What are the best settings for blending and smoothing brushes in Procreate?

1 Blending modes

Blending modes are the way your brushes interact with the existing colors and layers on your canvas. Procreate has 20 blending modes to choose from, each with a different effect on the opacity, brightness, contrast, and hue of your strokes. To change the blending mode of your brush, tap on the N icon next to the brush size and opacity sliders, and select one of the options from the menu. Some of the most common blending modes for creating realistic effects are Multiply, Overlay, Soft Light, and Color.

2 Smudge tool

The smudge tool is a handy feature that allows you to blend and smooth the colors and edges of your strokes. You can access the smudge tool by tapping on the finger icon next to the brush and eraser icons. The smudge tool uses the same brush settings as your current brush, so you can adjust the size, opacity, and blending mode to suit your needs. To use the smudge tool, simply drag your finger or stylus over the areas you want to blend or smooth, and watch how the colors mix and blur together.

3 Brush settings

To enhance your blending and smoothing skills in Procreate, consider customizing your own brushes. You can create a new brush from the ground up or modify an existing one by tapping on the brush icon and selecting the plus sign or the brush name. The brush studio will open, where you can adjust parameters such as shape, grain, dynamics, stroke, taper, and rendering. When it comes to blending and smoothing, some of the most pertinent settings are Wet mix, Apple Pencil, and Smoothing. Wet mix determines how much paint your brush picks up and transfers to the canvas; Apple Pencil controls how your brush responds to pressure and tilt of your stylus; Smoothing adjusts how smooth or rough your brush strokes are. Adjusting these settings will result in more fluid and blended strokes with higher values or more crisp and defined strokes with lower values.

4 Examples of realistic brushes

For inspiration and guidance, Procreate offers a range of realistic brushes for blending and smoothing, such as oil paint, watercolor, and pencil. Oil paint has a wet and creamy texture that blends well with other colors, while watercolor creates subtle and soft effects. Pencil has a dry and hard texture that creates crisp and clear effects. You can adjust the wet mix, pressure sensitivity, opacity, bleed, size, smoothing, and smudge tool to create the desired effect. This will help you create soft transitions and gradients, smooth washes and glazes, rough and sketchy strokes, or soft shading and blending.

5 Tips and tricks

To wrap up, here are some tips and tricks that can help you improve your blending and smoothing skills in Procreate. Experimenting with brushes, blending modes, and smudge settings can help you find the best way to achieve the effect you want. Utilizing layers and masks can separate and control colors and effects, while also allowing you to change the blending mode and opacity of your layers. Additionally, referencing real life examples of light, shadow, color, and texture can help you create realistic effects with your brushes and inspire you with new ideas.