Loving the Variety of Art Tools in Procreate

"Rough Sketch" Cedar Park, 2019
“Rough Sketch” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

I’ve really been enjoying creating little bits of digital artwork on the iPad using Procreate. It’s a lot of fun trying out all the different brushes, and even creating my own versions. I definitely gravitate to the inks, but I usually start my sketches with the 6B pencil, then switch to a new layer to use the ink pens.

One really cool thing is that you can easily draw perfect circles in Procreate – after drawing the oval, just hold the pencil a bit longer, and the oval will reshape itself into a circle. This is so convenient for starting the basic shape of a face. I love it!

Right now, there are two subjects I am practicing with Procreate. One of the subjects is landscapes with watercolor effect, and the other is the stylized portraits, like tonight’s sketch. For this one, I went with a thick ink brush, in a loose style, then used the smudge tool to blend the edges a bit. I like how the hair turned out, and although the face is not as detailed as some of my other sketches, I liked trying a new thing. The big eyes and tiny mouth and nose makes a fun style!

I think I’ll keep this version, but duplicate it and work on it some more. Just another fun thing you can do when you work digitally. 😀

I hope you had a nice day!

またね〜

Drawing on the iPad with Procreate

"Digital Drawing in iPad" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec, ISO5000
“Digital Drawing in iPad” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

I couple days ago I bought an Apple iPad 9.7″. The reason I bought it is because I wanted a good drawing tablet with a screen, and to me, the 9.7″ iPad was the best combination of quality and price. I’m not a fan of Apple products (mainly their ecosystem and the awful iTunes application) but the lure of Apple pencil and Procreate was too much to resist.

I’ve had the iPad for a couple days, and I love drawing with it! Procreate is such a fun program to use. I ended up drawing late into the wee hours of the morning the first day I had it.

Compared to a traditional drawing tablet like my Wacom Art tablet, it’s so much more intuitive and fun. The pinch to zoom and rotate on the iPad is awesome! It makes sketching so easy and convenient. I’d say it’s a game-changer.

I’m still a newbie, but I wanted to share one of the “watercolors” I created. I imported a photo from my China vacation, then traced it by hand and colored it in. I’m pleased with how it turned out, especially for a first attempt.

Shibaozhai Pagoda
Shibaozhai Pagoda

One really cool feature of Procreate is the timelapse feature. It’s pretty neat how it’s always recording your brushstrokes. So fun to go back and watch! Check out the video below to see how I drew this little watercolor:

I’m so happy with Procreate and the Apple pencil. I find iOS to be decent, but the file system baffles me, and iTunes is still maddening. But if I use iPad for the intention I bought it for (sketching), I am more than satisfied. 😀

I hope you had a nice day!

またね~