Stimulating, interactive and action-packed Procreate live online workshop! Learn how to use the latest version of the amazing iPad painting app Procreate 5X and apply the powerful tools and features in an expressive and artistic way. Weekly live interactive Zoom sessions on Tuesdays, 10 am – Noon Pacific for 4 weeks, January 5 – 26, 2021. Each live session includes a lecture-demo, Q & A and art exercises. Student artwork will be shared via a Padlet online gallery. There will be an ongoing Slack conversation board dedicated for classroom communication throughout the workshop.

THE COURSE

1. FOUNDATION: Dock, New Canvas, Preferences & Help

VIDEO RECORDING OF THIS SESSION:

1 hour 51 minutes

• Instruction:
  Student introductions; customizing the iPad dock; optimizing Preferences; making the most of the Help menu; starting a new canvas; saving, sharing and exporting your artwork. Replaying, saving & exporting the time-lapse replay recording.

• Exercise:
  Drawing a Still Life

2. EXPRESSION: Backgrounds, Brushes, Color & Layers

VIDEO RECORDING OF THIS SESSION:

2 hour 24 minutes

• Instruction:
  Generating interesting backgrounds. Brushes: exploring, controlling, customizing, organizing, importing & sharing. Color: use of the color panel Disc, Classic, Harmony, Value and Palettes options; and Color Dynamics in Brush Studio. Layer types, menus, interactions, blending modes, Masks, and Private Layers.

• Exercise:
  Make an abstract design using techniques learnt in this session.

3. PHOTO: As Reference, Inspiration, Source. Effects, Transformations, Cloning, Collage, & Typography

1 hour 45 minutes

• Instruction:
  Preparing photos, including use of the Glaze and Waterlogue apps for pre-filtering; opening a. new canvas as a photo versus adding photo later via Actions / Add / Insert a photo; Reference panel; Adjustments menu, including Glitch, Chromatic Aberration, Halftone, Liquify and Clone; selections, transformations, copy, paste and type.

• Exercise:
  Create a “mixed media” photo collage using techniques covered in this session.

4. STYLE: Emulating Natural Media & Artistic Approaches

1 hour 34 minutes

• Instruction:
  A look at brush combinations for emulating natural media styles: pencil, crayon, ink, watercolor and oil, with inspiration from artists who used those media.

• Exercise:
  Subject of your choice (Portrait, Self-Portrait, Still Life, Landscape, Cityscape, Figure, Interior, Abstract, etc) depicted in up to three different artistic styles (or just choose one and focus on that).

Please note this syllabus is subject to change and is intended as a guide only.

Class Preparation Instructions

1. It is recommended that you watch the Zoom Meeting on a Mac or PC with the screen in front of you, or other device than the iPad you will be using for painting. Have your iPad separate from your Zoom meeting and available to follow along as I demonstrate, and to participate in the art exercises during the live sessions.

2. This is a social class in which we see each other, share ideas and show some of the drawings we create. Please ensure you have a working webcam and microphone to be able to participate fully.

3. Please install the Padlet and Slack apps onto your iPad for convenient access to files for posting and sharing and importing.

4. Please move the following icons into your iPad dock, if they are not already there: Files, Camera, Photos, Padlet, Slack, App Store and Settings.

5. All instruction will be using an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and the latest version of the Procreate 5X app. If you are using an iPad and Apple Pencil please make sure they are both fully charged before class.

6. Please install the latest version of the Procreate app on your iPad. If you already have Procreate make sure you have updated the app.

7. Please install the latest version of the Procreate app on your iPad. If you already have Procreate make sure you have updated the app.

8. For greater range of brushes, I recommend visiting my iPad Art Apps page and purchasing the recommended Procreate brush sets mentioned on that page. You’ll find many more brushes available in the Procreate Community Discussions boards (particularly Marketplace and Resources).

   Here are some third party brush packs that stand out for me as having absolutely amazing brushes for figure drawing (especially for fast gesture work):
   BIG WET SET: 174 all-new watercolor, gouache, and ink brushes for Procreate
   Amongst my favorites from this bumper pack are:
   MB_WC_LittleFlecks_looseSquareNib
   MB_WC_SplotchyPaper_LooseNib
   MB_WC_BasePaper_SoftBarNib
   These brushes are very pressure-sensitive and allow you to make incredibly expressive ink/watercolor types of marks.

   RAZUM OILS brush pack v2.1
   One of my favorite brushes from this set is:
   Razum_inc oil canvas text
   Great for oily canvas-textured backgrounds!

   Abbie’s Pan-Dem-Ink for Procreate 5. Use the coupon code PAN-DEM-INK to get 100% off that set at checkout.
   Two of my favorite brushes from this set are:
   AN Angry Inkling
   Great for expressive gestures with a Zen Brush feel; and
   AN Sneezed
   Wild ink splatters that can create amazing distressed backdrops to draw over (think Ralph Steadman and Gerald Scarfe)!

   Another two brush packs from Abbie that I love are:
   (1) Abbie’s Oil on Canvas for Procreate 5
   I used these brushes for the painting of Inky at the top of this page, and
   (2) Abbie’s Ultimate Ink Bumper Pack for Procreate 5
   Includes one of my all-time favorite splattery brushes, the Spilling Ink Drops distant.

9. Go to the App Store and update all apps to be sure you’re current.

10. Go to Settings / General / Software Update and make sure you have the latest iOS.

11. Make sure you have updated your Zoom app to the latest version. If you’re not familiar with Zoom please visit Zoom 101 for an explanation and guide.

12. Recommended but not essential: take photographs of a a variety of drawing papers and other surfaces (not drawn on, though they can be dirty, distressed, messed up and have torn edges) of various colors and values (lightness/darkness). The more uniform the lighting on the surface the better. You can use your phone to take the pictures but transfer them (via AirDrop if you’re using an iPhone) to your iPad once taken. We can open up or import these photographs as backgrounds over which to draw.