One of the most powerful tools for digital artists, Procreate, is known for being one of the most profound, innovative, and intuitive illustration apps available to iPad (and iPhone) users today. While Procreate makes the process easier, if you truly want to achieve expert-level work, you must take the time necessary to truly hone your craft. Check out the following free Procreate tutorials to help you make the most of the app and create stunning digital artwork.
iPad Painting Tutorial
Created by James Juliar, this helpful tutorial shows how to create snow landscape art in Procreate. Using majorly airbrush (per his personal preference) this masterful artist shows you firsthand how to draw amazing snow landscape art, with the help of a few custom colors that can be used to create the perfect palette.
Every Day Drawing
On another note, Bardot Brush offers a wide variety of tutorials meant to help you learn every day drawing techniques. Although it is only approximately 20 minutes long, this tutorial contains an immense amount of information. Tune in to learn the following techniques:
Another way to create an array of eye-catching digital paintings and graphics, learning 3D lettering can be as fun as it is useful. Created by Chelsea Ekberg, you will learn quite a bit of useful information about lettering, all in this short 14-minute tutorial. See the process from sketch to completion first-hand, then try to make some letters of your own!
In the tutorial above, Chelsea is using "My Favorite Illustration Brushes" — a pack that's also available here:
Simply put, masking is a technique that allows you to cover up or mask certain areas of your painting. In this brilliant tutorial, Brad Colbow will show you how to make your artwork pop with the use of masks on the Procreate app. Learn how to create interesting texture in your lettered pieces in order to take your artwork to the next level with this fun, 12-minute tutorial.
10 Procreate Tips for Beginners
No matter how well-versed you may be in using Procreate, there is always room for improvement. This 13-minute tutorial offers 10 tips to help you learn the proper way to utilize this app while minimizing the time it takes to use it and maximizing efficiency. Created by Alice Thorpe, this tutorial will help you to be more productive with Procreate.
Procreate's 10 Best Features
Another brilliant piece from the brilliant, Brad Colbow, this 7-minute tutorial teaches you how to do things such as:
How to use Procreate's paint bucket feature
How to extend the length of time it takes for the eyedropper to appear
How to use brushes to make clean gradients
How to draw straight lines and lines at 90 of 45 degrees
Change video export quality
iPad Lettering: Masking in Procreate
Another tutorial that delves into the art of masking, this video shows you how to use masking to create vibrant pictures and drawings of all kinds. Created by Teela Cuningham, this tutorial helps users how to experiment and create intricate drawings with lots of texture and design, without having to worry about starting over if you make a mistake.
Teela also owns a Creative Market shop called Every Tuesday, where she sells unique fonts, textures, and patterns with a hand-drawn feel:
For even more help learning to navigate the Procreate app, this tutorial is an excellent option. This 2-part tutorial is just under 30-minutes long and offers users guidance on using the app for layering, mirroring, brushes, photo overlays, and much more. Created by Art and Design, this tutorial is great for those who are just getting started on those who simply want to polish their skill sets.
Procreate Tutorial: New Tools Explored
Created by Tatiana Svistunova, this tutorial shows users how to use the new features to draw characters and use Procreate more efficiently. The tutorial is broken down to the following steps.
Sketching an idea
Adding solid lines
Introducing local color
Setting up a wet mix
Adding light and shadows
Considering Anatomy
Adding patterns to the clothing
Moving on to the ravens
Making use of references
Adjusting curves
Developing background depth
Rendering the tree
Finishing the lighting
Adding final details
Painted Calligraphy
A slightly antiquated artsy form of writing that seems to have made a comeback in recent years, calligraphy is essentially decorative handwriting/ lettering that is used to make things appear fancier and more personable. Painted calligraphy is no different. A great way to make messages, invitations, etc. appear more fancy and heartfelt, learning to do painted calligraphy with Procreate can help open up a whole new realm of possibilities for you artistically. To use Procreate to learn painted calligraphy, simply complete the following steps in the Tutorial created by Dawn Nicole:
Step 1- Download the custom color palette (Optional).
Step 2- Open new canvas on Procreate.
Step 3- Tap on freshly drawn layer and click "Alpha Lock" to color the letter.
Step 4- Use the paintbrush, smudge tool, and Splatter 2 stamp in order to add some extra pizzazz to your painting.
Overall, Procreate is a profound tool for artists of all kinds. By taking the time to watch these tutorials you will be well on your way to mastering this powerful app.
No designer is an island. Regardless of how much you like or dislike to follow trends, the world of graphic design is continuously influenced by advertising, marketing, architecture, popular culture, and technology patterns. Because our role is to communicate brand messages in all kinds of industries, their evolving ideas about aesthetics and visual appeal end up infusing our work. No designer wants their work to be perceived as derivative, but staying on top of the key themes driving our industry is the only way to be truly intentional about where and how much our compositions depart from certain patterns.
Whether we intend to defy the norm or follow the market's leanings, it's in our best interest to monitor the changes, advances, and paradigm shifts around us. Throughout this article, I'll introduce some of the most compelling graphic design trends we expect to see more of in 2020, the ideas behind them, and some inspiring examples.
1. Brutalist Defiance
Classic design training involves learning about grid systems, well-spaced layouts, and type hierarchy. Over time, we assimilate the should bes of graphic composition and eventually internalize them to a point where they become part of our process. However, there's a sense of artistic freedom that comes from breaking the rules, and that's exactly what 2019 was all about. Defying the grid, placing text in unstructured ways, experimenting with spacing, applying high contrast color palettes, and embracing chaos are all signs of a movement towards the unexpected. Mailchimp's Year in Review for 2019 is this modern version of Brutalism in full display:
Brutalism originally emerged in the world of architecture, but has made its way into the field of graphic design via the same aesthetic principles originally applied to buildings: rawness, simplicity, and boldness. The Nielsen Norman Group highlighted its appearance in late 2017 and the style has since attracted many more designers. If you'd like to learn more, we published an in-depth trend report about Brutalism here. For some good examples of the trend, check out Brutalist Websites.
2. Environmental Awareness
Many in the creative industry coincide in describing 2019 as a year of rebellion. Consumers around the world questioned the impact of certain materials and processes on the environment, urging brands to redesign their products. To help market these new eco-conscious options, designers explored sustainable packaging and cause branding like never before. Plastic is being rejected in favor of biodegradable materials like paper, which opens endless opportunities for typographers, pattern designers, and illustrators.
Carlsberg is currently working to make a 100% bio-based, polymer-free bottle for its beer.
Brands like Sprout are going one step further, creating functional bio-packaging that you can actually "plant"
In response to this elevated environmental awareness, the market has also developed certifications to signal brands' commitment. These badges, symbols, and related packaging elements wimll become even more important in 2020. We've seen many ready-to-use templates on Creative Market designed exclusively for that purpose:
Pantone recognized this renewed sense of awareness in the fashion industry with a palette called "Eclectic Folk". The earthy hues are inspired by natural dyes and are meant to remind us about the origins of the fabrics, materials, and labor involved in the items we buy.
3. Cultivating Wellness
Wellness, mental health, self-care: 2020 is all about seeking a slower, more balanced life. The implications for designers are widespread. Everything from colors to textures to layouts will reflect the ideal of inner peace. Themes like tea, yoga, apothecaries, and essential oils will continue to inspire print and web design in response to this global trend. The balance we aspire to within ourselves will also reflect in the compositions we create, resulting in a preference for minimalism and lighter typefaces.
A 2019 study on wellness branding showed that American and Finnish consumers use self-care practices as a way to express who they are, what they value, and ultimately "brand" themselves a certain way. As this behavior becomes more generalized, we should expect to see more products and services that offer this type of life balance. Because consumers want to communicate their identity through these items, graphic designers will be challenged with innovative ways to brand, package, and communicate the wellness promise.
Partners&Spade's work for Welly is a stellar example of how ample white space and a clear type hierarchy can reinforce the ideas of wellness and balance.
As online communication and project management tools evolve, more and more companies will go remote. In doing so, they'll continue to enable the digital nomad lifestyle, a rising trend in the last few years that is going nowhere in 2020. Graphic designers are working from wherever inspiration strikes, reflecting the geographical, human, and aesthetic diversity that they're exposed to. Exotic locations, global flavors, rich historical references: expect to see interesting pieces infused with designers' experiences around the world. Here are some motifs and themes we'll see even more of in 2020:
Andy J. Miller captures this style well with the illustrations he created for YouTube's Contributor Program. He brings together hand-drawn strokes, dry brush finishes, and solid shapes.
The explosion of Procreate has also made it easier to add layers of texture and various artistic brushes to otherwise flat compositions.
A clear example of this trend is the Tumblr aesthetic, a resurgence of 90s grunge motifs that are reminiscent of the internet's early days. Think simpler system fonts paired with vintage photography and pixelated graphics. If you're interested in seeing more examples, we've covered both the Eclectic Collage and Tumblr styles extensively on the blog.
Design can contribute to a more diverse sense of representation and help expand our understanding of the things that make us different. These possibilities are particularly interesting in fields like photography and illustration, which continuously shape the mirror with which we look at ourselves.
In this video, Airbnb's Jennifer Hom explains her inclusive approach to product illustrations at AIGA's 2019 Design Conference.
You can also read more about how she incorporates diversity of age, race, disability, religion, orientation, and gender in her work here. Like Jennifer, designers all around the world are recognizing their role in defeating visual paradigms and creating fresh symbols that better represent just how diverse we are. Creative Market shop owners have created entire illustration sets that portray this more inclusive take on character design:
The last couple of years have been all about embracing imperfection as a natural consequence of being human. Unique flaws, physical differences, and even tech errors are all part of our experience. The desire for more realistic visuals is a reaction, at least in part, to the overwhelming amount of fakeness we've been exposed to in the last couple of years. Design elements like grit, grain, rough edges, and glitch effects can help convey the genuine, imperfect look that is resonating so strongly with consumers.
Rejecting unattainable levels of perfection and staying as close as possible to unedited realities are both strong characteristics of this trend. In social media and other marketing channels, brands are leaving behind excessive skin retouching and sticking, if any, to minimal presets/actions that highlight what is naturally present in the composition.
When it comes to stock photography, customers are looking for non-generic, unique scenes that convey authenticity.
What happens when you launch a font design tool that makes the process accessible to virtually all? That's how tools like Fontself are changing the game for those that are eager to learn about type design, polish their craft, and create their own typefaces, but don't necessarily have hundreds of dollars to spare on software. By removing an important barrier to entry, players like Fontself are opening a world of possibilities for typography. Emerging foundries and independent designers are expressing their point of view like never before, and there's an explosion of new typefaces inspired by references that we hadn't necessarily seen. Because the plugin works directly within Illustrator and Photoshop, detailed display and color fonts are having a moment.
The Fontself team recently launched a book called Typocracy to celebrate some of the most creative fonts built using their tool. You can download it as a free PDF here.
Aside from tools like these, aspiring type designers now have access to a growing library of online resources to learn about this fascinating art and science. Sites like Skillshare offer courses that walk you through a specific designer's method, lifting the veil on a process that hasn't always been this open.
9. Hello 70s
The 1970s are back with their curvy serifs and earthy, sunbaked color palettes. The decade was iconic for a number of reasons, but designers are specifically pulling from its free, casual spirit to add a touch of lightheartedness to their projects. Even typefaces like Windsor, traditionally seen as part of the "Ugly American" vernacular, are being revived in crisp, elegant versions that are perfect for branding projects. Pentagram did just that in their recent rebrand of Fisher-Price:
Designer Nathan Holthus displays some of his latest type work, which exudes a distinctively 70s style
There's a slightly different style within this trend that is more minimalistic and restrained in nature. Let's not forget that the 70s were also an interesting time for typography and editorial design. Back then, Letraset sheets were popular among professional and amateur graphic designers, architects and artists, enabling them to create layouts at a time when desktop publishing wasn't widely available yet. Therefore, the 1970s references we're seeing now carry an element of graphic design nostalgia. Sometimes, in the midst of so much digital saturation, we long for a time when certain things were more hands-on.
You'll find tightly gridded serif or extended sans serif typefaces against understated, monochrome backgrounds. Compositions are intentionally classic, pared-down, and type-centric. There's an air of retro sophistication that works incredibly well for industries like fashion, beauty, hospitality, and consulting. To define their own style within this trend, many designers are finding references in magazines, type catalogs, or stationery from the 70s.
10. Cyberpunk Dystopia
Think ultralight geometric elements, moody color palettes, neon letters, 3D objects, mesh gradients, duotone compositions, futuristic typefaces, and street lights. Cyberpunk, a cultural movement originally popular in the 60s and 70s, has certainly made a comeback. You could call this trend a manifestation of the larger 1970s resurgence we just described, since Cyberpunk originated from the New Wave science fiction movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Authors back then wanted to portray a society that struggled to keep up with technological and cultural change, dreaming up dystopian plots in cyberspace settings.
The challenges brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution we live in might have triggered Cyberpunk's comeback. Like many characters in New Wave science fiction, we face constant social turmoil in the midst of blended virtual/analog realities where everything is in constant flux. Expect to see more Cyberpunk elements in graphic design this year, since there's a distinctively dark, electronic feel to this style that works well for music, sports, art, and entertainment brands.
What do you expect to see more of in 2020?
As designers, our creative process doesn't happen in a vacuum. It is our responsibility to pay close attention to the cultural shifts and market signals impacting our work. Where and how much they shape it is up to us, but lack of awareness is not an option.
