My Digital Painting Setup
Up until recently, I painted mostly with digital tools. This is my go-to set that I've developed over the years, which I think is one of the most common setups for digital artists. I feel like the drawing experience with this setup is seamless, and I can finish a complex digital painting with it.
- iPad Pro 13”. I get the smallest memory size of iPad pro, because I only really use it for digital painting and Procreate files take just a small amount of storage space.
- Apple Pencil (Second Gen)
- Procreate app for digital painting, Procreate Dreams app for simple animation
- Paper-Like screen protector adds some friction to mimic the feeling of paper.
- Apple Smart Keyboard + MOFT Folding Laptop Stand: This is a fairly recent hack I've put together. I need the Smart Keyboard for doing laptop-type work, but then also need the stand for when I paint digitally. There's currently no good solution that allows both. What I do instead is take the iPad off the keyboard when it's time to draw (this is very easy), stick it on top of the closed cover (it doesn't slide if you put the iPad upside down, and then use the MOFT stand to prop it up. It sounds complicated but it's simple, and it works for me.
Setup for a Digital Sketchbook
I suggest using a canvas size that mimics the feeling of a notebook. The default "Screen Size" could work because it's similar to a sheet of paper. Or, you could use the dimensions of your favorite traditional notebook for your Procreate template. (I like 8x10", the size of my Stillman & Birn notebook).
You can create a new canvas template by clicking the "+" sign at the top right corner to open the canvas menu, then clicking the little black symbol next to the "New Canvas" option.
I group all the pages in one folder so I can scroll through them like a book, by doing a long hold on each page and dragging them on top of each other. You can edit the folder name by clicking on the title.
Procreate also lets you see all your layers in a page format, so you can scroll through them. It's really nice!
Brushes, Colors, and Layers
I suggest just choosing a few favorite brushes so that your flow isn't disrupted when you are drawing by having to sort through all the brushes. You can make a folder in your brush library just for daily pages brushes, by pressing the "+" button in the brush menu.
You can do the same thing with colors by saving a palette just for your daily pages. Open the color menu at the top right, then click the Palette icon, and click the "+" button to create a new palette.
Finally, you can draw in different layers to add flexibility to your drawing process and make easy changes. (You create new layers by clicking the layers icon at the top right, then clicking the "+" sign.) However, drawing all on one layer is a nice way to mimic the feeling of drawing in a real sketchbook if you are doing this as a Daily Pages practice.
More Resources
If you're new to digital painting, check out my Intro to Digital Painting class, where I introduce my basic digital painting workflow from Procreate to Photoshop. It's comprehensive yet approachable, so don't feel intimidated!
You can also browse many of the digital paintings that I made with these tools in our art shop.
As I mentioned above, I also use traditional tools and sketchbooks in my work. If you're also drawn to old-fashioned paper and pencil, read about the drawing tools I use everyday, here.
🙏 -M
