In between times

Procreate on the iPad has been a creative hub for me during a time when I travel away from home a lot. I’m away every weekend and sometimes for longer periods to assist and visit family. I used to travel with a sketchbook and pencil but as I had to take my tablet for multiple tasks, I turned to that to reduce the amount I was carring around train stations.

The apple pencil is an expensive luxury item and has been a joy to use. Add that to Procreate and the introduction of Procreate Dreams to play with and there’s lots of scope to experiment with new ideas.

Procreate timelapse of In between times.

It started with a simple self portrait sketch, photographs of messy acrylic painting were layered in, along with abstract digital layers, textures and shading. Using a variety of brushes was experimental, looking for brushes that I enjoyed to use. I used multiple layers but discovered that I liked to use the tablet almost like I would a sheet of paper and pencils. I layered coloured pencil shading from a defined palette and used the eraser tool for highlights.

I did play with the hue saturation tools as I hadn’t used them much in the past. It was a great way to explore colour but ultimately I didn’t leave those changes in place.

Adding text digitally, which is something I do a lot in my art, was interesting. I lacked my usual styles of text, typefaces etc but analogue text can be very time consuming and placement can feel like a leap of faith. In the digital piece, errors can be easily changed and odeas evolve on the page. In analogue art, I use transparency a lot, so playing with layer modes instead was interesting.

I’m happy with the final piece. It has errors, the sketch is weak and has lost it’s definition in places. But it has something that I like.

In Between Times, Procreate.