How to Turn A Photo Into A Painting in Procreate

Want to make a painting out of your photo, but aren’t great at painting? You can easily turn a photo into a painting in Procreate! 

The key to turning a picture into a painting is the smudge tool in Procreate. If you select the right brush in smudge, you can make the photo look like it was painted. 

Here’s how to turn your photo into a painting in Procreate:

1. Select the right brush in smudge. 

If it isn‘t already selected, select the smudge tool (the smudge tool looks like hand with one finger stretched out on the top right side of the screen). You’ll know that the smudge tool is selected when it’s blue. Once selected, tap the smudge tool to bring up the brush library. Scroll through the brush sets until you find the Artistic brush set. In this brush sets should be the brush Sassafras. This is the brush I like to use. If the brush isn’t already selected (if it is, it will be blue), tap it. 

2. Upload the photo

Go to Actions (looks like a wrench in the top left corner of the screen). Tap ‘Add’ and then ‘Insert a photo’ or ‘Insert a file’. Add the desired photo. 

3. Start smudging

Make sure the smudge tool is still selected. Now start smudging the photo. It is best to smudge in short strokes and to follow the grain of the drawing (by this I mean that if you’re smudging, for example, a dog’s fur, follow the direction of the dog’s fur). 

That’s all that you need to do to turn a photo into a painting in Procreate!!! You can select the sassafras brush with the painting tool and add a few details if you want to finish the painting off. 

Below is an example of a photo I turned into a painting in Procreate.

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Thanks for reading!