Testing New Procreate Watercolor Brushes

Jump To

• The Challenge

• Here's what I learned after 7 days

• Where I Go Next

• Check Out My Websites, Poll and Socials!

The Challenge

I am a complete beginner when it comes to Procreate. I had only been using the app for about a month when the new brush update arrived. Between the large number of brushes I'd barely explored and the 180+ new ones, I felt overwhelmed. As a new digital artist trying to discover which brushes I love and which fit my style, I created a challenge for myself: for 7 days, I would use only one category of brushes.

This week I chose to test the watercolor brushes from the Procreate 5.4 update. Every piece of art created for 7 days were created using the new watercolor brushes and one or two of the old brushes. Since I love watercolor as a traditional medium, even though my knowledge and background in watercolor is competent at best, I was naturally curious about these new digital options. I used them in various projects ranging from seasonal landscapes to a neon mushrooms poster.

Here's what I learned after 7 days

If you're looking for a natural-feeling water brush, Gagebrook is the best option. The paint flows smoothly with great pigmentation and a natural fade at the end of each stroke. I used this brush the most in my seasonal landscapes.

If you want a drier brush with texture that holds plenty of color, Penguin is ideal. I frequently used this brush when I needed outlines, texture, or definition in my work. Although, there were a couple times I used it to create whole elements. I kept gravitating towards it because the texture was captivating.

Tidewalker became my favorite brush for adding leaves to trees and creating texture and color variation in grass. It was also perfect for my flower and leaf illustrations, delivering subtle color variations with its irregular shape brush. Before doing this challenge, I was using this brush to create subtle backgrounds on illustrations because it was so easy to layer color with.

Tansy, Bridgewater, and Philosopher Falls should get honorable mention on my list, the texture these brushes provide is phenomenal. While I didn’t gravitate to them as much as the first three, they were there when I wanted to add more depth to my canvas. The brushes have irregular edges and slight color variations in their texture that provides a unique visual.

I didn't use Cascade and Pacific Golden as much since I gravitate more towards round brushes and these are rectangle, but I appreciated the even color distribution they provided on some of my mushroom illustrations. The color and brush texture deliver classic watercolor results. Black Swan is very similar to Pacific Golden in terms of shape and how it delivers color. It’s a thinner brush without the texture of Pacific Golden, and I found myself wanting to use it to create definition lines in my pieces.

Bingalong Bay was the brush I used the least. The brush is an irregular half circle shape and is great for building color, but I gravitated towards it the least. If I were creating pieces with less definitive lines, I think I would have chose it more.

I learned about more than just the brushes. This experience taught me valuable things about myself and my process. Initially, I felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of brushes because I couldn't quickly remember my favorites; I had to test them all to recall which ones I preferred. After spending 7 days on a single category, I can now easily identify and locate my preferred brushes during projects. Another discovery was how using one brush category for an extended period pushes you out of your comfort zone. I found myself developing creative workarounds tailored to each brush type to achieve my desired effects. This process made me feel more connected to my artwork. I appreciated how the challenge "forced" me to stick with one set of brushes. I'm excited to explore and become equally familiar with each brush category!

Where I Go Next

After spending 7 days with watercolor brushes, I’m excited to move on to the new oil brushes that came in the Procreate 5.4 update! I have already started working with them, and they are captivating to work with. I have never worked with oil brushes before, so I’m excited to see what I can create with them.

Thank you for following along on this journey! You can follow me on my socials below to get more insight to my art and creative journey.

Check Out My Websites, Poll and Socials!