In this tutorial, we’re going to learn how to create a simple doodle of a hot chocolate with accompanying marshmallows. We’ll also make them come alive with some cute faces!
Everything we’re going to use is preset in Procreate, however, if you’d prefer to use your own brushes or colour palettes, there are plenty of scopes for you to put your own spin on the project. It’s also suitable for all levels as we’re going to create the image in a “doodle” style so that it looks hand-drawn.
So, our first step is to create a new canvas. Do this by pressing the + in the top right-hand corner of Procreate’s gallery page. Select screen size from the pop-up menu.
Now we have our canvas, let’s begin drawing. Open the brush library and under the calligraphy section, select monoline. This is my favourite brush for drawing outlines.
We now need to start creating our cup’s outline. Sometimes I struggle to draw shapes so I use a great site called Pixabay to find reference images. We can then use them as a guide and “trace” rough shapes.
For a quick guide on using reference images, check out this article.
Tip: Pixabay is a great site where all images are free for use both personally and commercially. It’s really handy for sourcing reference images or inspiration, it’s definitely a website you need to put in your bookmarks!
So, if you do want to use a reference image to help create the shape of the cup, open the actions menu (the icon which looks like a spanner along the top of Procreate, to the left). Tap on insert a photo.
Select your photo from your tablet’s gallery, and it’ll appear on the canvas as a new layer.
It’s also fine if you would prefer to skip this step and just create your own mug shape.
Tap on the selection button (the icon which looks like a cursor) to transform and move your reference image.
Open the layers panel, and on the layer containing the reference image, tap on the small N next to the check box and lower the opacity – using the slider – to around 20%. It needs to be faint enough so that we can clearly see our own lines, however, we still want to see the image!
Select black from the colour chooser and using monoline, draw the edges of your cup. Draw slightly curved lines at each side, and hold down your stylus to snap them to be smooth edges.
Draw a third line at the bottom, joining the two sides. You may then need to zoom in and tidy up where the lines overlap – you can do this by using the eraser tool and the monoline brush.
Next, draw your handle.
Once you’re happy with the shape of the mug, open the layers panel and swipe left on the reference image layer, and tap delete.
Bear in mind that our project is supposed to look like a hand-drawn doodle, so it doesn’t have to be exactly symmetrical or even.
Open the layers panel and add a new layer.
Draw a rough oval shape at the top of the cup, and hold your stylus on the screen to snap it to an exact ellipse.
Tap on the edit shape button at the top of the screen, and then transform and resize the ellipse so that it sits on the top of your cup.
Add another new layer above your current two.
Draw a curved line around the top edge, on the inside, of the ellipse which makes the top of the cup. This is going to be where our drink will be.
Again, tap edit shape to transform and resize the line to meet the outer edges.
Once you’re happy with your cup shape, tap on the highest layer and select combine down. Repeat this step so that all of your outlines are on one layer.
Create a new layer, and drag it to the bottom of the list. The only thing below it should be the background colour.
Open the brush library, and under inking, select studio pen.
Select a light colour, and on the layer which you’ve just created, start to fill in the front of the cup.
Lower your brush size and zoom in, to get right up to the edges. As this layer is below our outline, you can go over the edges and you won’t notice.
In the brush library – under painting – select watercolor.
Tap on the layer which contains your cup’s colour, and then select alpha lock.
Choose a colour slightly darker than your base one, and stamp the watercolour brush across the cup (with the brush size quite large; but this will vary depending on how big you’ve created your cup).
Choose a darker colour and stamp this to one side, giving a colour gradient effect.
Add a new layer and repeat these steps with the inner edge of the cup, but start with a darker base colour.
Repeat the steps with the handle.
Add another new layer, and drag it to the bottom of the list again. Open the brush library and under drawing, select freycinet.
Color in the interior of the cup with a dark brown shade.
Draw two more oval shapes within this, getting lighter towards the middle.
Open the adjustments menu, and select gaussian blur. Tap layer.
Slide your stylus across the screen to blend the shades of cocoa together.
Your hot chocolate is finished, so now let’s add some tasty marshmallows.
Create a new layer, and draw some rough oblong shapes floating in the cocoa. Draw a line at the bottom to make them look as if they’re half submerged. Use a light colour to fill the shapes.
I’m going to add a cheeky marshmallow chilling at the edge, keep reading to see how relaxed this guy is!
Using the monoline brush, draw some simple faces and arms on your marshmallows.
Again, open the brush library and under inking, select technical pen.
Choose a light pink shade and draw some curved lines around the top of your marshmallows, this will add a little dimension.
In the brush library, under airbrushing, select soft brush. Stay with the same pale pink shade and lower the brush size to around 4%.
Use the brush to stamp some rosy cheeks onto the happy marshmallows.
Repeat the above steps but on a bigger scale, to add a face onto the cup.
Use the monoline brush to add some optional sprinkles onto your hot cocoa.
Now, let’s make some finishing touches to our project. We’re going to add some extra elements so to keep things organised, we need to group all of the layers pertaining to the drink. Open the layers panel and swipe right on each layer so that they’re highlighted blue. Tap group on the top corner of the layers tab.
You can now move your cup around whilst keeping all elements together.
I’ve moved the cup slightly down the canvas so that we can add some steam. I’ve done this using soft brush on a small size.
Next, we’re going to add a basic background. Open the painting section in the brush library and select watercolor.
Choose a light colour and create a new layer. Move the layer so that it’s below all other ones.
Use the brush to draw a basic scribble behind the cup. This is so simple but I think it’s really effective.
I’m going to add some hearts around the cup. To do this, draw a rough heart shape; remember, it doesn’t have to be exact, as we’re going for a doodle effect.
Once you’ve drawn your heart, fill it in. In a different colour, draw a line just slightly to the right of the middle, like below.
Tap on the heart layer, and switch on alpha lock.
Paint the other half of the heart in your chosen colour. Duplicate the layer and create other colour hearts, and place them around the canvas as you wish.
We’re all finished, I hope you enjoyed this tutorial as much as I did! There are so many ways you can incorporate your own style into this project, let us know how you got on in the comments.
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