Character Painting with Gouache in Procreate with Lisa Glanz

Understand the Brushes

The Effortless Gouache Brush Collection for Procreate consists of smooth and textured brushes. There are round smooth brushes and some flat brushes with various opacities that are perfect for any kind of smooth work. The texture brushes have gouache brush strokes. They are dry and smudgy in texture.

Set the Canvas

Select the textured canvas to set the canvas. Make sure that you're drawing on the ‘draw here’ layer. If you want the canvas effect, always draw below the layer. Start by plotting out the bear. Use a pencil from the Soft Pencil Plush Pack. With a loose hand, draw a circle.

Pro tip: Just sketch the shapes roughly rather than drawing them perfectly and give it definition later.

Add Definition

Choose a brown color and give the bear some definition by drawing details. Draw chunky shoulders for the bear. Experiment with different possibilities by playing with sizes. You can make the head small and the body bigger to give a different structure to the bear.

Work on a basic shape for the bear and add an apron to its belly. Avoid sticking the apron to the body, instead leave it hanging from his belly.

Draw a darker outline and add definition.

Draw a simple watering can leaning forward from the bear’s belly. Mark and draw some flowers right below the watering can and some trees around the bear using the pencil from the Pencil & Dry Media Brushes For Procreate.

Pro tip: Always draw rough and freehand to add modifications to the drawing. It makes the drawing look natural and flowy.

Paint the Character

Add a new layer and bring down the opacity. Change the blending mode to multiply. Stick to the smooth brushes for this piece for a smoother look. Pick the Semi Wet Brush and paint the bear in brown.

Lift the brush to add some streaky lines on the bear. You can also smudge these later if they get too dark. The great thing about this brush is that you can choose to create a smooth look without lifting the brush and color the whole bear or lift the brush to create streaky lines on the bear.

Pro tip: The outlines may be too stark and distracting, but as you build up the layers they’ll blend better. You can also use a solid brush to avoid getting a streaky look.

Use the Smudge Tool to blend the colors together. Pick the Smudgy Rough Paint as it is an all-rounder brush that helps smoothly blend the colors. Add shadows on the arm and the ears using the same brush.

Pro tip: The contemporary gouache work has a fixing quality that makes it look like the painting is created in Illustrator.

Blend and add simple shapes. Turn the drawing layer off and add a stamp. Choose the Stamp Painterly brush and stamp once. Set that to a linear burn and clip it to the bear. Play with the opacity to add an extra variation in color.

Choose the Smooth Linework Brush to add details to the bear. With a free hand, draw outlines of the bear.

Turn off the drawing layer to see the effect of the paint. Adding a few areas of shadow, darken the body of the bear. These will form the definition areas that will help the viewer understand the features and details of the bear.

Add a new layer. Choose a lighter version of the brown to accentuate the bear’s little snout. Add a cute cheek using the Smudgy Rough Paint. Pick a peach color to color his cheeks.

Define the Elements

Pick a brown color and draw an outline of the apron, as well as the watering can. Choose a mustard color and fill the apron with the Flat Smooth Semi Wet brush.

Use a pencil and draw a bow on the apron strings behind his back. Choose the Round Smooth brush and add mustard color for the strings.

Pick the Round Smooth Semi Wet brush and add shadows on the apron. Using the same brush, define the bear’s tail and toes. Add white lines on the apron as finishing touches.

Pick a creamy color for the watering can and fill the color. Add smooth lines of definition. Using the same brush, pick a darker tone of the chosen color. Add shadows and define the watering can.

Pick a light pink color and add tiny details to the bear. Use the Dry Smudgy Linework brush and draw tiny details on the bear’s back as shown in the image below.

Draw Flowers

Add a new layer. Choose a light shade of pink and pick the Round Smooth Semi Wet brush. Add round strokes to build up the paint and draw the flowers.

Pro tip: Gouache is similar to acrylic. It can be watered down to get a watercolor effect or be used as a solid color. It is more chalky and solid in texture compared to watercolor.

Choose a medium green color and add oval strokes for trees. Make sure to paint this with a free hand to get a natural and flowy texture for the tree.

Pick a yellow color and paint the bucket. Retain the natural edges of the trees as well as the flowers. Avoid painting them too sharp or cutting the edges. Use an alternate eraser that doesn’t take away the natural element from the shapes.

Pick a darker color for the flowers and give them a nice edge by adding details. With a complementary color, add the center of the flowers and paint the petals.

Pro tip: Choose Aquareal and Pencil Dry Media together to blend the colors better for any watercolor painting. Gouache and watercolor also work well together. Instead of using the canvas that comes with the Aquareal or the Gouache packs, choose the Magic Canvas.

Pro tip: Choose gouache over watercolor to give a less watery effect to a painting.

Finally, add simple details to the flowers and the trees by drawing their branches and leaves.

Congratulations, you have successfully learned character painting with Gouache in Procreate.