The Sacred Language of Geometry, Symmetry & Repetition
Category: Procreate Brushes & Tutorials
Welcome! This part of the blog is dedicated to all things digital watercolour in Procreate, with a special focus on botanical illustration. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to develop your style, you’ll find tools, tips, and tutorials to help you create natural, painterly artwork using your iPad.
The Realistic Watercolour Brush Set was designed with traditional techniques in mind – soft textures, layered washes, and subtle details that work beautifully for painting plants, flowers, and nature-inspired subjects. Alongside the brushes, I’ll be sharing process breakdowns, Procreate tips, and step-by-step tutorials to guide you through creating your own botanical pieces.
This space is for experimenting, learning, and enjoying the slower process of building detailed illustrations with a handmade feel – all within Procreate.
In this tutorial, we’ll be illustrating a fading rose branch with a delicate blue butterfly sitting on it, using Procreate and my Realistic Watercolour Brush & Canvas Set. This project is all about finding beauty in the quiet, imperfect details—wilted petals, muted colours, and the delicate contrast of a blue butterfly bringing colour into the composition.
In this tutorial, I’ll show you my botanical watercolour process for illustrating an early-stage delphinium plant in Procreate. Using soft washes, layered texture, and botanical detail, we’ll create a realistic digital watercolour illustration inspired by traditional painting techniques. I’ll also be using my own Realistic Watercolour Brush & Canvas Set for Procreate to achieve natural pigment blooms, paper texture, and authentic watercolour blending throughout the process.
The full step-by-step tutorial for this botanical watercolour illustration is available over on my Patreon page through a paid membership. I’ve included the complete painting process from sketching and colour palette creation through to layering, texture, and final details using my Realistic Watercolour Brush & Canvas Set for Procreate. It’s there for anyone who would like a slower, more in-depth walkthrough to follow along with.
In this tutorial, I’ll show you a simple approach to creating a loose botanical flower illustration in Procreate. Working from an initial sketch through to refined linework, we’ll keep the process minimal and focused, using just the Sketch – Pencil and Details – Main brushes to build a clean and natural floral study. The aim is to keep things light and uncomplicated, so you can focus on shape, flow, and delicate botanical detail without overworking the piece.
The full step-by-step tutorial for this botanical watercolour illustration is available over on my Patreon page through a paid membership. I’ve included the complete painting process from sketching and colour palette creation through to layering, texture, and final details using my Realistic Watercolour Brush & Canvas Set for Procreate. It’s there for anyone who would like a slower, more in-depth walkthrough to follow along with.
In this guide, I’ll go through what to look for in good watercolour brushes for Procreate, and share a simple setup that I personally use when I want a more natural, traditional feel in my digital work.
What Makes a Good Watercolour Brush in Procreate?
The most effective watercolour brushes tend to focus less on dramatic effects and more on subtle behaviour.
Here are a few things that make a big difference:
Natural pigment flow: Watercolour isn’t uniform. Good brushes allow colour to vary slightly in density, creating a more organic look.
Soft blending behaviour: Real watercolour spreads and merges gradually. In Procreate, brushes that support soft transitions tend to feel more realistic.
Texture response: Paper texture plays a big role in traditional watercolour. Brushes that interact well with textured canvases tend to produce more natural results.
Layer-friendly design: Watercolour builds in layers. Brushes that don’t become muddy too quickly make it easier to develop depth.
Edge darkening: Pigment pooling at the edges as it dries
Bloom effects: Water pushing pigment outward
Transparency: Layers building gradually
Paper texture: Interaction with grain and tooth
Some sets emphasise realism through unpredictability, while others focus on control and consistency. Neither approach is “better”—they simply suit different styles.
When deciding, it helps to think about how you like to paint:
Prefer expressive, loose painting? Look for brushes with strong bloom and diffusion effects
Prefer detailed illustration? Choose brushes with more control and subtle layering
Want an all-in-one toolkit? Go for larger sets with textures and extras included
Overwhelmed by too many options? A smaller, focused set may actually improve your workflow
Types of Watercolour Brushes in Procreate
Most watercolour brush sets include a combination of these types:
Wash brushes: Used for broad areas of colour and backgrounds. These mimic diluted paint and soft spreading.
Detail brushes: Used for edges, line work, and controlled painting. These help balance loose washes.
Blend / softening brushes: Help transition between colours and smooth out edges in a natural way.
Texture brushes: Add grain, variation, and paper-like effects that help break up digital smoothness. A good workflow usually combines several of these rather than relying on a single brush.
Why Canvas Texture Matters More Than Most People Think
One of the most overlooked parts of digital watercolour is the canvas itself.
In traditional painting, paper texture naturally affects how pigment spreads. In Procreate, you need to simulate that manually.
A textured canvas can help:
Break up flat digital strokes
Add subtle variation to colour edges
Make layering feel more natural
Improve overall realism without extra effort
Even with good brushes, a flat canvas can make results feel overly digital.
There isn’t a single “best” watercolour brush for Procreate—much depends on your personal style and the results you’re aiming for. However, if you’re looking for a realism-focused set that captures traditional behaviour, the set I’ve created is designed to help you achieve that. See my illustrations made with this brush set.
Whether you’re a digital artist or a traditional watercolour enthusiast, this step-by-step tutorial will guide you through painting a detailed hydrangea botanical illustration using watercolour techniques.
Bring the elegance of nature into your digital sketchbook with this ash leaf botanical illustration tutorial—designed especially for Procreate and created using the Realistic Watercolour Brush & Canvas Set. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced artist exploring digital watercolour, this guided lesson will help you develop a clean, minimalistic style like real watercolour.
Getting a natural watercolour look in Procreate isn’t just about using the right brushes—it’s also about how your canvas, layers, and settings work together.
Even small adjustments can make a noticeable difference in how realistic and natural your watercolour illustrations feel.
In this post, I’ll go through a simple, practical approach to Procreate watercolour settings that helps create more natural-looking results without overcomplicating your workflow.
Watercolour in Procreate can look very different depending on how the brushes are used.
Even with good tools, the final result often comes down to workflow—how you layer colour, how you handle edges, and how much you let texture do its job.
In this post, I’ll go through a simple approach to using watercolour brushes in Procreate in a way that keeps your work feeling soft, natural, and closer to traditional watercolour.
Start with Understanding How Watercolour Behaves
Before thinking about settings or brushes, it helps to think about how real watercolour works:
It spreads unpredictably
Lighter washes sit underneath darker ones
Edges soften as pigment dries
Texture influences how paint settles
In Procreate, you’re essentially simulating these behaviours digitally, so your workflow matters as much as the brush itself.
Handpainted flower with traditional watercolour paints
1. Start with Light Washes First
A common mistake is starting too dark or too detailed too early.
In traditional watercolour, light layers come first and build up gradually.
🛠 Try this approach instead:
Begin with very light colour washes
Don’t worry about precision at this stage
Focus on overall shapes and flow
This creates a more natural foundation for later layers.
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2. Build Layers Slowly
Watercolour is all about transparency and buildup.
If you add too much colour too quickly, the result can feel flat or muddy.
🛠 A better layering rhythm:
Add one layer of colour at a time
Let each layer visually “settle” before adding more
In this post, you’ll learn how to quickly add soft, bushy, watercolour-style texture using simple strokes in Procreate. No complicated techniques—just a few easy steps that give beautiful results.
With the right canvas + a few simple strokes, you can create realistic watercolour-effect trees in minutes. No need to draw every leaf—just let the texture do the work.
Learn how to illustrate an orchid plant in Procreate using the Realistic Watercolour Brush & Canvas Set. A calm, step-by-step botanical illustration process with a time-lapse video.
