I had just returned from walking our dog, Maggie, which happens three or four times each day. I unclipped her leash to let her run in the yard and noticed a stray leaf that needed to be picked up. As I bent down, a bee or wasp stung me on the face. I had a fat lip in seconds and calmly drove myself to the ER.
I drew this “BEE CALM” illustration later that day to remember to remain calm during emergencies. I used Procreate on my iPad Air with several stamp and texture brushes. A nice memory of a scary situation! By the way, I never found the insect responsible…
I completed a few watercolor tutorials by Every-Tuesday and got hooked. After the tutorials, I found a handful of inkers and watercolor brushes I liked and started drawing colorful fruits and vegetables. I found it engaging.
Now, the Watercolor Food for Thought series has 30+ images! You can enjoy some of these below.
Food for Thought Series | Selected Watercolor DrawingsFood for Thought Series | Selected Watercolor Drawings, Part 2
Since I live in the Southwest and like desert plants, I followed a series of tutorials to draw watercolor cacti. The resulting drawings were abstract and I wanted more realistic watercolor images. Working with photos–including some of my own–I created a series of cactus and succulent drawings.
Like any series, these cactus drawings have evolved–I learned a few tricks along the way to improve my drawings.
A high school friend who now lives in the Phoenix area paid me the highest compliment; she said that my rendering and color choices look like the scenes she sees every day.
Procreate is a Raster (pixel) drawing app with many features not found in other drawing apps available for the iPad.
In 2019, my “go-to” tools for making quick–and detailed–graphics and illustrations were Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop on my Macbook Pro. My setup included a Wacom drawing tablet, a wireless keyboard, and a large monitor. My iPad was a secondary tool, hardly part of my graphic design workflow. I dabbled in the different Illustrator and Photoshop apps for the iPad, but they seemed awkward.
Then I traded in my iPad for an iPad Air (3rd Generation) and bought an Apple Pencil. I kept hearing about an app called Procreate, designed for the original iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil. A blog I follow had lots of Procreate tutorials, so invested a small sum of ten dollars (!) and got started. Read on to learn the ins and outs of Procreate.
Pluses
You can choose from pre-installed drawing templates, or create your own.
You can use pressure sensitivity to change brush behavior and drawing stroke.
Layers! Depending upon the drawing size and resolution, you can have up to 40 or more layers.
Robust text capabilities and the ability to add typefaces.
Preinstalled color palettes.
You can create color palettes manually, from an image or a photo, or import palettes created by others.
You can export and save color palettes.
The shape tool creates “perfect” geometric shapes.
Drawing assist allows you to create straight lines, smooth curves, symmetrical illustrations, and more.
Create CMYK and RGB documents for print and Web, respectively
You can export to several file formats, such as PNG, JPEG, TIFF, layered PSD, and PDF.
You can edit and create Procreate brushes and brush sets.
Thousands of free and paid Procreate brush sets are available.
Procreate for iPad offers multiple layers, clipping masks, color palettes and brushes galore. Artists and graphic designers can create works in almost any style imaginable.
Minuses
As a Raster app, the drawing size and resolution must be set upfront, according to how you intend to use the illustration.
In the current version (5x), you can draw and edit arcs with three or four points, but not “S-curves.”
If you are a Typophile or often create illustrations with 20 or more layers, Procreate will crash periodically, even with decent iPad memory–but I have never lost a file!
There are so many Procreate brushes available, you may find it hard to limit the number you add; currently, you cannot tag brushes as “favorites.”
Cannot lock a color palette; I have accidentally changed color swatches many times.
Conclusion
Procreate offers many features not seen in competitors’ drawing apps. I recommend it as part of a graphic design workflow and use it almost daily. It is a true gem, and well worth the money.
