Procreate is a popular digital illustration app for iPad that offers a wide range of powerful artistic tools. One fun feature in Procreate is the ability to turn on color drops, which allows you to paint with splashes and drips of color.
What are color drops in Procreate?
Color drops in Procreate are a type of brush that applies paint in a messy, splattered fashion. When color drops are activated, tapping the screen with your Apple Pencil will splatter droplets of color, rather than applying a smooth brushstroke. This can create a dynamic, expressive painterly effect.
Color drops behave like gravity-affected paint, dripping down the canvas to create colorful splashes. You can use them to add texture, movement, and energy to your Procreate illustrations. The color drops feature allows you to work more loosely and build up layers of color in an organic, naturalistic way.
How to turn on color drops
Turning on color drops in Procreate is simple. Just follow these steps:
- Open Procreate and select a canvas.
- Choose a brush from the Brush Library. Any brush can work with color drops, though Splatter brushes tend to be optimized for this effect.
- Adjust size, opacity, and other brush settings as desired.
- Tap the wrench icon at the top of the screen to open the Actions menu.
- Select Color Drops.
That’s it! Now when you tap the screen with your Apple Pencil, you’ll get splashes of color instead of normal brushstrokes. The paint will drip down the canvas realistically thanks to Procreate’s physics simulation.
Customizing color drops
You can customize the look and behavior of color drops to suit your creative goals. Here are some of the settings you can adjust:
- Size: Use the slider to make drops larger or smaller.
- Opacity: Set opacity higher for bolder drops or lower for delicate splashes.
- Color: Select a single color or enable multicolored drops.
- Drip Amount: Increase for longer drips or decrease for short, tight splashes.
- Drip Chance: Higher chance produces more frequent drips.
Play around with these settings to achieve different styles and effects. For example, light low-opacity drips can simulate the mist of a spray paint can. Short drips are great for creating the look of flicked paint from a brush. For the most realistic splatters, use high drip amount and chance.
Tips for using color drops effectively
Here are some tips to help you get the most out of Procreate’s color drop feature:
- Use large, loose gestures to fling color around energetically.
- Vary pressuresensitivity for naturallooking, expressive drips.
- Work on layers so you can edit and erase splashes as needed.
- Let gravity do the work! Allow drips to flow downwards for realistic effects.
- Use splashes of bright color to accent or highlight areas of focus.
- Layer color drops over areas of texture for added depth and interest.
Creative ways to use color drops
Here are some creative ideas to inspire you:
- Abstract backgrounds: Layer color drops to build up colorful, textured backdrops.
- Watercolor effects: Use dilute drops to simulate the organic look of wet watercolor or ink.
- Spray paint: Try holding your Apple Pencil upright like a spray can for scattered sprays of color.
- Splash photography: Capture the movement of splashing liquid with color drops.
- Graffiti: Use drips and splatters to create the look of fresh spray paint tags.
- Surrealism: Incorporate expressive drips into dreamlike, imaginative scenes.
The chaotic, chance-based nature of color drops makes them perfect for experimental effects. Let loose and see where the drips take you!
Troubleshooting color drops
If you’re having any issues getting color drops to work properly in Procreate, here are some troubleshooting tips:
- Check that Color Drops is selected in the Actions menu. Tap the wrench icon to open Actions.
- Confirm that you have the latest version of Procreate installed.
- Force quit and restart the Procreate app if color drops are not appearing.
- Reset Procreate to default settings by going to Canvas > Actions > Reset All Settings.
- Make sure your Apple Pencil is charged and connected properly to your iPad.
- Clean the nib of your Apple Pencil to ensure it is making good contact with the screen.
- Contact Procreate support if issues persist after trying the above steps.
Conclusion
Activating color drops gives you a fun new way to experiment and add expressive energy to your Procreate art. Adjust size, opacity, and drip behavior to customize the effect. Try working loosely, letting colors run and collide for happy accidents. Layer color drops over existing artwork to integrate them into any style. With some practice, you’ll be able to use this cool feature to take your illustrations in fresh creative directions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What brush works best with color drops?
Splatter brushes tend to work especially well with color drops, as they are designed to create messy, textured strokes. But you can activate color drops with any brush in Procreate. Try it out with different brushes to see which ones you like using with this feature.
Can I use color drops on imported images?
Yes, you can activate color drops when painting on imported photos or drawings in Procreate. This is a great way to integrate splashes and drips of color into existing artwork.
Do color drops work on every layer?
Color drops will work on any standard Procreate layer. However, they do not currently work on Clone or Liquify layers. Color drops need Procreate’s gravity simulation to function properly, which does not apply on these special layer types.
Can I save color drop brushes?
Unfortunately you cannot save color drop settings on a brush to use later. You need to re-enable color drops through the Actions menu each time you want to use them. But you can save the brush itself with its other settings intact.
Is there a way to control the direction of the drips?
Not directly, since the drips are simulated based on gravity. However, you can influence the direction by the way you hold and angle your iPad and Apple Pencil as you work. Positioning your iPad at an angle will make drips flow in that downward direction.
Conclusion
Color drops allow you to add exciting new texture and movement to your Procreate illustrations. This physics-based splash effect opens up new avenues for expressive, experimental artwork. Dive into this feature and see where the colorful drips and splashes take you!
