18 Amazing Free Ink Brush Sets for Procreate to Elevate Your Comic Art
If you‘re a digital artist or illustrator, chances are you‘ve fallen in love with Procreate. This powerful iPad app has taken the art world by storm thanks to its incredible versatility, professional-grade tools, and intuitive interface. One of the coolest features of Procreate is the ability to install custom brushes to expand your digital art arsenal.
While Procreate comes with a solid collection of default ink brushes, you can take your illustrations to the next level by adding unique ink brush sets created by talented artists around the world. Best of all, many of these brush sets are completely free!
As a comic artist and avid Procreate user myself, I‘m always on the hunt for awesome new ink brushes to add variety and style to my work. So I‘ve scoured the web to curate this list of the 18 best FREE comic and manga inking brush sets for Procreate. These brushes will help you achieve dynamic line work, authentic textures, and eye-catching special effects.
1. Daub Brushes – 12 Free Dip Pen & Ink Brushes by Frankentoon
This fantastic set by Frankentoon includes 12 brushes that realistically mimic traditional dip pens. You get a variety of line widths and textures, from thin scratchy lines to bold, inky strokes. There are also some cool blotty and splatter effects to add vintage charm to your comic pages.
2. Dry Ink Brush Set for Procreate by GenevieveFT
If you love the look of dry brush inking, you need this set by GenevieveFT in your collection. It has 8 brushes featuring rough, skippy lines that add tons of personality to your drawings. You can build up the line weight by varying your pressure. These are perfect for sketchy, expressive illustrations.
3. Manga Ink Brush Set by EveryTuesdayShop
To nail those classic manga and comic inking styles, grab this brush set from EveryTuesdayShop. With 10 brushes including various pen and brush nibs, you can ink smooth lines, taper your strokes, and even add subtle stippling shading. A must-have for aspiring manga artists!
4. Blackout Comic Ink Brush Set by TrentKaniuga
This set by professional comic artist Trent Kaniuga is a game-changer. You get 20 high-quality inking brushes designed to give you deep blacks and dramatic line variation just like a real brush pen. Includes a range of brush and nib styles plus some halftone and crosshatching brushes for classic comic book shading.
5. InkWash Asian Brush Set by GrutBrushes
Inspired by traditional Asian ink wash painting, this unique set from GrutBrushes contains 12 brushes that let you create flowing, inky lines and painterly textures. You‘ll get elegant lines, dry brush effects, and everything in between. Perfect for more illustrative comic styles.
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How to Install Custom Brushes in Procreate
Installing your new brush sets in Procreate is a piece of cake. Here‘s how:
- Download the .brushset file to your iPad
- Open Procreate and tap the Brush icon in the top right
- In the Brush Library, tap the + icon and select "Import"
- Locate and tap on the .brushset file you want to install
- The new brush set will appear at the top of your Brush Library, ready to use!
I recommend creating a separate folder in your Brush Library to organize all your custom ink brushes. To do this, tap the + icon, select "New Set", and give it a name like "Comic Inking". Then you can drag and drop the ink brush sets into this folder to keep them tidy.
Go Forth and Ink!
I hope this curated list of free ink brush sets for Procreate has inspired you to experiment and evolve your comic illustration style! Remember, custom brushes are a fantastic way to add unique flair and personality to your artwork.
Don‘t be afraid to mix and match different ink brushes, even within the same drawing. Use smooth brushes for clean contours, scratchy lines for texture and shading, splatter effects for dramatic emphasis, and so on. The more you play around with these brushes, the more you‘ll develop your own distinct inking style.
If you‘re new to digital inking, I highly recommend doing some practice drills to get a feel for each brush before using them in an actual illustration. Fill a canvas with lines, hatching, cross-hatching, and other mark-making to see what kinds of strokes you can get at different pressures and angles.
Most importantly, have fun and keep creating! With these free ink brush sets in your Procreate toolkit, you‘ll be producing awesome comic art in no time. Feel free to share your creations on social media and tag the generous brush makers to say thanks!
Do you have a favorite Procreate inking brush I didn‘t mention here? I‘d love to discover more, so drop your recommendations in the comments! Now if you‘ll excuse me, I‘ve got some serious doodling to do…