Do you want to create a stunning rainbow brush? How about a brush that changes color for every stroke? Maybe you want a brush that is color-dynamic based on the pressure?
Brushes are the foundation of every artwork. There are multiple types of brushes with different purposes and functions. The Brush Library in the Procreate app is a collection of brushes with different strokes, styles, shapes, and textures. With brushes, you can sketch, paint, smudge, erase, write and color your next masterpiece.
In this article, we will focus on Color Dynamics. It is an attribute in the Procreate Brush Studio Settings which allows you to change your brush’s color, saturation, brightness based on pressure, tilt, or stroke that you apply on your stylus. This works best for Apple Pencil which is a pressure-sensitive stylus. Color Dynamics is a fun and powerful tool to explore when you want to create your own brush for illustration, animation, calligraphy, photo editing, logo and social media branding, invitation and greeting cards, stationeries, quote designs, and a whole lot more.
This technique is perfect for lettering or calligraphy. You can also use different colors for every letter or swirl, depending on how you will use it.
Did you know?
Instead of picking multiple colors and blend modes, you can use 1 color and create different tones and shades. You can just simply adjust the brightness and saturation to produce a color variety.
To create a stunning color-changing brush, you will need:
- Procreate 5X app
- Any pressure-sensitive stylus that is compatible with any iPad version. I recommend using Apple Pencil
- iPad (Procreate currently works in iPadOS only)
STEP A. Preparing the Canvas
1. Open Procreate app
2. Create a new canvas by tapping the + icon then use any size you want, or create a custom one
STEP B. Create your brush
1. You can start from scratch or work with an existing brush. When you start from scratch, tap on the Brush tool then tap on the + icon.
NOTE: If you want to work with an existing brush, tap on Brush tool > Calligraphy > Monoline. This brush is the best starting point since it doesn’t have much customization included.
2. Once you chose your starting point, you will see it in the Brush Studio
3. Tap on Color Dynamics
4. The Drawing Pad lets you preview your brush to see the changes in real-time without leaving the Brush Studio. Use it to scribble and draw to test your brush behavior.
5. When you tap on the Drawing Pad Settings, you can clear the scribbles you made and start a new one, you can resize your brush by sliding the Preview size, and you can also choose the color of the brush you want. This will come in handy since we will be testing our color-changing brush.
6. On the Drawing Pad Settings, tap any color instead of white, then scribble and test the brush. Create different shapes, strokes, and even apply pressure. We will use this to easily preview the changes we make.
Stamp Color Jitter
The changes are made on each individual stamp within your brush stroke.
On the Stamp color jitter, adjust the Hue. You will see that the individual stamps in your stroke. You can also adjust the Saturation to see more effect.
Stroke Color Jitter
You will see the color change in every stroke you make or each time you lift up your stylus and write again. If you have 5%, it will stay to same shade or slight color variation. You have no control over what color will appear next as it’ll be random.
Color Pressure
The color changes based on the pressure applied to your stylus. Take note that the color pressure slider only works with a pressure-sensitive stylus. If at some point it doesn’t work, you need to reset to your pressure curve. This will allow you to get color variation in a single stroke which creates a stunning dynamic brush.
If you set the Hue to maximum, you can create a Rainbow brush
Color Tilt
The color changes based on the tilt applied with your stylus.
Play around with the settings and use the Drawing Pad to preview your changes.
C. Save and Share your Brush
7. Only tap on Done when you are sure and satisfied with the settings of the brush, otherwise tap cancel and edit again. There’s no undo here so you really have to take note of the changes you made. You can however ‘Create a new reset point’ which will allow you to save the current changes on your brush and if you make any changes after that you can still revert to the changes you made previously (but that’s a different topic for another tutorial!)
If you are having trouble seeing the effects, try to change the color. You can use the individual settings per brush, or use all of them in combination and control them in a lot of ways.
You can also share your color-changing brush with friends. Tap on the recently customized brush then swipe to the left and choose Share. For multiple brushes, you can create a whole collection for your brushes and share the collection with friends.
That’s it! You are now ready to make your own colorful brushes. You can also play with other attributes such as Shape to change the shape source of your brush and create cute stamps, or create a brush that has textures using Grain source.
Don’t forget to rename your brush and personalize your brush by adding your name, signature, and even avatar on the About this Brush attribute.
No time to make your own color-changing brush?
You can check some of these stunning brushes which were carefully crafted by the creators instead:
1. Procreate Color Hologram Gradient
2. Procreate Lettering Brush – Camus
3. Procreate Brush – Lettering Love #27
4. Glitter Rainbow Brushes Set (V.1)
5. Procreate Monoline Lettering Brushes
Enjoy and have fun creating beautiful strokes with your color-changing brushes!
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