How to Make Your Own Procreate Brush

You do not need to build a brush from nothing to have a brush that is yours. The friendliest way into brush making is to take a brush you already like, copy it, and bend the copy until it draws the way your hand wants to draw. Here is the route I show beginners.

Rule one: never edit the original

In the Brush Library, swipe left on a brush and tap Duplicate. Do all your experimenting on the copy. The original stays safe, and you can duplicate it again tomorrow for a different experiment. Every brush maker I know works this way.

Getting into Brush Studio

Tap your duplicated brush once to select it, then tap it again: Brush Studio opens, with the brush's settings listed down the left and a drawing pad on the right where every change previews instantly. It looks like a cockpit at first. You only need a few of the dials.

The settings worth touching first

• Stabilization > StreamLine: the single most useful slider in Procreate. Push it up and shaky lines come out smooth and confident. Lettering brushes love a high StreamLine.
• Stroke Path > Spacing: at low values the stroke is a solid line; push it up and the stroke breaks into separate stamps of the brush shape. This is how dotted lines and scattered textures happen.
• Shape and Grain: the two ingredients every brush is made of. The shape is the stamp the stroke lays down; the grain is the texture inside it. Swap either and the whole personality of the brush changes.
• Apple Pencil > Pressure: decides how much size and opacity respond to how hard you press. If a brush feels dead, this is usually where the life is hiding.

Change one thing at a time and scribble on the preview pad after each change. When something feels right, stop. A brush does not need ten clever settings; it needs one good feel.

Save it somewhere it can be found

Back in the Brush Library, pinch outwards on the sets list and tap the plus icon to create your own set. Drag your new brush in and give the set your name. From now on, everything you make lives there.

If you would rather start from finished brushes

Pulling a brush apart teaches you plenty too. The Multi Line Brush Set and the Glitter Brush Set are both built from these same ingredients, and duplicating one to peek inside Brush Studio is a great way to see how a finished brush is put together.