Procreate - Serious Attempt at Adding and Blending Color

As I continue researching all I can with the Procreate app, watching videos, and testing out what I am picking up.......I decided to try a more serious attempt at adding and blending color.  My goal is to make it mimic watercolor (not oil or other mediums) because my favorite paint medium is watercolor due to its transparency.

I used one of my 75 Day Ink Challenge sketches for this attempt.  I've yet to work through the pen brushes to my liking in Procreate.  I have much better control with a fountain pen on paper.  Anyways......I decided to import this sketch I did for the challenge and add color using Procreate.

This was challenging and lots of fun.  I found a brush I purchased in a package download I like created by another artist which blends colors together beautifully.  The brush is called MattyB-ink-wet_blend brush.  And I chose to use an airbrush - medium hard brush that is one of the default brushes in the app.  Another default brush used was a texture brush labeled "Water" which I used in the background and same brush selected as an eraser.  You can use the brushes by stamping the stylus or by moving it across the screen like you would on paper.

There's a smudge tool in the app but I definitely prefer using the above mentioned blending brush.  To me there's more control over the blending process.  I would stamp color on and then run the brush across the screen to blend it in short choppy back and forth strokes.

Digital Painting - Photoshop Elements - Turmoil

With me playing with the Ipad Pro and Procreate, it brought back memories of a piece I did several years ago using Photoshop Elements and a Wacom Intuos tablet.

This digital painting reflects what I was feeling at the time.  I was in a very dark place dealing with a lot of emotional turmoil.  I worked this and a poem to go with it too personal to share.

Digital Sketch / Painting and New Toys

In the past I have played a bit with digital sketching and painting.  What I used was photoshop elements to create those pieces and a wacom tablet/pen.  Although I have enjoyed digital art, for me it was a little cumbersome working on the attached wacom tablet and not directly on a screen surface where the drawing is actually showing or being produced.

Last week I purchased the Ipad Pro along with the Apple Pencil.  I am blown away with how nice it is working directly on a screen and with an electronic pencil (stylus) as precise as the apple pencil is proving to be.  I love the feel and balance to the apple pencil and where that tip hits the screen, the line marks are right where they should be.  Unlike using Adonit Stylus I found lagged and was off from where the tip hit the screen.

And although I have several art apps on my Ipad (Air before the Pro), I seldom played with them.  For some reason when I got the Ipad Pro, I chose to start playing with Procreate.  Maybe because of all the videos I've seen out there showing tips and tricks and example artwork being created.  Not really sure why but that's the app I decided to start practicing with.

Here are examples of what I've been doing the past several days.  There's a lot to learn with Procreate.  Lots of brush choices and techniques to work through.  My favorite so far are the graphite brushes to include a few I've learned to make myself.  It's nice having an app and electronic brush choices that look like true graphite............and what's nice.......no smearing as I work..........LOL.  I don't have to spray these to keep the graphite from smudging or smearing nor do I end up wearing graphite all over hand and fingers.

And so far there are two pen brush choices I like.......both pressure sensitive giving me thin and thick lines depending on how much pressure I apply or the tilt of the apple pencil.

First sketch just getting a feel for a few of the pen brush choices in Procreate.

Stress relief sketch illustrating how I feel setting up new gadgets.  This was done while trying to finish setting up the Ipad Pro since I set it up as new rather than using the Ipad Air backup to mirror what I had on it.  I had to do a lot of manual copying of photos and certain data on the Ipad Air as I didn't want all the same stuff on the new Ipad.  Hubby got the Ipad Air once I made sure I had what I needed off of it and before he reset back to factory settings.

Next quick sketch getting a feel for the pressure sensitivity of the apple pencil and brush choices

Playing with a new graphite brush I actually learned to create myself.

Some serious sketching using the graphite brushes

Next is trying my hand at understanding color application........trying to mimic watercolor.  Color is a whole different ballgame and a lot to learn and practice to achieve likeness of particular mediums.  You work in layers for blending and textures of various color so I'm not sure just how much time I'll dedicate to working through that.  I primarily wanted to do more pen and ink and graphite sketching digitally but will be nice to have some knowledge if I want to add a bit of color for added umph to the sketch.

75 Day Challenge - The FINAL Three Days

Although some days I struggled to do any sketching, I managed to once again achieve this goal without giving up.

This is actually my third go with this challenge.  I met the first one years ago back in 2011, tried again a couple years ago giving up around Day 20 and again this year.  I was determined not to give up this time although in reality I WAS tempted.

Day 73 - This one took several hours (off and on) of what I first thought was a huge bee.  Turns out it's called a Florida Bee Killer which is truth is a fly.  I first worked on the bee and then the pole.  What took so long was all the detailing ...... particularly the stippling.  But I found it to be quite relaxing rather than tedious.

Day 74 - Quick sketch of a fox seen at the Homosassa Wildlife Park

Day 75 - FINAL Day - Sketch of two young boys playing at Homosassa Wildlife Park.  One had a zip lock bag of what looked like popcorn.  The other was busy climbing the rocks :-)  With this sketch being the last of this challenge,  I decided to slap some color on using watercolor.

For the complete gallery of all sketches for this challenge can be viewed here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sbwatercolors/sets/72157682251842103

75 Day Challenge - Days 66 through 72

Here is where I am at with the challenge with only three more days remaining.  All were done using the Lamy Safari.  The more I use that pen, the more I love it because of better control I have on ink being laid down on paper.

Day 66 - When nothing else jumps out at me to sketch, I can always sketch my little bears - S&B Beta

Day 67 - Revisiting past sketch ideas but laid out differently on the page - S&B Beta

Day 68 - From a trip we made to Crystal River - S&B Beta

Day 69 - Salvaging through a drawer of odds and ends looking for sketch ideas - S&B Beta

Day 70 - From trip to Barberville Pioneer Village - S&B Beta

Day 71 - Figurines I have for Autumn - sketched on the back of a statement and cut/glued to journal page.

Day 72 - From photos I have of a Betta I used to have after moving here to Florida.  Sketched on the back of a statement and cut/glued to journal page.

New Creepy Crawly Seen

While on the sketchcrawl last Friday, a good friend and art pal pointed out this insect crawling on the ground.  Neither of us really new what it was except a very large looking ant.  I'd never seen one before.

I sat and watched it as it crawled towards me and over to the tree I was sitting close to.  I was super intrigued by the size and the gorgeous vivid red color and texture.

After returning home, I went online to research just what kind of ant this was.  It was really interesting to learn that this "ant" is an actual wasp.  Although it might be a wasp, the name of this is the Red Velvet Ant.  Females do not have wings and crawl.  Only the males have wings.  They range in size from 1/2 inch to 1 and 1/4th inch.  The one we saw was closer to the smaller end of the size scale.  Their sting is known to pack quite a nasty wallop and this insect's nick name is called the Cow Killer (although I didn't find any reference that this was actually true).

Worked in the Beta journal using Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils.  Steps shown.

Ooops...........just realized I spelled Albrecht wrong on my step sheet.

75 Day Challenge - days 60 through 65

75 Day Challenge - all worked in the Stillman & Birn mini sketchbook (Beta) using a Lamy Safari and Lexy Gray ink.

Only 10 more days to go!!!

Day 60 - This was done at a sketchcrawl last Friday.  Decided to splash some color on this one.

Day 61 - This was a total botch job of another building I saw during the sketchcrawl last Friday.  I knew it wasn't going well soon after I made my first few line strokes.  But I decided to go ahead and continue as a lesson for myself.

After I was finished with the page, I scanned it and then with photoshop elements made changes as a visual aid on how it should look (or at least come close).

Day 62 - Still playing with stuffed animals.......lol.

Day 63, 64, and 65 - Decided to revisit some of my past sketches but using ink only  to compare with those sketched using pencil guidelines before taking ink to the illustrations.  Of course I'm slower with ink only than I would be with sketching with pencil first.  But as mentioned in a previous post, my confidence level has improved (at least a little bit :-)