Procreate Tutorial: “Grasmere Kingfisher” by Chris Hall

"This artwork is one of my favourite pieces of art I have ever created.

It was inspired by a trip I made to Grasmere in the Lake District, which is a national park in England. I was walking with my family and saw a particular scene in the park which had a beautiful stone bridge and a kingfisher with some stunning colors on it. There was something about the composition that really inspired me, and I immediately thought I wanted to make an artwork out of it.

I also love this particular artwork as Grasmere is a special place to me as it is where my wife and I got engaged, and we often visit with our two daughters." - Chris Hall

Inspired by a family trip to Grasmere in England’s Lake District, Chris Hall’s illustration captures a serene scene with a kingfisher perched by a stone bridge. The artwork holds special memories of a meaningful location where Chris got engaged.

This step-by-step tutorial will guide you through Chris' creative process and how you can recreate your very own version of this piece.

Recommended Procreate Brushes

For this piece, Chris used the default brushes in Procreate, applying a few slight customizations to meet his preferences. These include:

• 6B Pencil
• Studio Pen
• Soft Brush
• Custom Texture Brush

Step-by-Step Tutorial from Chris

Ready to have your own attempt at this piece? Follow Chris' own instructions on how to make this fun drawing below.

Step 1: Choose a Reference Photo

Your first step in creating an artwork like mine is to pick a reference photo and animal or bird of your choice as a focal point for the piece.

Once you have your reference photos, start to create a quick thumbnail sketch using simple shapes.

Don’t spend long on it and keep it simple to see if it will work as an artwork. If not, try a different reference photo to find a composition that works.

Tip: Make sure your canvas is bigger than A5 and has a dpi of 300; that way, if you ever want to print your artwork, it is going to be of good enough quality to do so.

Step 2: Identify Your Desired Colors

When you have decided on a sketch thumbnail composition, try out a few different color thumbnails to find one that works and try to keep your colors to a limited palette.

Also, like the sketch thumbnails, don’t spend too long creating these and remember they can be as rough as you like; they are not meant to be a masterpiece.

Tip: Base your color roughs on temperature, so try one that has cool colors and another that has warm colors.

Step 3: Create a Clean Sketch

Once you have decided on a color rough and the composition, take your time to create a clean, detailed sketch of the whole artwork.

I recommend drawing the whole thing out first really roughly. Then, lower the opacity of that layer and start a refined, cleaner sketch on another layer to finish it off.

Step 4: Add a Gradient Sky Background

Once you have your detailed clean sketch start by adding a gradient sky background. This is really useful to do as it will give you a base for all your other colours.

Step 5: Add the Flat Colors

Your next stage would be to add in all your flat colors using your color rough thumbnail you did earlier.

Take your time to make sure you have clean lines and, importantly, no gaps. Don't forget to put each color on a separate layer.

By putting each different color on its own layer, it makes it easier to tweak and change it later if you need to.

Step 6: Add the Finishing Touches

Once your flat colors are done, start adding your textures, shadows, and highlights on their own clipping masks layers to make it easier to change them if you need to.

Remember to base your highlights on where your light source is coming from in the artwork.

And here's the result: