Digital watercolors can be tricky. If you’ve used watercolor brushes before, you know that lifting up your brush and coloring adjacent areas will result in an overlap of color. Hard edges will show very clearly, and that may not be the look you are going for. And if you paint over something in one stroke, you’re likely to go outside of the lines. In the end, you’ll spend a lot of time erasing. Today I’ll show you how I use the clipping mask in Procreate to make digital watercolors on my iPad a smooth process!
Set up and outline your composition
Draw out your image on a plain background in Procreate. First, make an outline around the entire image as shown below. I used white to paint over my image. I also turned my background layer off so it was easier to see what I was painting. More layers means more control: You can also fill in only certain parts of your drawing and place them on their own layer.
In my artwork below, I could put the pumpkins on their own layer, the cat on another layer, and the leaves on another. If you do happen to do it this way, you will have a lot more control over your coloring.
Clipping mask as a stencil for clean edges
Next, we’ll make a new layer above the white fill and create a clipping mask on top of this layer. A clipping mask ensures us that we are ONLY coloring in the white section. Even if we paint on the outside of the white, it will not show up. Think of the clipping mask as a stencil. Make sure you are painting on the clipping mask layer, and start painting!
For now, I’m going to focus on just getting the base colors down. Remember, do not lift your Apple Pencil or you will create overlaps! I only wanted to color the pumpkins in the picture, and as you can see, I did go out of the lines a bit. Continue painting with the rest of the base colors for the image. Once you finish the base colors, you can start shading!
Shading and adding ambient light
Set the new layer to Multiply Blend Mode - it’s my favorite way to add shadows to my pieces without having to pick another color. Did you know? You can also use Multiply Blend Mode to add ambient light to your pieces in Procreate. More on that here!
Texture and finishing touches
Since I’m mimicking watercolors, I decided to add a paper texture background to make it look more realistic. Here’s how the final piece turned out. I finished it off with some highlights and added a background around the character. Let me know if you have any questions about using watercolors!
Brushes and paper textures: a core kit from Procreate
Welcome to this exciting tutorial where you’ll uncover the power of Procreate Watercolor base brushes to create stunning watercolor-style paintings. With a focus on easily accessible resources and techniques, you’ll be able to master the art of digital painting without any expensive purchases. Using Procreate’s stock brushes, you’ll start with the crucial element - the paper texture. Learn how to acquire and utilize various textures like cold press watercolor paper to elevate the appearance of your masterpiece.
In this section, we will discuss how to create watercolor-style paintings using the base brushes that come with Procreate. First, let’s establish the paper texture. This is essential when trying to recreate traditional media in a digital format. Peppermint: Found under Sketching, it mimics a 2B pencil. Tinderbox: Found under Inking, it has texture and pressure sensitivity. Morilla: Found under Drawing, it has built-in texture and pressure sensitivity. With these standard Procreate brushes, you can start creating watercolor-style paintings without any additional purchase!
Remember to experiment, mix, and match these brushes to create your preferred watercolor effects. Enjoying digital watercolour with the stock brushes? In this section, we’ll discuss some techniques to recreate watercolor style paintings using the base brushes that come with Procreate. First and foremost, to emulate traditional media, you must start with the paper texture. You can find many free watercolor paper textures for Procreate on Pinterest, deviantART, or even scan your own watercolor paper.
Brush recommendations and practical steps
- For sketching, go to the sketching brushes tab in Procreate and choose the ‘peppermint’ brush.
- To add ink to your illustration, locate the inking brushes category in Procreate.
- For painting, go to the drawing category in Procreate and select the ‘Morilla’ brush. This brush has built-in texture and opacity variations that depend on the pressure applied with the stylus.
- After applying the base colors with the Morilla brush, transition to the painting category and select the ‘Tamar’ brush. Lastly, the ‘Gouache’ brush, found under the painting category, is excellent for smoothing and blending colors.
- To achieve a more realistic watercolor effect, adjust the blend mode settings for your layers. Start by adding a textured layer, such as watercolor paper, as the topmost layer. Change its blend mode to Multiply and adjust opacity as needed.
Now that you’re equipped with these techniques, you’re ready to create stunning watercolor style paintings using Procreate’s base brushes. To achieve a watercolor painting style in your digital artwork, a crucial step is incorporating paper texture. To start, add your chosen watercolor texture to your canvas. A popular choice is cold press watercolor paper. Once you place the texture on the canvas, change the layer blend mode to Multiply. Adjust opacity to soften the effect. Create your painting layers below the textured layer and experiment with brushes to achieve the desired watercolor look. Peppermint is a fantastic brush for sketching, Morilla for general colors, Tamar for shadows, and Gouache for smoothing and blending. Tinderbox adds a natural, textured edge, while Syrup provides crisp gel-pen-like highlights.
Flatness usually comes from painting everything on one layer at full opacity. Build your colour up gradually on separate layers, drop the opacity so washes feel translucent, and reach for blend modes like Multiply for shadows and Overlay for highlights. These techniques are written for the full Procreate app on iPad, since that's where you get the brush library, layers, and blend modes all working together. Procreate Pocket on iPhone has most of the same tools, so you can follow along, though the smaller screen makes detailed blending fiddlier. Procreate’s standard brushes will take you a long way, as this tutorial shows.
Practical workflow recap
Start your artwork by sketching your idea on a new canvas in Procreate. Add a new layer beneath your sketch for color. On your new layer, encircle your sketch with a solid color, creating a consistent base layer. Above your base layer, add another layer and set it as a clipping mask. Clipping masks are especially helpful for complex compositions, where maintaining clean edges and separate color areas is vital. To add depth, create a new layer for shading above your base color layer and apply a clipping mask. Refine your artwork with final details such as highlights, shadows, and any additional elements that add depth and interest.
Final notes and invitation
There you have it. Hope you liked this tutorial.
tags: #procreate #watercolor #tutorial