Procreate Blending Guide for Digital Artists

Written by Daisie Team

Published on 10 July 2023 7 min read

As a digital artist, the Procreate app is a game-changer. It's like having a portable art studio right in your pocket. But if you're new to Procreate or looking to up your game, the vast array of tools and features can seem overwhelming. The secret to mastering this digital art powerhouse is understanding its blending modes. With a firm grasp on Procreate blending modes, you can create seamless gradients, realistic textures, and stunningly lifelike illustrations.

1. Get to Know Procreate

Before diving into the specifics of Procreate blending modes, let's begin by familiarizing ourselves with the basics of Procreate. We'll explore the interface, look at the basic tools and features, and learn how to set up your canvas for optimal art creation.

Exploring the Interface

Procreate's interface is user-friendly but packed with features. Here's what you need to know:

Gallery View: This is where you'll find all your artwork. You can organize your work into stacks (like folders) for easy access.
Canvas View: Once you select a piece from the Gallery, you'll be in the Canvas View. This is your workspace.
Toolbar: Located at the top of the screen, the Toolbar houses options like brush selection, eraser, layers, and more.
Slider Controls: These are your brush size and opacity sliders, found on the left of the screen.

Basic Tools and Features

Procreate offers a plethora of tools and features to bring your artistic vision to life. Here are a few key ones:

Brush Library: Procreate boasts a wide range of brushes. Each brush has its unique characteristics and can be customized further.
Smudge Tool: This tool is great for blending colors on your canvas. It works like a traditional finger smudge, but with more control.
Eraser Tool: The eraser tool lets you remove parts of your artwork. You can even use it with any brush style!
Layers: Layers let you work on different parts of your artwork separately. It's like having multiple see-through canvases stacked on top of each other.

Setting Up Your Canvas

Setting up your canvas correctly in Procreate is important. Here's how:

Create a new canvas: Tap the "+" button in the Gallery View. You can choose from preset sizes or create a custom size.
Choose DPI: DPI stands for Dots Per Inch. A higher DPI will give you a higher resolution, but it'll also take up more space.
Color Profile: Choose between RGB (for digital work) and CMYK (for print work).

Now that you're familiar with Procreate's basic interface and tools, let's move on to the main event: Procreate blending modes.

2. Brushes and Blending Tools

With the basics covered, let's delve deeper into the world of Procreate brushes and blending tools. These are the core of your digital artistry. They can help you achieve different textures, depth, and effects.

Choosing the Right Brush

Choosing the right brush can be the difference between a good piece of art and a great one. Procreate has a wide range of brushes, each with its own characteristics. Here are a few tips:

For sketching: Sketching brushes like "6B Pencil" and "Technical Pencil" are great for outlines and preliminary sketches. They mimic the feel of traditional pencils.
For painting: Brushes like "Round Brush" and "Flat Brush" are perfect for painting. They give you a smooth, flowing stroke.
For textures: Want to create a grassy field or a rough stone wall? Texture brushes like "Stucco" and "Grain" can help you achieve that.

Using Procreate Blending Tools

Blending is a crucial skill in digital art. It gives your artwork a smooth transition between colors, making it look more natural and realistic. Here's how to use Procreate's blending tools:

Smudge Tool: The Smudge Tool in Procreate works like your finger in traditional art. You can smudge colors together to create smooth transitions.
Adjustment Tab: Under the Adjustment tab, you'll find the Gaussian Blur option. This allows you to blur and blend colors together over a larger area.
Opacity: By adjusting the opacity of your brush, you can blend colors together. The lower the opacity, the more transparent the color, allowing for subtle blending.

Customizing Your Brushes

One of the best features of Procreate is the ability to customize your brushes. This allows you to create unique brushes that suit your style. Here's how:

Shape and Grain: You can change the shape and grain of your brush. This affects how the brush interacts with the canvas.
Dynamics: This section lets you adjust things like opacity, size, and stroke taper. You can make your brush behave exactly how you want it to.
Blending Modes: You can change your brush's blending mode. This determines how the color of your brush interacts with the colors already on your canvas.

Now that you're a pro at Procreate brushes and blending tools, we can move on to blending techniques. This will take your artwork to the next level!

3. Blending Techniques

Now that you're familiar with the blending tools in Procreate, it's time to put them to work. Let's explore some popular blending techniques that are sure to elevate your digital art skills.

Layer Blending

Layer blending is a strategy often used to manage the complexity of a piece. Each layer can have its own blending mode, which affects how it interacts with the layers below it. Here are some examples:

Normal: This is the default blending mode. It doesn't blend colors, it just lays them on top of each other.
Multiply: This mode darkens colors by multiplying the color information of each layer.
Screen: The opposite of Multiply, Screen lightens colors, creating a sort of "projected" effect.

Wet Blending

Wet blending is a technique that mimics the way traditional paints blend when they're still wet on the canvas. In Procreate, this can be achieved with the Smudge tool. Here's a simple way to do it:

Paint two colors side by side on the canvas.
Choose the Smudge tool and select a soft brush.
Gently drag the Smudge tool back and forth where the two colors meet.

With practice, you'll be able to create smooth, seamless transitions between colors.

Dry Blending

Dry blending is another technique that replicates traditional art methods. It's similar to wet blending, but instead of blending colors while they're wet, you're blending them after they've dried. Here's how:

Paint two colors side by side, but this time, let them dry (or in Procreate's case, make sure they're on separate layers).
Choose a textured brush and lower its opacity. This will prevent the colors from overpowering each other.
Gently brush over the area where the two colors meet. The textures will interact, creating a blended effect.

These techniques, when mastered, can greatly enhance the realism and depth of your Procreate artwork. But remember, practice makes perfect!

4. Practice Blending

Learning about Procreate blending modes is one thing, but applying them is another. Let's put that knowledge into action with some hands-on practice.

Creating Gradients

Gradients are a great way to practice blending. Here's a simple way to create a gradient:

Choose two colors you want to blend.
Paint a thick line of the first color on your canvas.
Next to it, paint a thick line of the second color.
Use the Smudge tool to blend where the two colors meet, creating a smooth transition.

Try this with different color combinations and see what beautiful gradients you can create!

Painting Clouds

Clouds are a perfect subject for practicing blending techniques. Here's how:

Start by painting a blue sky. Use the Layer Blending mode to add a new layer on top of the sky.
On the new layer, paint fluffy white shapes for the clouds.
Use the Smudge tool to gently blend the edges of the clouds, giving them a soft, airy look.

Remember, clouds come in all shapes and sizes, so don't worry about making them perfect!

Mixing Colors

Understanding how colors blend together is crucial when working with Procreate blending modes. Try this exercise to improve your color mixing skills:

Choose two colors and paint them side by-side.
Use the Smudge tool to blend them together in the middle.
Observe the new color that's created. Does it match what you expected?

Repeat this exercise with different color combinations to get a feel for how colors blend in Procreate.

5. Tips and Tricks

Now that you're getting the hang of Procreate blending modes, let's dive into some tips and tricks to help you work more efficiently and creatively.

Using Layers Effectively

Layers are your best friend in Procreate. Here's why:

They allow you to work on different parts of your artwork separately.
You can change the blending mode for each layer, opening up a whole new world of effects.
You can hide, duplicate, or delete layers at any time without affecting the rest of your work.

So don't be afraid to use layers — they're here to make your life easier!

Saving Your Work

There's nothing worse than losing all your hard work. Make sure to save your work regularly. Here's how:

Tap the Actions menu (the wrench icon).
Select Share.
Choose where you want to save your work. You can save it to your device, email it to yourself, or upload it to cloud storage.

Remember, it's always better to be safe than sorry!

Staying Organized

Keeping your work organized is key to being productive. Here are some tips:

Use descriptive names for your layers. It's much easier to find "Sky" than "Layer 7".
Group related layers together. For example, you might group all the layers for a character's clothes together.
Delete unused layers. If you're not going to use it, get rid of it to keep your workspace clean.

Staying organized can seem like a chore, but trust me, your future self will thank you!

If you're looking to expand your digital art skills beyond blending in Procreate, be sure to check out the workshop 'Animating with Procreate and Photoshop' by Nyanza. This workshop will teach you how to bring your artwork to life by combining the power of Procreate and Photoshop to create stunning animations.