> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://theprocreate.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Your first Procreate illustration: draw a leaf with built-in brushes
- URL: https://theprocreate.com/start-here/first-procreate-illustration/
- Published: 2026-09-29T12:34:25.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-16T10:12:47.000Z
- Description: Make one leaf with 6B Pencil and Monoline. Follow a concrete layer sequence from rough sketch to filled shape, clipped shadow, editable backup and PNG.
- Author: Nathan Reed
- Tags: start-here, #topic-start-here, #section-start-here-make-a-first-drawing

Draw one leaf for your first Procreate illustration. A closed outline gives you something to fill, a separate shadow lets you change the shading, and a few veins give you practice with smaller marks. I recommend this subject because you can learn the layer controls while keeping the drawing itself manageable.

This is a guided exercise for Procreate on iPad, with menu paths checked against the 5.4 handbook. It uses two built-in brushes and three green colors. The canvas size and palette below are choices for this exercise; you can change them once you understand the sequence.

## Set up a canvas for a screen image

1. In Gallery, tap **+**, then the rectangle-with-plus icon at the top right of the New Canvas menu. This opens the [Custom Canvas controls](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/gallery/gallery-create?ref=theprocreate.com).
2. Under Dimensions, select **Pixels** and enter a Width and Height of **2000 × 2000**. Check the displayed **Maximum Layers**: this exercise needs four painting layers. If your iPad cannot provide them at that size, reduce the dimensions before drawing.
3. Under Color Profile, choose **RGB** and an **sRGB** profile. [RGB is intended for screen artwork](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/colors/colors-profiles?ref=theprocreate.com); Procreate cannot switch an existing artwork between RGB and CMYK. Create the canvas with these settings.

Leave the white Background Color visible. It is [separate from the layers you paint on](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/layers/layers-create?ref=theprocreate.com), so you do not need to fill a painting layer with white.

You can use a compatible Apple Pencil or your fingertip: Procreate's [painting tools accept either](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/interface-gestures/gestures?ref=theprocreate.com). This exercise uses the size slider rather than requiring pressure-sensitive strokes. You can follow the same steps with the [Apple Pencil USB-C, which has no pressure sensitivity](https://www.apple.com/apple-pencil/?ref=theprocreate.com).

## Choose two brushes and three colors

Tap Paint, then tap it again to open Brushes. In Procreate 5.4, the older sets are in **Classic Library**. Tap the current library title and choose **Back to libraries**, then open Classic Library. The [handbook explains this library navigation](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/brushes/brush-library?ref=theprocreate.com); you can also swipe down in Brushes to search by name.

Choose **Classic Library → Sketching → 6B Pencil** for the sketch. Procreate uses this brush in its [official beginner workbook](https://education-downloads.procreate.art/pdfs/part1-the-fundamentals.pdf?ref=theprocreate.com). That workbook was made in 5.2, so its older Sketching path needs the Classic Library prefix in 5.4.

For the filled shape, shadow and veins, choose **Classic Library → Calligraphy → Monoline**, a brush also named in [Procreate's brush troubleshooting advice](https://help.procreate.com/articles/zpbmke-cant-paint-on-canvas?ref=theprocreate.com). I keep the same brush for these stages to reduce tool changes. You do not need to edit Brush Studio for this exercise.

Use the colors below. To enter each one, tap the Active Color at the top right, choose **Value**, and type its six-character code into the [Hexadecimal input box](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/colors/colors-value?ref=theprocreate.com). Tap outside the panel to close it.

| Use                     | Hex code |
| ----------------------- | -------- |
| Main leaf               | 739A5F   |
| Sketch, shadow and stem | 35523E   |
| Light veins             | DAE4BF   |

The upper sidebar slider changes brush size; the lower one changes brush opacity. The sidebar may be on either side of your screen. For the filled outline, put [brush opacity](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/interface-gestures/interface?ref=theprocreate.com) at 100%. Choose a size that makes a visible line without a thick border dominating the leaf.

## Sketch one leaf

Open Layers with the overlapping-squares button. Tap the initial layer to select it, tap it again, and [choose Rename](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/layers/layers-options?ref=theprocreate.com). Call it **Sketch**. The active layer is highlighted blue; [painting goes onto that selected layer](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/layers/layers-interface?ref=theprocreate.com).

With 6B Pencil and the dark green, draw a long almond shape in the middle of the canvas. Give it a point at the top and a narrower point at the bottom. Aim for a leaf about two-thirds of the canvas height, with some white space around it. Draw a light line through its center to suggest the main vein.

A rough sketch is enough. If you dislike a mark, [tap the canvas with two fingers to undo](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/interface-gestures/gestures?ref=theprocreate.com); a three-finger tap redoes an undone action. The sidebar arrows offer another way to undo and redo.

In Layers, tap the Sketch layer's **N** and lower its [layer opacity](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/layers/layers-blend?ref=theprocreate.com) until you can trace it comfortably. Around 25% is a starting point for this sketch, not a required brush setting.

![Four stages of the same leaf: pencil sketch, filled green base, clipped right-side shadow, then four side veins and a stem.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/87/95/8795a9f5-73f0-42fe-8d7c-6a02022d8b40/content/images/2026/10/first-procreate-illustration-body1-redo-v1.webp)

Fill the closed Base before adding the shadow; add the veins and stem on Details.

## Draw and fill the base shape

1. Select Sketch, then tap **+** in Layers. The new layer appears [above the active layer](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/layers/layers-create?ref=theprocreate.com). Rename it **Base**.
2. Select Monoline and the main-leaf color, `739A5F`. On Base, draw one curved side from the bottom point to the top, then a second curve back to the bottom. Join the endpoints so the outline is closed.
3. Drag the Active Color from the top right into the middle of the leaf. [ColorDrop fills outward until it reaches a boundary](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/colors/colors-interface?ref=theprocreate.com). Check that the leaf is filled and the white area outside it remains clear.
4. Tap Sketch's visibility checkbox to hide it. Inspect the base shape on its own.

If the fill covers the whole canvas, undo that fill first. Zoom in by pinching your fingers apart and check the outline for a gap. Close any gap on Base, then try ColorDrop again. If it still crosses a closed boundary, drag the Active Color into the leaf and keep holding without releasing until the Threshold bar appears. Then drag left to lower the threshold. Stop at a setting that contains the fill; there is no single percentage for every outline. If the fill still causes problems, follow the checks in [ColorDrop troubleshooting](https://theprocreate.com/fixes/procreate-colordrop-not-working/).

Keep the Base layer intact while you add shading. It supplies the shape that the next layer will use as its boundary.

## Add a shadow without repainting the edge

Select Base, tap **+**, and rename the new layer **Shadow**. It must sit immediately above Base. Tap Shadow again and choose **Clipping Mask**: Procreate [limits its visible paint to the content of the layer underneath](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/layers/layers-mask?ref=theprocreate.com).

Choose dark green, `35523E`, and increase the Monoline size. Paint a broad curved band along the leaf's right side, leaving the left side in the base green. The clipped layer lets you concentrate on that band while Base controls the outer edge.

If the shadow feels too heavy, tap Shadow's N and reduce the layer opacity. Keep the blend mode at Normal for this exercise. You can hide Shadow to compare the flat shape with the shaded one while preserving both layers.

If no shadow appears, check that Shadow and Base are visible and that Base contains painted pixels. An empty base gives a clipping mask nothing to reveal. For another project, [choose between Clipping Mask, Alpha Lock and Layer Mask](https://theprocreate.com/learn/layers-masks-comparison/) according to the edit you want to preserve.

## Add a few veins and a stem

Select Shadow and tap **+** for a layer named **Details**. Keep Details above Shadow as an ordinary layer. If Clipping Mask is enabled on it, tap Details again and turn that option off; the stem needs to extend beyond Base.

Reduce the Monoline size and choose the light green, `DAE4BF`. Draw a central vein from near the bottom of the leaf toward its top. Add two short branches on each side, stopping before the outer edge. Switch to the dark green and extend a short stem below the leaf.

From top to bottom, your Layers panel should now show:

| Layer            | State and purpose                       |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Details          | Visible, ordinary layer: veins and stem |
| Shadow           | Visible, clipped to Base: dark band     |
| Base             | Visible: filled leaf silhouette         |
| Sketch           | Hidden: original construction marks     |
| Background Color | Visible: white background               |

![Layers panel with ordinary Details above clipped Shadow, filled Base, hidden Sketch and visible white Background color.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/87/95/8795a9f5-73f0-42fe-8d7c-6a02022d8b40/content/images/2026/10/first-procreate-illustration-body2-redo-v3.webp)

Keep Shadow clipped to Base, Details ordinary, and Sketch hidden.

Pinch your fingers together to zoom out and judge the leaf at a smaller size. If the veins take attention away from the shape, lower Details' opacity or undo the last additions. Returning to Gallery or exiting Procreate [clears the Undo history](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/interface-gestures/gestures?ref=theprocreate.com), so make any corrections you want to undo before leaving the canvas.

## Save the editable file and share a PNG

Before erasing stray marks, export an editable copy through **Actions → Share → Procreate**. Choose **Save to Files**, select a destination you can find again, and save the file. The [native .procreate format preserves layers, masks and effects](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/actions/actions-share?ref=theprocreate.com). Save it to an available [external or cloud destination](https://help.procreate.com/articles/zmppbd-back-up-artwork?ref=theprocreate.com) if you need protection beyond the iPad; another file under On My iPad still depends on that device.

Now inspect the outer edge and white space. To erase a stray mark, select the layer that contains it. Tap Erase, then tap it again to [open its brush library](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/brushes/paint-smudge-erase?ref=theprocreate.com) and choose **Classic Library → Calligraphy → Monoline**. Set the eraser opacity to 100% with the lower sidebar slider and choose a narrow size with the upper slider before removing the mark. Keep Sketch hidden. If you make a cleanup change you want to keep, export another .procreate copy with a distinct filename.

For the picture you will share, choose **Actions → Share → PNG** under **Share Image**, then save it to Files or Photos. This creates a [flat PNG rather than a layered backup](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/actions/actions-share?ref=theprocreate.com). The separate PNG option under Share Layers exports individual layers, so it is the wrong choice for this single finished picture.

![Actions Share panel with Procreate and PNG identified under Share Image, above the separate Share Layers choices.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/87/95/8795a9f5-73f0-42fe-8d7c-6a02022d8b40/content/images/2026/10/first-procreate-illustration-body3-redo-v2.webp)

Save Procreate for layered edits and choose PNG under Share Image for one finished picture.

Open the saved PNG outside Procreate and check that it shows the leaf, stem and white background you intended. To check the editable copy, [return to Gallery and choose Import](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/gallery/gallery-import-share?ref=theprocreate.com), then select the saved .procreate file in Files. Open the imported artwork and inspect its layers before relying on the backup. Keep the original artwork while you do this.

For an image that needs a clear background instead, follow the [transparent PNG export steps](https://theprocreate.com/export-print/transparent-png-procreate/). That changes the background choice while the native file remains your editable version.