The Ultimate Guide to Watercolor Painting in Procreate
Watercolor painting is beloved for its soft, ethereal look, with translucent washes of color that blur and bleed into one another. It‘s a tricky medium to master, with the pigment sometimes seeming to have a mind of its own – but that‘s part of the magic.
While purists may argue that you can‘t replicate the look and feel of real watercolor painting digitally, I‘m here to show you that with the right brushes and techniques, you absolutely can achieve stunning watercolor effects in Procreate. In fact, digital watercolor painting offers some distinct advantages over the traditional medium.
In this guide, I‘ll walk you through everything you need to know to start creating beautiful watercolor art on your iPad in Procreate. You‘ll learn about the best brushes to use, essential techniques to try, and plenty of tips along the way. Let‘s dive in!
Why Paint Watercolor in Procreate?
Procreate is an incredible app for artists that allows you to create digital art that looks like it was made using traditional media. The brushes are highly customizable and can mimic everything from oils to gouache to pencils. And of course, watercolor.
While there‘s nothing quite like painting with real watercolor on paper, going digital offers some unique benefits:
- No drying time between layers
- The ability to undo mistakes or make changes
- Endless experimentation without wasting supplies
- Easy to share online or print your work
- Comes with a huge selection of brushes (plus thousands more you can install)
- Layers allow you to test things out or add details without disturbing underlying washes
If you‘re new to digital art, Procreate has a bit of a learning curve, but it‘s well worth the effort to learn this powerful tool. The Apple Pencil makes painting on the iPad feel surprisingly similar to traditional art.
Procreate‘s Built-In Watercolor Brushes
Procreate comes with a handful of default brushes that are great for watercolor painting:
Wash Brush – This does a pretty good job of mimicking a flat wash of watercolor. Use it with a large brush size to lay down base layers of color. Experiment with the wetness and opacity settings.
Splatter Brush – This one is great for adding texture and interest to your painting. Try playing with the size and scatter settings to get different effects.
Watercolor Brush – This brush has a nice irregular edge that closely mimics the look of painting with a round watercolor brush.
Wet Acrylic – If you want to create blooms and blends, this brush acts similarly to wet-on-wet watercolor techniques where the colors bleed into each other.
To find these brushes, open the Brushes panel and look under the "Water" and "Spraypaints" folders. Spend some time playing with each brush to see what it can do.
Customizing Brush Settings
The real power of Procreate‘s brushes lies in the ability to customize them to your liking. You can alter the brush size, opacity, wetness, mix, and many other dynamics.
For watercolor effects, pay special attention to:
- Opacity – Lowering the opacity will create more translucent, watery brushstrokes.
- Wetness – Controls how "wet" the paint looks. Higher wetness will lead to more color bleed and softer edges.
- Texture – Adding subtle paper textures to your brush can help mimic the look of painting on watercolor paper.
Don‘t be afraid to experiment with the settings to create your own unique watercolor brushes! You can always reset the brush if you don‘t like the changes you‘ve made.
Adding Watercolor Paper Texture
Watercolor paintings have a distinct look largely due to the textured paper the paint is applied to. The pigment settles into the "valleys" of the paper, creating a beautiful mottled effect.
To recreate this digitally, you can find images of blank watercolor paper textures online, or scan in your own. Bring the image onto your canvas and set that layer‘s Blend Mode to Multiply. Then paint on layers underneath. The texture of the paper will show through.
You can also use Procreate‘s built-in textures and apply them to individual layers. Browse through the options in the Textures menu to find ones that resemble watercolor paper. Experiment with the intensity and scale until you get a look you like.
Best Watercolor Brush Sets for Procreate
While Procreate‘s default brushes are a great starting point, to really up your digital watercolor game, I recommend investing in a high-quality brush set (or three). Here are my top picks:
Watercolor Lettering Brush Kit – By LynnHaven Designs
If you want to add beautiful watercolor lettering to your pieces, this is the brush set for you. It comes with 8 brushes for a variety of watercolor text effects. I love the dreamy pastel colors in the examples.
AquaReal – By Lisa Glanz
This comprehensive set has everything you need to create stunningly realistic watercolor paintings. With 32 brushes, 2 erasers, 50 paper textures, and even 3 pre-made color palettes, you‘ll be creating masterpieces in no time. Lisa also includes an in-depth user guide.
Master Watercolor Brushes – By Nathan Brown
If you want to dive deep into watercolor technique, this is the set for you. Nathan includes 75 minute of video tutorials along with his 27 brushes, so you can learn from a master. The brushes are divided into helpful categories like Hard Round, Soft Round, Washes, and Splatter to help you pick the right tool.
Essential Techniques for Watercolor Painting in Procreate
Watercolor rewards a light touch and embracing imperfections. Here are some key techniques to try:
Layering Washes
Start light and build up to darker colors with multiple transparent layers. Let each layer dry thoroughly before adding the next.
Wet-on-wet
While you can‘t replicate the real thing digitally, you can get close by working on a layer with a very high wetness setting, then quickly painting on another layer above it.
Hard vs. Soft Edges
Use a dry brush (low wetness setting) to create crisp, definite shapes. A wetter brush will give you soft, blurry edges.
Lifting
With real watercolor, you can lift out paint by re-wetting it and blotting with a paper towel. In Procreate, use the smudge tool set to "rub" mode to gently erase color. You can also use a Wet Eraser brush.
Negative Painting
This technique involves painting around a shape to define it, rather than painting the shape itself. So you might paint a dark background, leaving the white of the paper to show through as flower petals, for example. In Procreate, just use the eraser tool to "paint" your negative space.
Procreate Watercolor Tutorials
There are tons of great Procreate watercolor tutorials out there to help you practice your skills. Here are a few to check out:
- Watercolor Floral Wreath in Procreate by Liz Kohler Brown
- Realistic Watercolor Landscape in Procreate by James Julier
- How to Use Watercolor Brushes in Procreate by Bardot Brush
I also highly recommend the Digital Watercolor Techniques in Procreate class on Domestika. Instructor Ana Santos shares her process for creating vibrant watercolor illustration from start to finish.
FAQs About Watercolor in Procreate
Can Procreate watercolor be printed?
Yes, you can absolutely print your Procreate watercolors! For best results, use a high quality art paper. Experiment with different papers to see what you like best.
How do I blend colors in Procreate?
The smudge tool is your friend for blending colors. Use a textured brush at a low opacity for a natural blended look. You can also try painting on a layer with high "wetness" to allow the colors to mix organically.
Why does my Procreate watercolor look flat?
Make sure you‘re using layers of transparent color rather than opaque brushstrokes. Try lowering the opacity of your brush. It‘s also important to preserve the brightest highlights and darkest darks to maintain contrast.
Can I make splatter brushes in Procreate?
Yes, the new brush customization options in Procreate 5 make it easier than ever to create your own unique splatter brushes. Play with the scatter and randomization settings to mimic the chaotic nature of real paint splatters.
Digital Watercolor Inspiration
Still not convinced that digital watercolor can look as good as the real thing? Check out these incredible artists creating watercolor masterpieces in Procreate:
I hope this guide has given you the tools and inspiration you need to start creating your own beautiful watercolor art in Procreate! Remember, the key is to experiment, embrace imperfections, and most of all, have fun. Happy painting!