My favorite Procreate brushes (for 6 years)
Which Procreate Brushes should you choose? Here are my favorite after 6 years of being a digital artist.
When you're first getting started with Procreate, it can feel overwhelming in terms of what brush you should be using. Should I use gouache? Should I use a line brush? Should I use spray paint? It's a lot to think about when you're still trying to figure things out. I hope to use this guide to help you navigate and easily digest the best six types of brushes to use.
6 brushes you’ll rely on:
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Sketching brush
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Hard render brush
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Soft render brush
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Linework brush
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Texture brush
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Watermark brush
The six types of brushes you want to use are a hard render brush, a soft render brush, a line brush, a texture brush, a watermark brush, and a sketching brush. It doesn't matter if you end up using a specific brush from my brush pack or decide to make your own. What's most important is to simplify the amount of time and decisions you have to make to create your first art piece and every piece after that.
Let's get started. The first type of brush you want to use is a sketching brush. This is extremely helpful for putting down line marks and conceptualizing your initial sketches, putting together your creative brief. It's really just to lay the groundwork. Ideally, you want to use a brush that feels organic. I love using brushes like a ballpoint pen or a 6B pencil. These are great brushes.
The second type of brush is a hard brush. This is used to lay down larger colors and values of your piece to see if it can work. Once you've placed these strokes down, you can refine it further with a soft brush. A soft brush is where you have gradations, effects, and visual overlays. For this, I like to use either an airbrush or a gouache brush. For both hard and soft render brushes, it doesn't matter what type of brush you use as long as you can achieve the same goals.
Then, you have your linework brush. This is really to bring your sketch into more definition. I usually don’t delete my sketch layer because I feel it adds a layer of raw organic nature to the piece. You can also think of this linework brush as a way to further define and bring focus in your piece.
The next type of brush is a texture brush. Texture brushes bring life to a piece and take away from the flatness that a lot of digital art can sometimes feel like it has. They can add depth and dimension, making it a great technique overall. For texture brushes, I love to use materials like corduroy and linen. It's super fun.
The next type of brush is a watermark brush. You can follow the instructions on the screen in the video, and it's a great way to leave your mark. I've heard different opinions about whether you should or shouldn't leave your watermark, with some saying it taints the work and makes it less immersive. However, I find it never takes away from the piece. I've only had one person complain, and they never purchased an item; they simply commented and walked away. So, do what feels right for you.
If you're interested in using this brush kit yourself, you can find my brush pack here, or you can create your own kit using these six key types of Procreate brushes.
I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments of this blog. Did you find it helpful or interesting?