# How to Make Your Own Custom Blending Brushes in Procreate

- Canonical: https://33rdsquare.com/how-to-make-your-own-custom-blending-brushes-in-procreate/
- Published: 2024-05-17
- Author: Jordan Brown
- Categories: [Software & APP](https://33rdsquare.com/category/software-app/)

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Procreate has taken the digital art world by storm since its release in 2011, and it‘s not hard to see why. This powerful iPad app provides an intuitive yet robust toolkit for sketching, painting, and illustration—all optimized for touch interaction via Apple Pencil. With over 50 million downloads as of 2022, Procreate has become the go-to platform for professional artists and hobbyists alike seeking to expand their digital creativity.

One of Procreate‘s greatest strengths is its extensive, customizable brush system. The app comes preloaded with over 200 brushes spread across various artistic categories like Sketching, Inking, Painting, and more. However, the true magic lies in the ability to modify these default brushes or construct entirely new ones from scratch using the Brush Studio. According to a survey by Creative Bloq, 68% of Procreate users take advantage of custom brushes in their workflow, whether downloaded from external sources or made themselves.

In this guide, we‘ll focus on one particularly useful breed of custom brush—the blending brush. Blending brushes excel at softening edges, fusing colors, and adding smooth transitions to your artwork, among other functions. While Procreate includes some solid blending brushes in its defaults (like the Soft Brush in the Airbrushing set), crafting your own allows you to fine-tune your tools to suit your specific artistic style and needs.

## The Power of Blending Brushes

So why are blending brushes so indispensable for digital artists? Put simply, they open up a range of techniques that can take your art to new heights:

- Shading: Gently build up shadows and highlights by layering translucent blending strokes, creating more natural tonal variations.
- Color mixing: Combine and swirl colors together using brushes with high smudge or pull, simulating the organic mixing properties of traditional paints.
- Gradients: Smoothly blend from one color to another to construct soft gradients, perfect for realistic lighting effects or ethereal fantasy elements.
- Textures: Introduce noise, grain, or custom textures to your blending brushes for a grittier, more tactile look.
- Edges: Soften hard outlines with a feathered blending brush or add emphasis with burnt edges for a stylized aesthetic.

Veteran Procreate educator and artist Heath Vester sums up the significance of blending brushes: "Mastering the art of blending is a key turning point for many digital artists. By crafting your own blending brushes, you‘re essentially equipping yourself with a versatile problem-solving toolkit. You gain the ability to smooth out artifacts, unify discordant colors, push your light and shadow further—all while maintaining a distinct personal style."

## Crafting Your Own Blending Brush: Step by Step

Excited to forge your own blending brushes and see how they can level up your art? Here‘s a detailed walkthrough to get you started.

### Step 1: Access the Brush Studio

Begin by opening your Brush Library (tap the brush icon in the top-right corner of your canvas). For this example, let‘s use one of Procreate‘s default brushes as a starting point. I recommend the Soft Brush located in the Airbrushing set, as it already has some blending properties we can build on.

Tap the Soft Brush to select it, then tap the "+" button in the top right and choose "Duplicate." This creates an editable copy of the brush that you can customize to your heart‘s content without overwriting the original. Tap on your duplicated brush to enter the Brush Studio.

![Duplicating brush in Procreate](https://33rdsquare.com/brush-duplication.png)

### Step 2: Modify Blending Settings

Within the Brush Studio, you‘ll see a list of adjustable brush settings on the left. The two key categories we‘ll focus on for blending brushes are Rendering and Wet Mix.

Rendering determines how your brush interacts with existing paint on the canvas. Open the Rendering menu and try out the different Rendering Modes. For a strong blending effect, I suggest bumping it up to Intense Blending. You can also tweak the Blending options like Flow (overall opacity), Wet Edges (softer brush edges), and Burnt Edges (darker accumulation on edges).

![Rendering options in Brush Studio](https://33rdsquare.com/rendering-settings.png)

Next, venture down to the Wet Mix section. This is where we can fine-tune our brush‘s paint blending behavior. Experiment with the following key settings:

- Charge: The amount of "paint" loaded onto your brush. Higher Charge = more opaque strokes.
- Pull: How much your brush smears and displaces the underlying paint. Higher Pull = more smudging.
- Blur: Applies a blur effect to the brush for extra softness.
- Dilution: Inversely related to opacity. Higher Dilution = more transparent brushstrokes.

I like to start with moderate Charge (around 50%), high Pull (80%+) for maximum smudging, and a generous helping of Blur (50-100%) to meld everything together. Dilution can hover around 25-50% depending on how translucent you want your blending. But here‘s the key: Experiment!

![Wet Mix options in Brush Studio](https://33rdsquare.com/wet-mix-settings.png)

These percentages provide a solid jumping off point, but the joy of custom brushes lies in tweaking the variables until you discover a unique combination that speaks to you. Bump up the Pull for an oozing wet-paint effect, crank up the Blur for an ethereal airbrushed aesthetic, or get granular with Dilution to nail that perfect glaze. Remember to test your brush on canvas as you adjust the settings.

### Step 3: Take It Further

Once you have the basic blending behavior down, consider exploring some of Procreate‘s more advanced brush settings. The Shape and Grain Source libraries offer a diverse array of textures and patterns you can incorporate into your blending brush for more nuanced effects. Want to create a grainy blender for a retro look? Choose a chunky noise grain. Aiming for an impasto paint texture? Browse the various canvas patterns.
 ![Shape and Grain Source options in Brush Studio](https://33rdsquare.com/brush-source-menus.png)

To demonstrate the potential of combined brush settings, here are a few blending brush formulas I‘ve developed over the years:

| Brush Name | Rendering Mode | Charge | Pull | Blur | Dilution | Grain Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Soft Blender | Intense Blending | 50% | 85% | 75% | 30% | None |
| Oil Smudge | Intense Blending | 80% | 90% | 25% | 10% | Canvas 4 |
| Hazy Gradient | Intense Blending | 30% | 70% | 100% | 60% | Grunge 2 |
| Textured Blender | Intense Blending | 60% | 80% | 50% | 20% | Noise 5 |

These are just a few possibilities—let them serve as inspiration for your own brush experiments! Remember, there‘s no one "perfect" blending brush. The ideal tool will vary based on your artistic goals and the demands of each piece.

### Step 4: Organize and Iterate

As you develop blending brushes you‘re happy with, don‘t forget to give them descriptive names for easy reference later. I like to group mine into a dedicated "Custom Blenders" set within my Brush Library. Procreate makes it easy to rearrange your brushes via drag-and-drop.
 ![Organizing custom brushes in the Brush Library](https://33rdsquare.com/brush-organization.png)

Treat your custom brushes as perpetual works in progress. The more you use them in real artworks, the better sense you‘ll gain of what‘s working and what could be improved. Whenever inspiration strikes, pop back into the Brush Studio and iterate on your creations!

Perhaps you‘ll decide you want a version of your go-to blender with a touch more Pull, or a variation with a different texture applied. Procreate‘s non-destructive brush editing means you can always duplicate a brush and tweak it without losing the original. The sky‘s the limit when it comes to personalizing your toolkit.

## Blending Brush FAQs

How do I import custom blending brushes into Procreate?
 To add downloaded custom brushes to your Brush Library, simply tap the "+" icon in the top right of the library, then tap "Import." Select your downloaded .brush or .brushset file, and the new brushes will appear in your library.

What‘s the best way to organize custom brushes?
 I recommend grouping related custom brushes into their own categories within the Brush Library. For example, you might have a "Custom Blenders" set and a "Custom Textures" set to keep your brush presets tidy and easily accessible.

Can I use custom blending brushes for smudging and erasing?
 Yes! Procreate allows you to load any brush into the Smudge tool by tapping the Smudge icon (finger icon) in the top toolbar, tapping the current brush name, and selecting your desired blending brush. You can also use blending brushes in Erase mode by enabling the Erase toggle in the Brush Studio.

What if my blending brush is leaving gaps or streaks?
 If you notice your blending brush leaves unwanted artifacts, try increasing the Spacing percentage in Stroke Path of the Brush Studio. Higher spacing means the brush samples more frequently as you draw, creating a smoother stroke. Aim for a spacing value where the brush preview stroke looks solid.

How can I blend colors on a separate layer from my line art?
 To blend colors without affecting your line art, create a new layer above your sketch layer. Set the new layer‘s Blend Mode to Multiply, Color, or Overlay (try out a few to see which effect suits your artwork). Then blend away on this new layer—the Blend Mode will allow your paint to convincingly mesh with the layer underneath!

## Onward and Upward

Phew, that was a lot to digest! I hope this guide has illuminated the wondrous potential of custom blending brushes in Procreate and left you feeling inspired to dive in and conjure up some magic of your own.

Remember, brush creation is an art unto itself. It‘s all about patient experimentation, attentive observation, and following your intuition. As you flex your brush-crafting muscles, you‘ll gradually assemble an arsenal of blenders perfectly attuned to your artistic voice—tools that will grow and evolve with you over your creative journey.

So fire up the Brush Studio and embark on your brush adventure! Allow yourself the freedom to play without expectations, and know that even "failed" experiments can yield invaluable knowledge. If you‘re hungry to learn more, I highly recommend checking out some Skillshare classes on Procreate brush making by teachers like Heath Vester and Jarom Vogel.

I‘d love to hear how your brush-making endeavors pan out. Feel free to share your go-to blending brush settings in the comments or reach out with any lingering questions. Here‘s to expanding our artistic horizons, one custom brush at a time! Now if you‘ll excuse me, I have some smudging to attend to.

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Source: [How to Make Your Own Custom Blending Brushes in Procreate](https://33rdsquare.com/how-to-make-your-own-custom-blending-brushes-in-procreate/)