I’ve noticed that when I sit down with my iPad to create art in Procreate, there are a group of go-to tools that I automatically navigate to without even thinking. They’ve become the “be all, end all” of my art process, I guess you would say.
Now, my go-to set of tools will likely be different from everyone else’s. So much of this depends on style, routine, technique, and so on and so forth. This is why art is wonderful and unique.
It’s also why I think it’s fun to hear about other’s go-to tools. Maybe there are tools I forgot about; maybe there’s a technique I need to brush up on; maybe it’s just awesome to see another artist’s process. Whatever the reason, I thought it would be fun to share some of my go-to Procreate tools.
I hope they inspire some great Procreate art on your end, or at least are fun to read about.
1. Sketching Pencils
I LOVE to make realistic portraits in Procreate, especially of animals. Given my style, I spend a lot of time using sketching pencils.
I have collected quite a few pencil brushes and absolutely love how realistic they are. Aside from the lack of graphite that ends up on my fingers, I would think they are real.
I talk a lot about my favorite sketching Procreate brushes in this article, that I definitely suggest checking out!
2. Airbrushes for Blending
I promise this whole list isn’t just about brushes! Despite all of the amazing brushes Procreate has to offer, I’m limiting myself to my two favorites – sketching pencils and airbrushes.
Once I’ve used my sketching brush to lay down my pigment, I set up the smudge tool with an airbrush so that I can blend my strokes.
The airbrushes are my absolute favorite brushes to use for blending. I personally tend to specifically use the soft blend brush for shading and blending, but the entire category of airbrushes has a lot to offer here.
I have a full guide on shading and blending in Procreate that’s worth checking out if you want to learn more!
3. Layer Duplication and Copy/Paste
While there are so many incredible things that digital art technology can do that I only dreamed of while using traditional materials, something that tops the list is the ability to make copies of things without having to redraw them manually.
A lot of times when I create big collections of flowers, I copy and paste the element or duplicate the layer. After that, I can redraw parts of the petals and leaves, adjust the positioning, and change the colors without having to start all over from scratch. I have a great base to work from.
This has improved both my efficiency and consistency SO much.
I have a full guide on copying and pasting in Procreate if you want to level up your copying and pasting game.
4. The Reference Image Box
Given that I do a lot of realistic portraits, I use reference images to make sure I’m getting the details right.
The neat thing about Procreate is that they make this easy to do without having to toggle back and forth between different windows. Or, print out the picture like the old days (can you imagine? Gasp!).
Within Procreate’s reference box, you can import a picture right from your camera roll. If you’re looking for other options, you can also show your current canvas or a picture of your face with your drawing on it (I haven’t personally found a great use case for that, but it’s fun. It does turn off your background layer though, which can be confusing once you exit out of it, so be aware of that).
Once you import a picture into the reference box, you can rotate it, zoom in and out of it, or even select colors from it with the eyedropper tool.
This is one of those features that doesn’t literally contribute to my art, yet is so fundamental to my art creation process that I don’t know what I would do without it!
I have a full guide on using Procreate’s reference photo feature that’s worth checking out if you want to make the most out of this feature!
5. Procreate Gestures
Ok ok, it might seem like I’m trying to cram a bunch of features into this last one by saying that one of my go-to features is the Procreate gestures menu as a whole. Maybe I am, but whatever! The Procreate gestures are amazing must haves for my art!
If you have yet to dive into everything the gestures have to offer, do it! Personally, they make my art process so much more efficient.
QuickShape, Eyedropper, zooming, merging, the list goes on and on.
What’s even better is that you can customize your gestures so that they work for you and your own art process.
Check out my in-depth guide on Procreate’s gestures and shortcuts to learn what they are and how to set them up.
There are so many reasons I love creating art with Procreate, which largely has to do with the go-to tools I just gushed over. But, what’s even better is knowing that so many artists would have completely different lists than mine. Creating art is such a unique, creative, and personal journey. I hope you enjoyed tagging along for part of my journey!
Diana has been an artist for over 27 years and has training in drawing, painting, digital drawing and graphic design. Diana’s latest obsession is digitally drawing with Procreate and Procreate Dreams. Diana has experience selling her art across a number of platforms and loves helping other artists learn how to make money from their art as well.