Step-by-step: From quick gesture drawings to colour portraits

1 When doing gesture studies it’s crucial to capture the model’s pose as quickly as possible. Make quick, broad marks by using the flat side of your pen (note that not all of Procreate’s brushes use the Tilt option) and then add a couple of thinner lines for detail.

2 When the poses last longer you can introduce more detail. You can still use the method mentioned before to draw the basic figure/portrait and then slowly add to it as you would with any other drawing. I like to use the Pencil brush for this, but that’s just a personal preference.

3 For creating a colour sketch I do a quick line drawing of the figure on a Multiply layer (click N in the Layer menu to change blending modes). I add a colour base underneath with a Soft brush and then lock it by swiping two fingers to the right on the layer.