Creating watercolour illustrations in Procreate has become easier and easier, thanks to the tonne of custom brushes available on the market today. The only issue is, what do you want to do with them? And how do you make them work the way you are used to for natural media???

Are you a traditional watercolour artist who loves to paint florals, or are you after a more cutting edge sort of a look? Or are you a digital artist who doesn't want to learn the traditional medium, but would love to create a classic watercolour look? Either way, I wanted to share that I have created visually appealing watercolour florals with a unique abstracted look, and I’d like to invite you to join me as we practice our digital illustration skills and complete a project together in Procreate. This project follows a variety of processes from start to finish until we end up with new “abstract floral” piece. At the end, I have a vivid design which can be used for large wall art pieces, tapestries, cel phone cases… even shower curtains and the like. I show you how! I even provide you with a few of my custom brushes so you can paint along with me. The final look is so awesome! Honestly, these abstract floral pieces look good on ANYTHING! Best of all, this art piece is authentically original using “hand-made” watercolours, and I walk you through the process of creating your own brushes too! You will have no trouble creating the variegated saturation inherent in watercolour work for your background. We even end up with authentic watercolor blooms!

What is a bloom, you ask? A bloom is a flow mark created when liquid is added to an already drying wash. These unpredictable textures are also known as blossoms, backruns, or even florets. These terms all refer to the same thing. They occur because water always seeks a state of equilibrium. An area of very wet paint will always flow towards an area of less wet paint. This takes some practice to do digitally, but I provide you with my originl DeloresArt brush called blenderrific! The set of 25 brushes I give you to fiddle around with includes this terrific brush.

These lessons in Procreate are the perfect place to build watercolour skills in an environment where you can work in an instinctive and intuitive manner. I give you advice on how to be sure to save files and go back to old versions in case you need to. If you have yearned for a daily practice of just creating art, this class is for you, whether you are a professional artist/illustrator or you just want to make art for fun. Check out my Pinterest board called Watercolour Inspirations for example work, and just imagine what you'll be able to create after completing this class. You don't need to know how to draw, or even have ever worked with watercolour paints before. All you need is an open mind, the willingness to learn and take risks, and the drive to have a tonne of fun!

The key concepts I will include:

review of my painting techniques and the production of floral abstracts
a look at Procreate brushes and their various idiosyncrasies
the creation of custom Procreate brushes
discovery and adventure of developing a new style
approaches you can take in your creative work

This is a great course for you to take no matter what the purpose for the art you create. Approach this course with an receptive mind, and you will create something dazzling, I am sure!

Intro to Create Watercolor Abstracts with Procreate

This short intro will give you an overview of the class. I will show you a few of the projects I created using the techniques I will teach you.

Lesson 1: Overview and Objectives for Class

In this lesson, I will show you the objectives for class and explain the merits of this technique. I walk you through the beginning of planning.

Lesson 2: Creating Watercolour Floral Brushes

In this lesson, I will break down the complete process of creating your own custom brushes. I show you everything from creating the source file, to importing it into Procreate, and finally, adjusting settings.

Lesson 3: Working with Brushes

In this lesson, I go through some of the methods I use to create interesting watercolor backgrounds in Procreate. I will explain the settings and sizing of the brushes. I will show you some of the key techniques I use and explain it every step of the way. By the end of the lesson you will have a lovely background with plenty of interest, and you will know how to use most of the brushes in the accompanying download.

Lesson 4: Using and Editing Brushes from the Sampler

You will watch as I demonstrate the progression of my artwork in this lesson. I will explain what steps I take to add details to give more depth and interest, all the while showing you different techniques and settings for the brushes.

Lesson 5: Adding Details and Textural Elements

In this lesson, we start getting to the nitty gritty of the final artwork. You will see me use several different techniques to add interest and detail. I show you the texture brushes I have created, and explain the settings for scale. Throughout the process you learn much more about brushes.

Lesson 6: Textural Details and Other Accents

At this stage, we start to pull our layout together, and I will add tons of small detail to add textural interest. I will give you plenty of ideas for exploration using things like blending modes or adding layers made from other brushes.

Lesson 7: Mock-Ups and Wrap Up

This is the last step, and in this lesson, I will be wrapping up and showing you some of the mock-ups I have produced in a step-by-step way. I also show you the steps to upload to Society 6. This will show you just how versatile this art can be! We will conclude everything in this lesson with a chat about next steps.

Concepts covered:

Concepts covered include but are not limited to Procreate art techniques, Procreate watercolour, mixing watercolours, blending watercolours, mark making experimental techniques, layering, transparency, Procreate brush stamps, Procreate floral brush creation, art licensing, POD ideas, creating original brush stamps in Procreate, the Brush Studio in Procreate, adjusting Procreate brushes, sizing of documents and brushes, using the streamline setting in the brush studio, compositions with brush stamps, adding texture brush stamps, procreate brushes for adding interest, workflow best practices, painting best practice, Procreate composites, techniques with paints and blending, and much more.

You will get the bonus of…

an hour and 8 mins. of direction from an instructor who has been in graphic design business and education for over 40 years
a set of 25 custom Procreate brushes
knowledge of multiple ways to solve each design challenge
an outline with links to further research
a list of helpful online sites to further your education into surface pattern design

Ellen Smit

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