Watercolour in Procreate can be beautiful, but it often takes a bit of experimentation to get it feeling natural.
I wanted a setup that made it easier to achieve a traditional watercolour effect, natural blending, and paper-like texture without spending too much time adjusting settings every session.
That’s what led me to create my own Realistic Watercolour Brush & Canvas Set for Procreate—something I use in my own work when I want a more traditional feel.
The Challenge
If you’ve tried digital watercolour before, you might recognise a few common issues:
- Colours can feel too flat or uniform
- Blending doesn’t always behave like real paint
- It can be tricky to get texture that feels like paper
- Some effects take a lot of trial and error to achieve consistently
The Approach
To make the process simpler for myself, I put together a set of brushes and a textured canvas designed to work together.
The idea wasn’t to replace traditional watercolour or anything like that, but to give a more natural starting point when working in Procreate.
The set includes:
- Watercolour brushes designed for realistic/textured washes and layering
- Brushes for detail and controlled strokes
- A textured canvas that helps create a more paper-like surface
- Tools that work together rather than needing lots of adjustment
See also:
What It’s Useful For
I tend to use it for:
- Illustrations with a hand-painted feel
- Botanical or nature studies
- Pattern design work
- Sketching ideas that I want to feel more organic
It’s not about perfection—it’s more about giving digital work a bit more texture and variation.
How I Use It
A simple workflow that works for me:
- Start with a textured canvas
- Block in light washes first
- Build up colour gradually in layers
- Use detail brushes sparingly for definition
- Keeping things loose early on tends to give a more natural result
Who it Might Help
This might be useful if you:
- Enjoy watercolour-style illustration in Procreate
- Like a more traditional, textured look in digital work
- Want a consistent brush + canvas setup to work from
- Prefer spending more time drawing than adjusting settings
Download
If you’d like to try the same setup I use, the brush and canvas pack is available below.
I built this mainly to support my own workflow, but I’ve made it available in case it’s helpful to other artists too.
Either way, I hope it helps you get a little closer to the look you’re aiming for in your work ☺️