Procreate Lettering Mastery: Beginner Tips & Techniques

Written by Daisie Team

Published on 11 July 2023 8 min read

Mastering the art of procreate lettering—a digital form of calligraphy—can seem daunting at first, but with the right guidance and tips, you'll be creating beautiful pieces in no time. This blog has been specifically crafted to make your journey into procreate lettering as smooth as possible. Let's start with the basics, shall we?

Getting Started with Procreate

Procreate is a powerful tool for digital artists and letterers alike. Whether you're creating a logo or crafting a birthday card, understanding the fundamentals of Procreate can elevate your designs to a whole new level. Let's dive into the first steps in your procreate lettering journey.

Choose Your Tools

Just like a painter needs a good brush, your procreate lettering journey begins with picking the right tools. Procreate offers a plethora of brushes and pens specifically designed for lettering. Here are a few tips to get you started:

Start simple: Begin with a basic monoline brush. It's perfect for beginners and helps in understanding the basics of letter formation.
Explore: Don't be afraid to experiment with different brushes. The more you try, the more you'll figure out what works best for you.
Customize: You can adjust the settings of your brushes to suit your style. Play around with streamlining, opacity, and size to see how they change your strokes.

Setting Up Your Workspace

Procreate offers a customizable interface that you can tailor to your needs. Here's how you can set up your workspace for optimal procreate lettering:

Canvas size: Start by selecting a canvas size that suits your project. A good starting point is A4 size.
Toolbar: Familiarize yourself with the toolbar. It houses all the necessary tools—brushes, eraser, layers, and more. The more you use them, the quicker you'll navigate through your project.
Layers: Layers are your best friend in Procreate. They allow you to work on different elements of your design separately, making edits a lot easier.

Exploring the Interface

Understanding the Procreate interface is key to speeding up your workflow. Here are a few tips on getting to know the workspace:

Gesture control: Procreate is designed to be intuitive, and this is most evident in its gesture controls. Learning these shortcuts—such as pinching to zoom or swiping with three fingers to undo—can save you a lot of time.
Color palette: On the top right, you'll find the color palette. You can experiment with different colors here and even create your own custom palettes.
Adjustment menu: This menu offers a range of options to tweak your artwork. You can alter brightness, saturation, and even apply effects like Gaussian blur.

Starting with Procreate doesn't have to be overwhelming. With the right tools, a comfortable workspace, and understanding of the interface, you're well on your way to creating stunning procreate lettering. Next, we'll delve into some basic lettering techniques to elevate your work.

Basic Lettering Techniques

Now that you're familiar with the Procreate environment and have your tools ready, it's time to dive into the core of procreate lettering techniques. Like any art form, lettering has its own rules and principles. Let's get started.

Understanding Strokes

In procreate lettering, strokes form the backbone of your letters. They are the lines that create the shapes of your letters. Here's what you need to know:

Downstrokes: These are the lines you draw while moving your pen downwards. In lettering, downstrokes are typically thicker.
Upstrokes: These are the lines drawn while moving the pen upwards. Upstrokes are usually thinner, creating a beautiful contrast with downstrokes.
Oval and loop strokes: These strokes are used to form rounded letters like 'o' and 'b'. Practice these to ensure smooth and consistent curves.

Mastering Pressure

One of the key elements of procreate lettering is mastering pressure sensitivity. It's what gives your letters their unique thick and thin lines, adding depth and personality to your work. Here's how to master it:

Downstrokes: Apply more pressure when making downstrokes. This will give you a thicker line.
Upstrokes: Ease on the pressure when making upstrokes for a thinner line.
Practice: The key to mastering pressure is practice. It might take a while to get used to, but with time, you'll be able to control your strokes effortlessly.

Practicing Consistency

Consistency in your strokes and letters is what will make your procreate lettering look professional and polished. Here's how to achieve it:

Uniformity: Try to maintain consistent width of your strokes and similar size and shape for the same letters.
Spacing: Pay attention to the space between your letters and words. Consistent spacing can dramatically improve the readability of your work.
Guidelines: Use guidelines to help maintain consistency. Procreate has a built-in guide system that you can customize to your needs.

With the understanding of strokes, mastery of pressure, and practice of consistency, you're already laying a strong foundation for your procreate lettering skills. Next, we'll look at how you can improve your typeface and add some flair to your work.

Improving Your Typeface

By now, you've got the basics of procreate lettering down. But if you're wondering how to make your work stand out, the answer lies in improving your typeface. Let's dive into that.

Learn to Construct Letters

Each letter is a work of art in its own right. Understanding how to construct them can significantly improve your procreate lettering. Here's how:

Break it down: Letters are made up of basic shapes like circles, lines, and curves. Start by drawing these separately and then combine them to form letters.
Start with lower case: Lowercase letters are simpler and provide a good starting point. Once you’ve mastered these, move on to uppercase letters.
Study the letters: Pay attention to the parts of each letter. Notice where the strokes are thick or thin, where the loops are, and how the letters are shaped. This will help you replicate and eventually create your own.

Experiment with Different Styles

Part of the fun of procreate lettering is the ability to create a variety of styles. Here's a way to do this:

Try different fonts: From cursive to block letters, there's a world of fonts out there. Try them out and see which ones resonate with your personal style.
Vary your strokes: Change up your stroke width or try adding a slant. Small changes can make a big difference in style.
Add elements: Try adding serifs or extend the ends of your letters for a unique touch.

Understand Spacing and Layout

Good spacing and layout can make your procreate lettering easier to read and more visually appealing. Here's how to ace it:

Letter Spacing: The space between your letters can affect the readability of your work. Ensure it's not too cramped or too spaced out.
Word Spacing: Similar to letter spacing, the space between words should be sufficient to distinguish each word while maintaining a cohesive look.
Layout: How you arrange your words and lines can add visual interest. Try centering your text, or aligning it to the left or right for different effects.

With these tips, you're on your way to improving your typeface and creating more polished and unique procreate lettering. But the fun doesn't stop here — next, let's add some decorative flourishes and embellishments to your lettering!

Adding Flourishes and Embellishments

Once you've mastered the art of creating beautiful letters and words with procreate lettering, what's next? It's time to sprinkle some magic and add flourishes and embellishments to your work. Let's get started!

Learn Basic Flourishes

Flourishes can turn your procreate lettering from ordinary to extraordinary. They add elegance and sophistication to your work. Here are some tips to get started:

Start simple: Begin with basic swirls and loops. Practice these until you can do them with ease.
Add to letters: Try adding flourishes to your letters. The ends of words or letters with loops (like 'y', 'g', 'b', etc.) are great places to start.
Balance is key: Balance your flourishes so that they enhance your work rather than overpower it. Too many flourishes can be distracting.

Play with Decorative Elements

Decorative elements can add personality and fun to your procreate lettering. Here's how:

Add doodles: Simple doodles can add a playful touch to your work. Try adding stars, hearts, flowers, or other simple shapes.
Try borders: Borders can frame your work nicely. There are endless possibilities, from simple lines to more elaborate designs.
Use patterns: Patterns can fill empty spaces or be used as a background. Stripes, dots, or zigzags can create an interesting effect.

Use Colors to Enhance Your Lettering

Color can breathe life into your procreate lettering, adding depth, emotion, and mood. Here's how to use color effectively:

Choose a palette: Select a color palette that suits your design. Consider the emotions and associations each color can evoke.
Experiment with gradients: Gradients can add a sense of depth and dimension to your letters. Try using two or more colors for a vibrant effect.
Use color for emphasis: Color can be used to highlight important words or phrases. Remember, contrast is key when using color for emphasis.

With flourishes, embellishments, and color in your toolkit, your procreate lettering is on its way to becoming truly unique and beautiful. But, there's one more thing you need, and it's arguably the most important aspect — developing your own style.

Developing Your Own Style

While it's important to learn from others and practice procreate lettering techniques, the goal is to develop your own unique style. Your style is a reflection of your personality, your preferences, and your creativity. So, how do you develop it? Let's find out.

Experiment and Explore

The first step to finding your style is to experiment and explore different techniques, letter forms, colors, and decorative elements. Here are a few steps to guide you:

Try everything: Don't limit yourself. Try different lettering styles, tools, and techniques. You never know what might resonate with you.
Combine elements: Mix and match different elements to create something unique. For example, use a fancy lettering style with simple embellishments or vice versa.
Experiment with scale: Play with the size and proportion of your letters. Big, bold letters have a different impact than small, delicate ones.

Find Inspiration

Looking at the work of others can provide a wealth of inspiration. But remember, the goal is not to copy, but to learn and adapt. Here's how:

Look around: Inspiration can come from anywhere, not just other procreate lettering artists. Look at signs, posters, book covers, and even nature.
Learn from others: Study the work of artists you admire. Try to understand what makes their work stand out. What can you learn from them?
Adapt and modify: Take elements you like from different sources and blend them to create something uniquely yours.

Practice Makes Perfect

Developing your own style isn't something that happens overnight. It takes time, effort, and lots of practice. Here's how to make the most of your practice time:

Practice regularly: Consistency is key. Even a few minutes of practice every day can make a big difference over time.
Review your work: Take the time to look at your past work. What do you like? What do you want to improve? This helps you understand your style better.
Enjoy the process: Most importantly, enjoy the process. Don't rush to find your style. It will evolve naturally as you continue to learn and grow as an artist.

Developing your own procreate lettering style is a journey of self-expression and creativity. So, take your brush, let your imagination run wild, and start creating!

If you're eager to dive deeper into the world of Procreate lettering, don't miss the workshop 'Getting Started with Hand Lettering' by Shannon Layne. This workshop will provide you with beginner tips and techniques to help you master the art of hand lettering using Procreate.