Post pobrano z: How to Create a Stylish Neon Portrait in Procreate

Procreate is my favorite drawing app available for the iPad.

In this tutorial we’ll be creating a colorful portrait of a beautiful woman, using different painting techniques. We’ll take some inspiration from the retro and glamour styles, and we’ll use vibrant neon colors to make it stylish.

Let’s start!

1. How to Make a Sketch

Step 1

In this tutorial, I’m using an iPad pro with the Apple
Pencil and the Procreate 4 app.

First, open the application. Tap the (+) icon in the top-right corner to
create a New Canvas. There you can
select one of the canvases from the list or create a new one.

Tap to Create
Custom Size and create a 3500 x 4000
px canvas, RGB, 300 DPI. 

Step 2

Before creating a sketch, let’s find a proper brush
for it.

First, open the Brushes
tab, tap the Sketching set, and
select the 6B Pencil.

Let’s modify this brush a little bit. Tap the 6B Pencil icon, and the Settings of the tool will appear. Choose
the General settings and change the Size Limits to ~30% Max. It will allow us to have more flexibility in the
sketching process.

Step 3

Let’s begin by drawing a sketch.

We already have two layers by default: one layer with the background color and one empty layer. Open the Layers panel, tap „Layer 2”, and rename it to „sketch”.

Step 4

Now we can start sketching. Usually I make a
combination of basic shapes first, where I’m trying to search for the silhouette of
the character and her features. Then I refine the sketch, adding a couple
more details to give them a bit more character.

I do a lot of rotating of the canvas in the process. You
can do it too if you like—just use two fingers and rotate your image or size
it.

Also, you can change the Size and Opacity of any Brush tool by moving up
and down the sliders on the left
side of the screen.

2. How to Create the Main Shapes

Step 1

First, let’s
create the Palette of the basic
colors.

We have the Colors
menu in the top right corner, where we can select the color.

For the Create
a New Palette option, click on the (+) icon, and a new area with empty boxes for our new palette will appear. Rename
it to „neon”.

Now pick the color and tap on any of the empty boxes, and
it saves it (tap on the boxes to create the colors for your palette, and tap on
them to delete any of them).

This way we’ll create our own Palette. Basically, we’ll choose bright colors for the hair and
clothes (place them on the first row), and cold brown colors and nuances of lilac,
purple and lavender for the skin (on the second and third rows).

Step 2

Now open the Layers
menu, tap N on the
„sketch” layer, lower the Opacity
to 50%, and change the Blending Mode to Multiply.

Step 3

Let’s set a background color by tapping the
„Background color” layer, which we already have by default. Select a
dark purple color on the Color Wheel.

Step 4

It’s time to
begin painting.

Create a New
Layer for the skin and drag it under the „sketch” layer.

First, go to Brushes >
Airbrushing > Hard Airbrush and pick
a brown color from our Palette.

Draw the
outlines of the body, using our sketch as a reference. Now we can fill it with
a solid color. Just drag it from the Colors in the top right using your
finger, and drop it onto your outline shape. Make sure that your lines are
completely closed. Then refine the edges using the Eraser Tool. Choose the Hard Airbrush tool as an eraser.

Step 5

Using this method, draw the hair and clothes on separate layers. Organize them as shown below.

Step 6

Open the „makeup” layer, and draw eyelashes,
eyebrows, nostrils, and the middle line of the lips using the 6B Pencil and a dark brown color.

Create a New
Layer for the eyes and lips on top of the „skin” layer. Fill them
with colors using the same brush.

Step 7

Set the Opacity
of the „sketch” layer to 30%,
making it more transparent. It’s still useful to us in the painting process,
but should not be so conspicuous at the same time.

3. How to Add Shadows and Highlights to the Body

Step 1

Let’s start by adding some volume to the body. Tap on
the „skin” layer and select Alpha
Lock from
the drop-down list.
It will help us to paint inside the body shape without crossing this area.

Now select a dark brown color from our Palette and choose the Nikko Rull brush from the Painting set.

Start creating soft shadows by making strokes on the
shadowy area. Change the stroke Size
and Opacity in the process until you get the desired shapes. Turn off the „sketch” layer to see the
result.

Step 2

This way, add some deeper shadows using the same brush.
Check the result, making the „sketch” 
layer invisible.

Step 3

Let’s change the color of the strokes on the
„makeup” layer.

First select the layer, and then tap the Adjustments icon and choose the Hue, Saturation, and Brightness from the drop-down
list. 

Change the color, making it darker.  Move the sliders until you get the desired
result. 

Step 4

Now let’s add some blush to the skin.

Create a New
Layer on top of the „skin” layer first. Then tap on the
„skin” layer and choose Select
from the drop-down list. It will allow us to draw on the „blush”
layer just inside the body shape.

Choose the Soft
Brush from the Airbrushing set,
and draw some blush shapes on the cheeks, nose, and neck. Reduce the Opacity of the layer to 40%.

Step 5

It’s time to add some highlights to the lightened
area.

Create a New
Layer on top of the „blush” layer, and rename it to
„highlights”. Pick a beige color from our Palette, and paint some highlights strokes, using the same Nikko Rull brush. Reduce the Opacity to 40%.

Step 6

Now create a New Layer again on top of the „highlights”. Draw more evident strokes, using the same color and brush. Reduce the Opacity to 40% as well.

Step 7

Once we’re happy with the highlights, we can merge
these layers. Tap on the top layer with highlights and choose Merge Down from the drop-down list. Or
you can take the two layers (one finger on one, and one finger on the other)
and squeeze them together.

Step 8

Create a New
Layer on top of the „highlights”. We’ll add some bright highlights to make the look more expressive. Use the same brush and lilac tint
from our Palette. In the end, lower
the Opacity to 60%.

Now create a New
Layer again and draw some highlights on the cheekbone, on the corner of the
eyes and lips, on the tip of the nose, under her eyebrows, and on the forehead.
Use the same color and brush with 100%
Opacity. Once you’re happy with the result, merge all these layers with
highlights, blush and skin into one „skin” layer.

Step 9

Let’s refine the skin a little bit, correcting the roughness of
the skin
and improving the shape of her face and body. Use the Color Picker Button to select the color you need. You can find this
button between the Size and Opacity sliders. 

Step 10

Now let’s add some volume to the eyes.

Start with the white of the eye, adding some brown
shadows under the eyelashes. Choose a dark brown color for the top of the iris and
a light brown color for the underside. Also add some bright green strokes to
the iris.

Next, draw a strip on the edge of the eyelid, adding some
shadows and highlights to it.

In the end, add some gloss and twinkles to the white of
the eye, the iris, and the pupil.

Step 11

Now we’ll get to work on the lips.

Add the shadows first, using dark shades of cherry
color. Then add some bright pink strokes and a white gloss to the upper part of
the lips. In the end, draw some dark brown shadows on the left part of the upper
lip and under the bottom lip, as shown below.

Here’s how the face of our woman looks at this stage.

Step 12

Let’s refine the face a little bit, adding some deeper
shadows to the area above and under the eyes and neck. Also, draw some bright gloss
using the lavender color from our Palette.

Step 13

Once we’re happy with the volume of the face and body,
let’s add a texture to make the skin more natural.

Create a New
Layer on top of the „skin”, and rename it „skin
texture”. Choose the Splatter
brush from the Spraypaints set and pick
a brown color. 

Apply
Select to
the „skin” layer. Using the max
size of the brush, draw some strokes, spraying tiny spots on the skin area.
Reduce the Opacity to 20%.

Now create a New
Layer again on top of the „skin texture”. Draw some freckles and
moles, using the same brown color and the Nikko
Rull brush. Add them randomly to the nose, cheeks, forehead, and shoulders.
Reduce the Opacity of the layer to 50%.

Step 14

In the end, let’s draw some falling shadows from the
hairstyle. Create a New Layer for
them on top of the „skin”.
Add some dark shadows to the forehead under the fringe first. Lower the Opacity to 65%. Then, on a New Layer, draw some deep pink reflections using the Soft
Brush. Reduce the Opacity to 35%.

4. How to Create a Neon Hairstyle

Step 1

Let’s start forming the hairstyle.

First, make the „sketch” layer visible. Also
reduce the Opacity of the „hair
2” layer to 50%.

Now lock in the „hair 1” and „hair
2” layers by activating Alpha Lock.
Use the Soft Brush to draw some blue
strokes at the edges of the main hairstyle shape. Also add some pink to the
edges of the hair on the „hair 2” layer.

Step 2

Create a New
Layer on top of the hair layers. Use the 6B
Pencil and blue color to draw the lines of the strands
of hair, styling separate locks. In the end, turn off the „sketch”
layer.

Step 3

Use the textured brush Nikko Rull and cyan color from our Palette to add some bright spots to the inner part of the
hairstyle. Then pick a pink color and draw some gentle textured strokes of the
highlights.

This way, add a lilac touch to the locks.

Step 4

Apply Select
to the „hair 2” layer, and create a New Layer on top of it. Pick a cyan color and draw some short, bright strokes, imitating shaved hair. Also use a blue color to draw the
shadows from the upper hair and the area behind the ear.

Step 5

Lock in the „hair lines” layer by activating Alpha Lock. Use the same brush with pink
and blue colors to shade the hair lines, according to the principle „pink to pink,
blue to blue.”

Then turn off Alpha
Lock, choose the 6B Pencil, and
draw separate thin blue hairs. In the end, add some gloss to these hairs using cyan.

5. How to Add Volume and Texture to the Clothes

Step 1

Let’s start with the earrings.

First, choose the Soft
Brush from the Airbrushing set and a green color. Apply Alpha Lock to the layers with earrings and draw some green shadows.

Now turn off Alpha Lock. Select the new Lightpen brush from the Luminance set, choose a lime green color from
our Palette, and draw some shining strokes on the edges of the earrings.

Step 2

Now let’s move to the
dress. Make the „sketch” layer visible first. Then lock in the „dress” layer by activating Alpha Lock.

Using the Nikko Rull brush, draw two lime color strokes to decorate the edges of the dress. Also
use a pink color for the
underside of the dress. Then, using the Soft Brush, add some lilac tints to the
cloth.

Turn off the
„sketch” layer. Pick the Nikko
Rull brush again and draw some cyan highlights and purple shadows, forming the creases of the dress.

Step 3

Now let’s add some
texture to the fabric.

Create a New Layer on top of the „dress” layer.
Select the Newsprint brush from the Retro set, and draw some pink strokes
on the creases and on the area of the shoulders.

Create a New Layer again and draw some green
strokes on the highlights area. Then, using the Eraser Tool, make some vertical stripes on top of them.

In the end, on a New Layer, draw some lime green and yellow dots on the green
texture.

Step 4

Take the Selection Tool, and select the area of the dress we want to make a little darker. Then go to Adjustments > Curves, and pull the right slider down a little.

Do the same for the
creases, as shown in the screenshot below.

In the end, using the Nikko Rull brush and a dark violet color, draw some vertical stripes deep in the folds.

6. It’s Time for the Final Touches

Step 1

Let’s add some necessary
details.

First, create a New Layer for reflections on top of the
„eyes/ lips”. Apply Alpha
Lock and Select to the „skin” layer.

Now pick the lilac color
and draw some shapes of reflections mostly along the left side of the body. Use
the Nikko Rull brush with 60% Opacity for it. Draw more saturated strokes on the edges of the body shape.

Step 2

Create a New Layer for the rim light on top of the
„makeup”, and deselect the „skin” layer.

Pick the cyan color and the 6B Pencil brush to draw vivid strokes on the left side of the face. Add some gloss to the eyebrows, eyelashes, and the tip of the nose as well.

Step 3

In the end, we have to add some reflections from the earrings.

Create a New Layer for the green reflections
under the „reflections” layer. Pick the Nikko Rull brush again and draw some green and yellow shapes on the
cheeks and chin.

7. How to Create an Abstract Background

Step 1

We already have the
basic dark purple color on our default background layer. Let’s add some texture and a pattern
to make our image more stylish.

Create a New Layer on top of „Background
color”. Pick a new brush, Nebula, from the Luminance set and a blue color to add some mistiness to the background. Reduce the Opacity of the layer to 60%.

Create a New Layer on top of the blue nebula and add
some pink splashes as well, reducing the Opacity
of the layer to 60% too.

In the end, pick a dark main color from the background and add a splash to the bottom right corner of
our canvas. Pick the Eraser Tool with the Soft
Pastel brush and make some holes in the blue and pink shapes, diffusing their density.

Step 2

Let’s create a simple
pattern for the decoration of our background.

First, turn off the
„background” and all nebula layers. Create a New Layer
on top of them. Pick the Hard Brush
from the Airbrushing set and tap on the canvas, making perfect dots. using a grid on the canvas will help you to place them at
equal distances from each other. 

Now let’s duplicate this
row of dots. Tap Transform in
the top panel, swipe down with three fingers, and the menu will appear. Choose Copy + Paste and we’ll get these dots on the new layer. Move them down and to the right. As a result, we’ll get them in staggered order. Merge these layers into
one.

Duplicate this layer
using the same principle.

Now let’s flip our four
rows horizontally. Just tap Transform
in the top panel and choose the first icon in the bottom panel. Move them to the
right side.

Step 3

Let’s add some texture
to the dots. Apply Select to the layer with the dots. Create a New
Layer on top of it and choose a new brush, Burnt Tree, from the Charcoals
set.

Pick the pink color from
our Palette and use the max size of the brush to cover our dots with texture. Turn off the first layer with blue dots. Now we have clean, textured pink dots. Reduce the Opacity of the layer to 55%.

Great Work! We’re Finished!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the process and the final result meets your expectation!

Good luck, and don’t be afraid to use your imagination and create something beautiful!