How To Create A Watermark In Procreate

pin image - ipad with screenshot of making a logo brush

Learn how to make a procreate brush from an image to make watermarks and graphic elements for your art.

This is an addendum to my post on making a stamp brush.

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pin image- ipad with monstera leaf brush

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There are several reasons to use an image to make a procreate brush.

Watermarks. Save time by adding a watermark to your artwork in Procreate.
Add your signature. Like watermarks, a signature brush will save time and be uniform across your art.
To use art created somewhere else. It's possible to create art in a program like Adobe Illustrator and make brushes using those images. This also allows you to use bought elements like graphics from Creative Market.
Creating textures. You can use images to create texture brushes.
Create elements to use in art. It's also possible to create brushes from photographs to use as elements in art. Foliage brushes are a great example of this.

How to Make a Procreate Brush from an Image

Here are a few tips for making a stamp brush.

Start with a large image. If you're making the image in another program, it needs to be at least 3000 pixels wide. Same with when you start a new canvas to create the brush.
Brushes can only be made from black and white images. Procreate will automatically change the image to black and white, but if your image has lighter colors, you might want to manipulate the images beforehand.
When using photos, shadows will show up so make sure that you photograph the item in bright light (or edit the photo first.) You can also erase the shadows, but this takes a while. (See tutorial below.)

How to Make a Watermark

Upload your logo to your iPad.
Start a new canvas. Make it large for the best results.
Open the image in Procreate.
Copy the canvas. This option is in the Actions panel (top left corner with wrench icon) under Add.
Start a new brush in the brush studio.
Choose the shape tab.
Click edit.
Paste the copied canvas.
Tap the image to invert it.
Click done to make the shape change.
Change the stroke to 100 in the stroke menu.
Change the opacity to 0 in the Apple pencil settings. (This changes the brush to be opaque when using the Apple pencil.)
Change the max brush size if desired. This will make the brush larger.
To make the brush easier to see in the menu, make sure that you toggle the stamp preview button. You can also change the size of the stamp in the menu.

Changing the Opacity

It's possible to change the opacity of the brush if desired. For instance, you might want your watermark brush to be subtle, and lowering the opacity can achieve that.

There are 3 ways to change the opacity.

The opacity slider. This is the easiest way to change it. It's located on the left side of the screen. This option must be changed before using the brush.

Change the opacity in the layer. For this option, the brush will need to be used on its own layer, which I recommend anyway. It's easier to move the watermark logo if you want. Plus you can toggle it on or off.

changing opacity in layers panel procreate

This method allows you to change the opacity after using the brush. It's also easier to fine-tune the opacity.

To use this option, click on the layers panel. Click on the N and slide the opacity down. There are also options for blend modes here, but changing the opacity should be enough for this technique.

Change the opacity in the brush settings. This option will affect the brush every time you use it, so this might be the option you want.

This option is located in the properties setting in the brush studio, there's an option to change the minimum and maximum opacity levels.

Using Photos to Make a Brush

To make a brush from a photo, you will follow the same steps as above, but you will need to alter your photo a bit first. Here are some tips to make the best stamps from images.

Make sure that your photograph has a contrasting background. A dark object looks best on a white background.

If your image has shadows, your stamp will be shaped like a square instead of the shape of the image.

Simple Photo Editing

To fix this, you will need to edit your photo. You can just use the photo editor on the iPad. Change it to monochrome to make the image black and white.

You can also bump up the contrast.

increasing contrast of photo of tropical leaf

Erasing the Background

There are probably many methods to do this, but I'm sharing the easy way.

If the shadows still show up, you can erase them. This is easier if you add a colored layer below the image. I like using a monoline brush for this process.

erasing background of photo in procreate

Adding a colored background makes it easier to see where you have erased. Make sure that you're erasing and not filling spaces with that color.

adding colored background while erasing background

(You can also remove the background in canva. I'm not sure if the option is available on the iPad option, but it's an option on the desktop version. It's located in the Effects panel.)

A clean background gives you perfect stamp shapes. Obviously, simple shapes are easier to make than complicated shapes.

Rotating Brushes

If desired, you can make your brushes rotate each time you use the brush for a random effect. To do this, increase the jitter settings in the stroke menu.

What kind of stamp brushes do you plan on making?