In this tutorial, you'll learn how to make a chain brush in Procreate. I'll show you a simple step-by-step technique to help you design your own Procreate chain brush. If you're in a rush and need a quick download, head over to Envato Elements for a large library of Procreate add-ons. Envato Elements has everything from Procreate fonts to brushes, palettes, and more.
What You'll Learn in This Procreate Chain Brush Tutorial
- How to draw a basic chain link shape in Procreate
- How to set up and adjust the settings of the chain brush
1. How to Draw a Basic Chain Link Shape in Procreate
Step 1
Open Procreate and click on the + sign in the top-right corner. A New Canvas menu will appear where you can choose the canvas size. Select Square (2048 x 2048).
Step 2
Tap on the color disc in the top-right corner of your screen, select the color black, and drag the color disc onto Layer 1 to give it a black background fill.
Step 3
Tap on the Layers panel, and select the + sign to add a new layer, 'Layer 2'. On this layer, we will create our chain link illustration. To do that, we need to design our chain link in the color white. So select white from the color disk.
Step 4
To start drawing our chain link, we must select a brush.
Tap on the Brush Set and browse through the list to select a hard-edged brush. I selected a monoline brush and adjusted the Brush Size by moving the top sidebar slider to the max.
On top of part of the canvas, draw a circular shape. Hold the Apple Pencil or your finger on the canvas for a second so that the stroke snaps to a perfect circle.
Step 5
After that, draw the connection link by drawing a straight line down the bottom center of the circle, with an approximate length the same as the diameter of the circle.
To draw a straight line, draw the line and hold down for a second at the end until it becomes straight.
Step 6
Now let's move on to rendering a realistic reflection.
First, choose light grey from the color disk. Select Layer 2, and apply an Alpha Lock.
Then turn off the visibility of the 'Background Color' layer.
Step 7
To render realistic highlights, we need to add thick light-grey shadows around the inside of the chain link, where the light appears to hit the most.
Tap on the Brush Set, select Airbrushing, and choose a Soft Brush with a grey color to apply a soft highlight.
Then select a dark grey color for the heavier reflections. Choose a smaller brush size and add a few dashes and dots around the chain link as shown.
Step 8
When you are done rendering the highlights, we need to Export the chain link illustration.
To export the drawing, go to Actions > Share > PNG, and Save the file in your Procreate folder.
2. How to Set Up the Chain Brush Settings in Procreate
Step 1
To create the brush, we first need to open a square canvas and create a brush set. Open up a New Canvas by clicking the + sign in the top-right corner and selecting Square (2048 x 2048).
Tap on the Brush Set to open your Brush Library, and click on the + sign to create a new brush. Name it 'Chain Brush'.
Step 2
Now, let's import the chain link PNG we created into our brush settings.
Click on the + sign in the top-right corner to create a new brush, and under Brush Studio select Shape > Edit > Import a Photo, and locate your chain link PNG to import into the brush set. Then click Done.
Step 3
Once you have imported your chain link shape, it will appear in the Shape Editor.
Use two fingers to rotate the shape in a 90° turn counterclockwise, and click Done.
Step 4
Now that the shape is chosen, we have a bunch of options to control how the shape will be used within our brush.
Start by setting the spacing of the brush image. Go to Stroke Path and set the Spacing to 50%. The drawing pad will help you preview your stroke, so you can adjust it accordingly.
Under Stabilization > Streamline, set the Pressure to 5%. The higher the pressure, the smoother the line will be.
Step 5
Now, under Shape > Shape Behaviour, drag the Rotation to the far end, where it reads Follow stroke.
Then set Shape Filtering to Classic Filtering to soften the edges of the shape.
Step 6
In Rendering > Rendering Mode, apply Uniform Blending.
Finally, head over to Properties > Brush Properties. Set the Smudge Pull to 36% and Brush Behaviour > Maximum Size to about 300%. Click Done.
That's It! You Now Know How to Make Chain Brushes in Procreate
Now let's see how our new Procreate chain brush works. Select any brush size and test out your chain brush settings.
Congratulations—you have learned how to create and customize chain Procreate brushes. Have fun, and explore the multitude of brush settings to achieve the chain look you want. Here is our final result:
Discover Some Procreate Chain Brushes on Envato Elements
Did you know you can get unlimited access to Procreate brushes from Envato Elements? Subscribe and try out some chain Procreate brushes and add-ons available on the platform.
1. Chain Brush Stamp (Brushset)
This package of chain stamp brushes is a great addition to any design project that requires stencil-like, illustrated flat chain artwork. Download it and test it out!
2. Chain Brush Procreate #1
These are amazing brushes if you're looking for something stylized yet simple. The set includes ten stamp brushes that can be used to make backgrounds, logos, illustrations, and more. Give it a try!
I hope you liked this tutorial on how to create a chain brush in Procreate. Would you like to keep on learning? Check out these Procreate tutorials on Envato Tuts+:
