Digital Illustration in Procreate: From Sketch to Finished Piece

In this class you’ll follow a complete illustration workflow in Procreate, from loose thumbnails to a polished, exported piece. You’ll learn how to set up a canvas and a focused brush kit, refine a sketch into clean line art, lay down flat colors quickly with ColorDrop and reference layers, and add shading, light, and texture with clipping masks and blend modes.

This class is for beginners who have an iPad and Apple Pencil and feel overwhelmed by Procreate’s options, and for traditional artists making the move to digital. You don’t need advanced drawing skills; a simple subject and patience are enough.

By the end you’ll have one finished illustration, built on well-organized layers, plus an alternate color version and a time-lapse of your process. You’ll also have a repeatable workflow you can use for every illustration that follows, whether it’s a greeting card, a print, or a portfolio piece.

Create a finished illustration of a simple, charming subject, such as a houseplant on a windowsill or a cat in a teacup.

• Make six thumbnails and develop the strongest one.
• Ink clean line art with varied line weight.
• Fill flats with a palette of six colors or fewer, then create an alternate color version.
• Add clipped shadow, highlight, and texture layers.
• Export a PNG and a time-lapse, and share both with the class.