Hey, First name / friends!

Today I want to talk about Procreate! This powerful iPad app has completely changed the game for many artists. It’s become my number one tool for designing top-selling artwork quickly. 

 

Here are 5 reasons why I love Procreate and think it’s an amazing tool for any artist!

 

🧑‍🎨 It’s an entire art studio on your iPad

Procreate is super powerful but also super portable. It’s like having a full art studio at your fingertips. This is great for busy artists who want to create whenever and wherever they want! I personally have created some of my most popular illustrations while on airplanes, in hammocks in the jungle, and from cafés around the world! And I never have to lug around endless supplies or sacrifice quality to make beautiful illustrations!

 

💸 The price is unbeatable

Procreate is a one-time purchase of $12.99 USD. This is pretty unheard for such a powerful tool. I love that Procreate is focused on making their tools as accessible as possible for artists. It’s a high-quality program with the ability to create professional-level illustrations, and you only have to pay once and never have to worry about a subscription! Pretty sweet if you ask me!

 

✍️ The ability to draw by hand is SO intuitive

With Procreate, you get to draw directly on your iPad screen. This is so much easier and more intuitive than creating digital art with a mouse or trackpad. Plus, it makes the transition easier for analog artists who are looking to learn more about digital drawing!

 

📸 Reference photos make it super beginner-friendly

There are so many features that make Procreate easy to learn for beginners, but one of my favorites is that you can piece together reference photos and trace directly over them. It’s important to create your own unique compositions, but using reference photos can help make learning to draw on your iPad more accessible for new artists.

 

⚡ It’s powerful enough for all my professional surface design needs

There’s a common misconception that vector artwork is required for professional art licensing. But that’s actually not true! Raster artwork, like the files you’ll create in Procreate, is completely fine to use professionally as long as it’s high-res enough. (I have a whole blog post on this topic here!)

 

This week’s #CreateWithCatCoq challenge is to try your hand at creating one of my favorite types of illustrations in Procreate – mandalas! These symmetrical beauties are so relaxing to make. And with the built-in symmetry tools in Procreate, it’s easier than ever to create a mandala that is perfectly symmetrical. 

This week I thought it would be fun to give our mandalas a fall-themed twist! Your challenge this week is to create a mandala centered around autumn colors and motifs. Whether you use a fall color palette or infuse fun motifs like apples or leaves, get creative with this mandala and make it unique to you! Here’s a free pumpkin-spice-esque color palette to use if you’re wondering where to start with your illustration!

Want to learn how to make a mandala in Procreate? Check out this blog post to follow along with me step-by-step! 

I hope you have fun drawing in Procreate this week! Don’t forget to share your mandalas with the hashtag #CreateWithCatCoq so I can like, comment, and share your work!