BRUSH SKILLS IN PROCREATE 5

See how Rafael Sarmento makes full use of Procreate 5’s new brush engine to create a scene bursting with narrative

With the release of its fifth version, Procreate places even more creative power in the hands of artists of all levels, from beginners to seasoned pros. Not only does it come with a range of new tools and a rebuilt engine that now runs faster than ever, there’s also a revamped brush system: the Brush Studio. This feature offers a collection of redesigned and new tools for modifying or creating your own brushes, which gives the artist even greater control over their mark making.

If you’re already familiar with my work, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of portrait art, which belong squarely in my comfort zone and is my sandbox for experimenting with new ideas. But I’m actually a huge fan of storytelling-driven imagery, too. The art of conveying a narrative within a single illustration is something that will never cease to fascinate me.

So for this workshop I’ll create a fantasy-esque image that will serve as a testing ground for the brush experiments that we’ll be doing, which actually fits pretty well with the way I visualise and execute my ideas. To be honest, since the entire process is totally intuition-based for me, I’ll try not to fill the workshop with (too much) verbiage and general chit-chat. So, let’s see where our illustration will take us. ipads at the ready… let’s go!

1 Launch the Brush Studio

This is the interface of Brush Studio – you just need to click the brush you’re using to open the configuration sliders, just like in the earlier versions of Procreate. Here, you’ll also find a “canvas” where you can test your selected brush, with real-time updates on the brush stroke’s structure. This is helpful if you’re new to what each slider does, or just want to have a play around.

2 Letting ideas flow

My creative process works as a balancing act between order and chaos, where I usually “listen” to what the image asks me, and discover all the subsequent problems that I’ll have to solve. When I say to people “follow the idea”, I mean follow your gut feeling, and allow the lines and shapes to dictate the next steps in an intuitive yet thoughtful way. So the sketching part is when I start letting the intuition flow.

3 Lay down the foundation

I like to use ink brushes for my layouts and sketches, since they afford me a little more spontaneity during the gestural portion of the sketching. This is when I scribble away, searching for the right shapes and poses I’m looking for. The brush I’m using here is the Max Incredibly Smooth Inker, which you’ll find as a free download with this issue’s collection of resources.

5 Shaping the shapes

Now that I have a basic composition to start working with, I grab a special brush: the Sarmento Sketchy. This was created for me by the illustration wizard and brushmancer Max Ulichney, the creator of the world-acclaimed Maxpacks brushes for Procreate. It has the “dent” I’m looking for to lay down the first coats of digital paint over the base colours from the previous step.

4 Let’s do some colouring

With the very loose first sketch laid down, it’s time for putting some basic colours to work. Using the Recolor feature, I can instantly fill the areas I want to colour, always adjusting the threshold so that it doesn’t leak (very much) over the gnarly lines. Sometimes colour leaks into other areas, which can lead to unexpected and fun results – and fun is what we’re looking for here, right?

6 Checking the values

Here’s where the fun begins. With all the elements (mostly) recognisable, it’s time to start messing around with the composition again. We want the viewer to have a clear reading of the image, so I check and adjust the value range of the elements. This is key for ensuring clarity in the narrative of the composition.

7 Shortcut to adding textures

To achieve certain effects I like to use external photos and textures when I need to get things done faster. One of the best places for finding copyright-free images is Unsplash (www.unsplash.com). It’s also a great source of inspiration. Because I have an idea of what I want the background to be like, I’ll use an image created by Paweł Czerwin´ ski, which I’ll modify accordingly to fit the composition.

8 Setting the mood using Snapseed

Although Procreate offers some amazing colour editing tools, sometimes I need to quickly produce certain looks that I can test with my colour palettes, to hopefully develop the right atmosphere and feel in my painting. Here, I’m using Snapseed, a speedy photo-editing app. It’s not a mainstay in my creative toolbox, but it’s there when I need to make quick adjustments.

9 Experimenting with layer modes

Because Snapseed enables you to save both your chosen “looks” and the order of effects you used to achieve them, you can quickly change the overall mood. After trying some iterations of colours over the image I generated in Snapseed, using layers properties such as Soft Light, Exclusion and Darker Color, I start experimenting with Procreate’s new built-in Salamanca and Styx brushes, adding textures and editing the artefacts to fit the context.

10 Rearranging elements in the composition

As I mentioned earlier, my painting process is largely guided by the problem-solving aspects that the image offers. I’m both the mark maker and editor, so here is when I begin to “destroy” and reconstruct certain parts, rearranging the visual context and editing the content. I want to create a better sense of balance in the composition, and push the illustration in the direction that I’m envisioning. I love doing this!

11 Boosting as sense of story

Now that everything is properly placed, I start rearranging objects to increase the hints of storytelling that I’m trying to convey. The new Splatter brush that comes with Procreate 5 is a great way of getting the water right, with the speckles and drips in the places exactly where I want them to be. Those creatures chilling on the water won’t get wet by themselves!

13 Refining the designs

Now I start polishing and adding specific details. Because I didn’t design the creatures before beginning the painting, I start consolidating some of the overall ideas that will complement their designs. I avoid overworking them because this will draw some attention away from the central figure. Instead, I do just enough to help the viewer’s eyes travel throughout the scene.

12 Bringing in a new light source

Here’s a great example of how inspiration can hit you randomly. I thought the image was going in an interesting direction, but something was lacking. Then I suddenly came up with the idea of adding saturated light to the scene, which would be worth the effort of having to balance the composition again. I use my Sketchy Sarmento brush to give the light a bit more weight.

14 Wrapping things up

During this final stage I generally use some lightly textured brushes to add a little grain to certain areas, such as the Max Grain Cloud brush on an Overlay layer. Everything else from here is just fine-tuning, and minor colour and contrasts tweaks. All I want from this whole experience is that you take these tips and make them yours! Thanks for your company on this short journey – it was fun!