Pencils, Ink, and Procreate: My Latest Illustration
I felt like illustrating the classic 80’s RoboCop this week. Really had fun with this piece. Trying some new techniques in Procreate with a textured background. I wanted it to look like a painting canvas.
I used the marker brush to start with the base and get the figure down. Not really defined just very sketchy. Then I refined RoboCop with the Procreate pencil brush. This has been my go to brush in Procreate for drawing.
To outline the pencils I used the dry ink brush. It’s a cool brush that I’ve noticed a lot of online artists use with Procreate. So of course I wanted to give it a try and guess what, I like it. The colors were done with a marker brush with a low opacity.
I’m really pleased with how this RoboCop illustration came out. My art is primarily in pencil or black ink. So working in Procreate has really helped me grow as an artist.
Portrait illustration of The Grand Inquisitor done in Procreate
Star Wars Inspiration: Sketching the Grand Inquisitor in My Style
I recently watched the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+ and was inspired to do an illustration of The Grand Inquisitor. He’s a cool looking Star Wars villain who first appeared in the Rebels animation series. On Obi-Wan we get a live-action portrayal by actor Rupert Friend. The Grand Inquisitor is the highest-ranking Inquisitor of the Galactic Empire. Inquisitors are not true Sith but Sith underlings that hunt surviving Jedi of Order 66. A Pau’an and a former Jedi Temple Guard, the Grand Inquisitor is a tough dude.
The live-action version of the Grand Inquisitor has a larger, rounded head than the Rebels version. The animated version is thinner with a more ovel shaped head which is more in line with how other Pau’an are usually portrayed. My illustration leans closer to the Rebels animation version but in my comic book art style.
The illustration was created in Procreate. I’m really enjoying this software on my iPad to create art. I first started out with some sketchy pencils for this portrait with the Procreate pencil brush. Then added shadows using a marker brush with a lower opacity setting. Changing the color of the brush to a bright Sith red, I added some highlights to the right side of his face. I imagined the light from a red lightsaber was giving off the Dark Side light. Then I colored in the Grand Inquisitor’s Sith tattoos with the red. Finishing off the portrait with the Dark Side iconic bright yellow Sith eyes. I added a grey ink wash for the background.
I’m really happy with the way this digital illustration came out. The more I work in Procreate the more confident I feel with it. This was a fun illustration inspired by the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Are there any shows that have inspired your art?
Repetition of the same face drawn four times in Procreate
How Repetition Lead to my Drawing Improvement
Here are some more faces that I drew. It’s actually the same face drawn four times. In an exercise of observational drawing I looked for a face on Pinterest that would be fun to draw. I found this lady with a face looking at an upward angle. I thought this would be a challenge for me to draw.
I’ve been drawing the same face a several times to help my observational drawing ability. You can see the improvements and changes from each new drawing to the next. So these are all drawn in procreate. I like using the “Procreate Pencil” brush found in the sketching brush section. With so many amazing brush options in Procreate this is the one that I feel works best for me.
The first and second face drawing were drawn with a size 8 brush and an opacity of 35 percent. The third and fourth were drawn with a size 7 brush with an opacity of 40 percent. I like how all the face drawing came out but I think the fourth is my favorite.
If you use Procreate to draw, what’s you favorite brush?
Discovering Growth Through Repetition in Portrait Drawing
I’ve been enjoying procreate and I thought drawing the same face a few times would be a great exercise. Repetition is a great way to learn and strengthen any skill right. It worked with Daniel LaRusso and Mr Miyagi.
For this exercise I thought it would be good to draw a well know person from history. I found a portrait of Albert Einstein on the web that I liked.
It’s really interesting what happen when you draw the same face 4 times. You find this rhythm in the drawings. My first portrait drawing has great energy. Its more loose and gesturally drawn. While the last drawing is a lot tighter and refined.
I did each of these drawing in about 5 minutes. I really got a lot out of this drawing exercise and plan to do more like it. If you think this kind of drawing exercise could work for you I encourage you to try it too.
Coloring Adventures in Procreate with Green Haired Warrior Woman
I finally got the opportunity to mess around with Procreate. I bought an iPad this weekend, and the first app I bought was Procreate. I’m really excited to use it for digital illustrations. Or for coloring some of my older pencil illustrations.
Here’s a digital coloring in Procreate of a pencil drawing I did last year. The drawing is of Warrior Woman, Scarmother Vrynna from Legends of Runeterra. I found the image reference on Pinterest and really wanted to draw her in my sketchbook. Check it out in this blog post.
The colors I chose aren’t like the original illustration. I just wanted to have fun learning Procreate, so I gave her green hair. I tried blending the colors and added shadow and highlight. I am really enjoying Procreate and can’t believe it’s taken me so long to use it.
