How to Cartoon Yourself in Procreate: The Ultimate 2023 Guide

As a professional illustrator and Mac software expert, I‘ve witnessed firsthand the meteoric rise of Procreate as the go-to app for digital artists. With its intuitive interface, powerful brush engine, and seamless integration with Apple Pencil, it‘s no wonder that Procreate has amassed over 50 million users worldwide since its launch in 2011.

One of the most popular uses for Procreate is creating cartoon portraits and caricatures. Whether you want to transform a photo of yourself, a loved one, or a celebrity into a fun, eye-catching cartoon, Procreate offers all the tools you need to hand-draw expressive, one-of-a-kind portraits. In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll share my expert tips and techniques for cartooning yourself in Procreate, honed over thousands of hours using the app professionally.

Why Procreate for Cartooning?

Before we dive into the step-by-step process, let‘s examine why Procreate on iPad is uniquely suited for digital cartooning compared to other software:

  • Optimized for Apple Pencil: Procreate is designed from the ground up to take full advantage of Apple Pencil‘s pressure and tilt sensitivity, allowing for varied line weights and shading just like traditional media. The Apple Pencil‘s precision, minimal latency, and ergonomic grip make it a joy to sketch and ink expressive cartoon lines.

  • Infinite brushes and textures: With over 200 customizable default brushes and the ability to import custom ones, Procreate‘s brush engine is unmatched for achieving various cartoon styles from vintage comic book halftones to lush painterly strokes. Experiment with different brush opacity, spacing, and flow for thick to thin lines, smooth gradients, and exciting textures.

  • Flexible layering system: Procreate‘s layer-based workflow allows you to sketch, ink, color, and shade your cartoon portrait on separate layers, making it easy to tweak individual elements without disturbing others. Quickly test out color and shading variations using Clipping Masks and Layer Blend Modes.

  • Intuitive touch gestures: Procreate‘s multitouch gesture controls make navigation, selections, transformations, and actions like Undo/Redo lightning fast. Effortlessly zoom in and out on the canvas, move and group layers, and access shortcuts with the tap of fingers.

  • High resolution exports: Procreate supports ultra high resolution canvases up to 16K, ensuring your cartoon portraits look crisp and detailed whether you plan to share them online or print them on posters and merch. The app offers a variety of export formats including PNG, TIFF, PSD, PDF for easy file sharing.

Hand-Drawn Procreate Portraits vs. AI Cartoons

In recent years, several AI-powered web and mobile apps like Voilà AI Artist and Toonify have emerged, promising to instantly transform your photos into stylized cartoon portraits with the tap of a button. While these automated tools can produce interesting results, they often lack the charm, personality, and attention to detail of a portrait that has been lovingly hand-drawn by a human artist.

By cartooning yourself in Procreate, you have complete control over the artistic interpretation of your subject, from the expressiveness of the line work to the level of exaggeration and stylization. You can tailor the cartoon to your unique vision, incorporating inside jokes, visual metaphors, and storytelling elements that no algorithm can replicate.

Moreover, the process of sketching, refining, and polishing a cartoon portrait stroke by stroke is immensely satisfying and therapeutic. As you zone into the flow of drawing, you‘ll find yourself appreciating the unique intricacies of the human face while flexing your creativity and problem-solving skills. Cartooning yourself in Procreate is not only a fun way to create art, but also an engaging learning opportunity disguised as play.

Step-by-Step Procreate Cartooning Process

Now that we‘ve established why hand-drawing your cartoon portrait in Procreate rules, let‘s break down my professional step-by-step workflow. I‘ll include some of my go-to brushes and gestures to work smarter, not harder. First, make sure your iPad is updated to the latest version of Procreate, and let‘s get cartooning!

Step 1: Prep Your Canvas and Reference Image

Start a new canvas in Procreate by tapping the + button in the top right corner of the Gallery. I recommend the Screen Size canvas for beginners, but you can also choose a larger DPI for print. Tap the Actions menu (wrench icon), select Add, then Insert a photo and choose your reference selfie or portrait. Tap the Transform tool in the top menu to scale and position your image into the canvas. In the Layers panel, tap the N to lower the opacity of the image layer to around 50%.

Step 2: Sketch and Exaggerate

Create a new layer above your image and grab a sketching brush. I default to the Technical Pen in the Inking set, but the 6B Pencil in Sketching is also fantastic for loose construction sketches. Begin blocking in the basic head shape, noting the angle of the jawline, center line of the face, and eye line. Sketch the placement of eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Observe the distances between features on your reference for accuracy, but push the proportions and geometry of shapes to give your portrait a stylized, cartoony feel.

Procreate screenshot of sketch phase

Step 3: Refine Your Lines

Reduce the opacity of your sketch layer and create a new layer above it for inking. Choose a brush with a more defined edge like Studio Pen for refining your sketch. Carefully observe the reference photo details as you flesh out the eyes, nose, mouth, hair texture, clothing folds, and accessories. Zoom in to nail smaller features, using the two-finger tap gesture to Undo as needed. Make artistic choices about which lines to emphasize with thicker strokes, and which to merely suggest for a cleaner look. Toggle the reference layer on and off as you work to ensure likeness.

GIF of refining sketch in Procreate

Step 4: Add Flat Base Colors

Once you‘re satisfied with your refined lines, hide the sketch and image layers. Create a new layer for each color area of your portrait: face, eyes, hair, lips, clothing, background, etc. Set the Layers Blend Mode to Between, allowing the line work to remain visible above. Fill each layer with a medium base tone using the Color Drop tool or brushes like Flat Brush and Color Dodge. Sample colors from your reference photo for cohesion. You can also use the Eyedropper tool or hold a finger on the canvas to activate the magnifying loupe for precise color picking.

Step 5: Shade and Highlight

This is where your portrait really comes to life! Create a new layer above each base color, set to Multiply, and begin shading with a large, soft brush like Nikko Rull at 15% opacity. Build up darker tones on the sides of the nose, under the brow bone, hairline, and neck. Switch the layer mode to Overlay and use the same brush with a lighter color to pop highlights on cheekbones, nose bridge, lips, and hair. Use the Smudge tool to gently blend edges for a more natural look. Repeat this process for each feature, using clipping masks to constrain shading to the boundaries of each shape.

Procreate screenshot of shading layers

Step 6: Add Fun Details and Stylistic Flair

Create new layers to paint a cheeky twinkle in the eyes, blushing cheeks, hair flyaways, and bold background elements. Have fun exploring Layer Blend Modes like Color Dodge and Vivid Light for pops of brightness and contrast. Try applying a subtle texture like Paper or Canvas to your background layer for a more tactile feel. Play with brushes you wouldn‘t normally choose like Chromatic or Neon to add funky patterning to shirts, bold eyelashes, or graphic freckles. Express your signature style with each artistic choice!

GIF of adding details to cartoon portrait in Procreate

Step 7: Make Final Touches

Toggle off your initial sketch and reference layers, and assess your cartoon portrait as a whole. Use a large, soft eraser brush to gently clean up any messy edges or stray marks. Make a new layer set to Color and use the Color Drop Threshold at 100% to fill in any gaps between your flats and line work. Duplicate your artwork and merge all layers to condense them into a single, easy-to-export layer.

Step 8: Export and Share

Tap the Actions menu, select Share, and choose your preferred file type (I default to PNG). From here you can airdrop or email your cartoon portrait, share it to your favorite social media apps, import directly to your Messages or Print dialog, and more. Pat yourself on the back for completing an awesome custom cartoon, and start brainstorming who you‘ll transform next!

Procreate Cartooning Tips to Work Smarter

Here are a few advanced tips and tricks I‘ve learned to streamline the cartoon workflow in Procreate:

  • Layer Groups: Combine related layers into a Group by tapping and holding one layer, then tapping subsequent ones and dragging them into the newly created Group. Keeps your Layers list nice and tidy!

  • Alpha Lock: Activate Alpha Lock on a layer to constrain your brush strokes within the existing painted area, super handy for shading and texturing without going outside the lines.

  • Clipping Masks: Tap and hold a layer, then drag it onto the layer you want to mask it with. Great for adding shadows, textures, and patterns to specific shapes without tedious erasing.

  • Liquify: The Liquify tool under Adjustments allows you to push, pull, twirl and pinch your artwork, perfect for reshaping facial features, hair, and clothing for maximum exaggeration.

  • LayersFX: Explore the LayersFX menu to apply non-destructive color grading, blurs, sharpening, noise, and more to your artwork or background with a finger tap.

  • Draw Guides: Found under the Actions menu, Draw Guides include Symmetry, Perspective, and Isometric guides to help you achieve trickier angles and compositions.

Procreate interface with Layer Tricks

Cartooning Inspiration and Income Opportunities

Procreate‘s incredible toolset has empowered professional cartoonists and hobbyists alike to create stunning, print-quality illustrations on the go. Whether you aspire to license your characters, design custom avatars and emotes, or teach cartooning workshops, mastering portraiture in Procreate can lead to lucrative freelance opportunities both online and off.

Some inspiring cartoon portrait artists to study and follow:

  • Pernille Ørum: Danish illustrator known for her joyful, colorful celebrity caricatures and live event iPad drawing
  • Ahmad Waleed Shihab: Saudi-based cartoonist and animator specializing in pop culture cartoon portraits and fan art
  • Helen Green: British illustrator adored for her moving tributes to iconic pop stars like David Bowie in Procreate
  • Sebastian Plata: Colombian digital artist crafting fantastical cartoon portraits exploring themes of identity and queerness

From trendy fan art to personalized family portraits, there is high demand and endless subject matter for cartoon portraits drawn in Procreate. The most successful cartoon portrait artists develop a strong personal style, master likenesses, and build a memorable brand around their niche. Many supplement their commissions by selling procreate brushes, tutorials, and timelapses of their charismatic workflow.

Cartoon Yourself and Let Your Creativity Shine!

We‘ve covered a lot of ground in this ultimate guide to cartooning yourself in Procreate. You now have a solid understanding of the benefits of hand-drawing your portraits compared to AI generators, as well as a detailed breakdown of my professional step-by-step cartoon workflow. I‘ve shared my favorite brushes, layers tricks, and shortcuts for working efficiently, as well as tips for developing your signature cartooning style.

It‘s time to grab your Apple Pencil and start experimenting with the limitless creative potential of Procreate. Challenge yourself to cartoon your photo, your pet, your favorite celebrity, and beyond. Most importantly, remember to let loose, take artistic risks, and follow your intuition. After all, embracing the "happy accidents" and sketchy imperfections is what gives a hand-drawn cartoon portrait its magic.

I can‘t wait to see the characters and worlds you‘ll bring to life, one Procreate stroke at a time. Feel free to DM me your cartooning creations, or tag me if you post them online. Now go make a giant head, tiny body version of yourself and watch your friends marvel at your newfound cartooning powers!

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