Procreate has some great hidden functions and assets that are a little bit obscure, and I want to explore a recent innovation: Page Assist. With Page Assist, it is easy to create multi-page documents. Amazingly, you can even set a background which stands alone but appears on each page of your spread. This creates opportunities for creating projects like sketchbooks and art-journals.

Don’t think you can live without layers? You don’t have to! There’s a trick, but you can have many layers for each page. I will explain it all to you in the usual step-by-step fashion so you can follow along. By the end of the class, you will have your first unique and interesting art journal double-page spread. It’s so wonderful to have this document that you can turn to whenever you want to do some quick, exploratory art or to produce a photo-spread as a gift or just for you! You can make multiple documents for different purposes.

Some examples of what you could make include an art journal, so why not use it to keep track of brushes you have used for a particular look, or techniques. I will use mine as a way to collect gardening information from around my yard. I can add labels and photos, so I can document what I plant and where I plat it, as well as keeping track of the maximum height a plant will grow or other relevant information.

In this class I’ll walk you through:

my step-by-step method for creating the multi-page document
tips for creating compositions for an attractive and well-balance layout
my workflow for use of Page Assist and other great features like importing photos
adjusting using hue and saturation and the curves controls
methods for keeping the art fully editable for later adjustments and recoloring

Do you love art journals, sketch books or scrapbooking? With a basic knowledge of Procreate, you’ll be able to go through all the necessary preparations to finish with a multi-page document. This class will benefit anyone who is looking for a safe and private place to explore artistic skills or to document absolutely anything.

The key concepts I will include:

how to use Page Assist
use of the assets in the included brush set
use of layers within Page Assist

Learning to use Page Assist will give you so many new ideas. Imagine all the documents you can create with this. You can even export as a PDF or even print the pages and bind them into a book. Learning new Procreate workflows is always desirable. I am sure you will create an awesome piece and it really opens up possibilites!

Intro to Multi Page Art Journal in Procreate

This short intro will give you an overview of the class.

Lesson 1: Overview, Examples, and Inspiration

In this lesson, I will give a bit of inspiration as we go through a bunch of examples online. I explain the type of journal we will be creating and show you where you can find more examples to look at.

Lesson 2: Setting Up with Page Assist

In this lesson, I will break down the complete process of creating the multi-page document. We start by first importing an authentic background from one of my actual hand-painted journals. We adjust it so the gutter is perfectly straight and centered. Then I show you a bunch of pages and explain how to set up folders for pages.

Lesson 3: Multiple Layers and Adding the Coil

In this lesson, I will show you how each page can consist of multiple layers. Next, I will explain the addition of the coil to make the book look more authentic.

Lesson 4: Using the Photo Brush Stamp

This is the lesson in which I teach you about methods for importing pictures. We first will use the photo frame brush. We need to separate the two parts so we can use one as a clipping mask. I show you other important factors and throughout, I am explain my process.

Lesson 5: Creating the Calendar Using Stamps

In this lesson, I will be showing you the steps for adding a calendar blank from the stamps in the asset pack. There are a few steps including adding a color behind the calendar and also a soft shadow to make it look dimensional.

Lesson 6: Re-Arranging and Experiments with Painting

In this lesson, we will do some rearranging and adding other elements. Then I show you as I start experimenting with painting. At this stage, we pull our layout together, and I will add the small details that make it work. I use the brush stamps to add paper-clips. his is the last step before adding background details. This will show you just how versatile this project could be for you and how valuable experimentation is.

Lesson 7: Color Swatches and Adding Painted Details

Adding some of the finishing touches is the focus of this lesson. I will be adding the color swatches we talked about and applying the color. I will then work on my flower painting a bit more, adding paint and adjusting hue and saturation. I show you methods for making the flower really pop off the background. Once the flower is done, I duplicate it to use in filling out the layout better.

Lesson 8: Adding Final Details and Finishing

In this lesson, I go through and add all the details. I show you the import of a vintage photo and arranging it to sit behind my photos. I speak in general terms about where to source ephemera. We will also do a bunch of merging of layers to reduce the amount used. We then do a little bit of mark-making and I encourage you to do a bunch of experimentation.

Lesson 9: Closing Thoughts and Wrap Up

We will conclude everything in this lesson. I will tell you about upcoming classes and we end with a chat about next steps.

Concepts covered:

Concepts covered include but are not limited to Procreate multi page documents using Page Assist, Procreate patterns brushes, layering, transparency, Procreate brush stamps, Procreate canvas settings, Procreate snapping and guides, procreate clipping masks, blending modes, gaussian blur, the Brush Studio in Procreate, adjusting Procreate brushes, sizing of documents and brushes, composition and balance, selection methods, importing photos, importing ephemera, importing full backgrounds, adding texture with brushes, procreate brushes for adding other interesting details, workflow best practices, painting best practice, Procreate composites, techniques with paints and blending, and much more.

You will get the bonus of…

? minutes of direction from an instructor who has been in graphic design business and education for over 40 years
knowledge of multiple ways to solve each design challenge
a brush set and an authentic mixed media background

Deb Rucker

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