals, and seamless patterns. If you’re stuck, floral motifs, cityscapes at night, underwater scenes, and portraits with dramatic lighting offer reliable routes to engaging art. You can also experiment with surreally combined elements, like a ground-level composition featuring a watermelon filled with water or a painting of a fantasy creature in a real-world setting. Use the provided list as a living reference to generate fresh ideas every time you open Procreate.
Remember, the journey of art is about self-expression, growth, and finding joy in the process. So grab your Procreate and let your creativity flow!