How to Create a Custom Outline Brush in Procreate for Eye-Catching Lettering
If you love creating stylized lettering and typography in Procreate, making your own custom outline brush is a game-changer. An outline brush automatically adds a bold outline around your brush strokes, giving your lettering a cool bubble or cartoon effect. It‘s perfect for creating logos, headings, social media graphics, and more.
While you can find outline brush sets available for purchase (more on that later), I find that creating your own from scratch is really satisfying and gives you ultimate control over the look of your brush. Don‘t worry, the process is actually quite simple once you know the steps! I‘ve been using Procreate for my digital lettering business for over 3 years, and I‘m excited to share what I‘ve learned.
In this post, I‘ll walk you through exactly how to make an outline brush in Procreate, step-by-step. I‘ll explain what each of the brush settings means and how to customize them. I‘ll also share some of my favorite pre-made outline brush sets in case you want to expand your collection. Let‘s get started!
What is an Outline Brush?
An outline brush is a special type of Procreate brush that creates the appearance of a outline or border around your brush strokes. When you draw or write with it, it automatically generates two parallel lines – one for the main stroke, and a thicker one around the edges.
This dual line effect is super trendy for lettering, logos, and titles. It makes your words really pop out and grab attention, kind of like graffiti bubble letters. Creating this outline effect manually would be really tedious, so that‘s why a dedicated outline brush is so handy.
Here‘s an example of how an outline brush looks compared to a standard monoline brush:
[insert comparison image]Pretty cool, right? The outline gives it an extra dimension and visual interest. With different settings, you can make the outline thicker or thinner, more opaque or transparent, and more. The possibilities are endless!
Step-by-Step: How to Make an Outline Brush
Alright, let‘s dive into how to actually make this mythical outline brush! The secret is that you‘ll create two identical brushes, tweak a few settings, then combine them together with a Difference blend mode. I promise it‘s easier than it sounds.
I‘ll go through it step-by-step with screenshots so you can follow along. Feel free to pause whenever you need to!
Step 1: Create a New Brush
First, open your Brush Library by tapping the brush icon in the top-right corner. Tap the + button to create a new brush. This opens the Brush Studio where we‘ll adjust the settings.
[screenshot]Step 2: Adjust Stroke Path Settings
Under Stroke Path, drag the Spacing slider all the way to the left to set it to 1%. This ensures the brush streak is solid without any gaps.
[screenshot]Step 3: Adjust Taper Settings
Scroll down to Taper and set both the Pressure and Touch sliders to 0%. This maintains a consistent line width.
[screenshot]Step 4: Adjust Pressure Settings
Under Pressure, disable Size and Opacity by unchecking both boxes. We want the brush to look the same regardless of how hard you press.
[screenshot]Step 5: Duplicate and Combine Brushes
Now for the magic! Tap the Done button to exit the Brush Studio. Your new custom brush will appear in the Brush Library.
Swipe left on your brush and tap Duplicate to make an exact copy. You should have two identical brushes.
Select both brushes by swiping right on them until they are highlighted blue. Tap the Combine button at the top of the Brush Library. This will merge your two brushes into one.
[screenshot]Step 6: Adjust Outline Settings
Tap on your new combined brush to re-enter the Brush Studio. You‘ll see it has two shape sources now, one for each brush. They are labeled Primary and Secondary.
Tap the word Normal next to Secondary and change the Blend Mode to Difference. This tells Procreate to use the second brush as an outline.
Tap Secondary to edit its settings. Under Properties > Brush Behavior, increase the Max Size to around 58%. This controls the thickness of the outline. You can adjust it to your liking.
[screenshot]Step 7: Save and Use!
Tap Done to exit the Brush Studio. Your very own custom outline brush is now ready to use! It will appear in your Brush Library. To use it, simply select it and start lettering. Remember to pick a color from the Color Picker in the top-right corner.
Feel free to go back into the Brush Studio at any time to experiment with different settings, like the Pressure curve or Opacity. There‘s no rules here, so have fun and see what you can come up with!
Outline Brush Sets You Can Download
If you don‘t have the time or interest to create your own outline brushes from scratch, no worries. There are tons of talented Procreate brush makers who sell pre-made outline brush sets that you can import into the app. This is a great way to build up your brush collection quickly.
Here are a couple of my favorite outline brush sets available on Creative Market:
Outline Lettering Brush Set by Ian Barnard
This best-selling brush pack includes 12 outline brushes in different styles, from clean and modern to grungy and textured. It also comes with 12 bonus overlay textures to give your lettering a distressed look. Great for logos, quotes, and art prints.
[screenshot]Cartoon Comic Outline Procreate Brushes by Pixelbuddha
If you love old-school comic book lettering, this brush set is for you! It features 15 bold outline brushes inspired by classic superhero comics and pop art. Perfect for creating impactful social media content and stickers.
[screenshot]To use these brushes, simply purchase and download the .brush file, then import it into Procreate via the Brush Library. Easy peasy!
FAQs About Outline Brushes
Before we wrap up, I want to address some frequently asked questions about using and customizing outline brushes in Procreate:
How do I make the outline thicker or thinner?
To change the outline thickness, go into the Brush Studio and edit the Secondary shape source. Under Properties > Brush Behavior, adjust the Max Size slider. A higher percentage = thicker lines.
Can I fill the inside of the outline with color?
Yes! To fill your outline lettering, use the Color Drop tool. Drag a color from the Color Picker and drop it into the empty inside area of your outline.
Help! The edges of my outline look jagged.
Jagged outlines happen when there are too many anchor points. To fix this, try increasing the Streamline percentage under Stroke Path. This will smooth out your lines.
Is there a difference between Studio brushes and Pocket brushes?
Procreate Pocket is just a compact version of the app for iPhone, but the brush engine is exactly the same. Any custom brushes you make (or buy) will work seamlessly in both apps.
Go Forth and Letter!
And there you have it – everything you need to know about outline brushes in Procreate! I hope this post has demystified the process of making and using these fun, eye-catching brushes for your digital lettering.
Procreate is such a powerful tool for creating custom brushes, so I really encourage you to experiment with the settings and see what unique effects you can come up with. The more you customize, the more your lettering will stand out.
If you‘re excited to level up your Procreate lettering skills even more, I have an in-depth course called [course name] that covers everything from basics to advanced techniques. Check it out here: [link]
Now go forth and make some awesome outline lettering! If you have any questions or want to share your creations, connect with me on Instagram [@handle]. Happy lettering!