Dramatic and Vivid Luxurious Garden in Procreate Part 1 - Clipping Masks and Layering for Dimension

In this class, I am further exploring the use of the Gaussian Blur to help create shadows to show depth on a vibrant floral. My goal is to start with just a single layer for each flower, stem, or leaf. The reasoning behind this is that I know it will take many, many clipping masks to add the depth, so I try to keep it as simple as possible at first. As we progress through the lessons, you will see me add more and I will show you some real-world decisions as I work towards my end goal.
This class, Dramatic and Vivid Luxurious Garden in Procreate 1, will be Part 1, with a follow-up Part 2 that will show you many ideas for the finishing. At the end of today’s class, you will see we have all the flowers, stems, leaves and fillers ready to go for the follow-up class. I show you my semi-finished layout and talk about some of the finishing touches I want to add. Ideally, I suggest you keep the flowers to one simple shape that you will add the shading to.
In this class I’ll walk you through:
my step-by-step method for blocking in the initial shapes
tips for creating shadows easily with the Gaussian Blur
my workflow for use of layers and clipping masks to add the dimension
methods for keeping the art fully editable for later adjustments and recoloring 
If you’d like to try something a little bit challenging, this is a great class for you. The challenge is in keeping your head wrapped around the clipping masks and layering. This class will benefit anyone who wishes to learn more about adding dimension and methods to improve efficiency.
The key concepts I will include:
review of my organization of a complex illustration
a look at how to work with inspiration without copying
approaches you can take to arrange motifs to compliment positioning of lettering
Even if you are not sure what you will use the illustration for, learning new Procreate workflows is recommended. I think this art and technique would make a great greeting card series, for example. It could also be used for prints that a customer can download digitally and have printed themselves. I know you will create something dramatic and luxurious, and it’s so rewarding. I can’t wait to see your finished piece!
Intro to Dramatic and Vivid Luxurious Garden in Procreate
This short intro will give you an overview of the class Dramatic and Vivid Luxurious Garden in Procreate.
Lesson 1: Inspiration and Overview
In this lesson, we will take a look at what inspired me for this class. We look at the work of JP Patra on both Pinterest and Dribble.
Lesson 2: Blocking in the lower Shapes
In this lesson, I will break down the complete process of choosing what brushes to use as well as showing you my sketch of flower shapes. I suggest you go through the whole class before you do your illustration, or you can pause the class and do your drawing in preparation. I paint the flowers and I explain the reasoning behind the choices I make with regards to layering. I show you color drop for filling and by the end of the lesson, we have most of the shapes complete.
Lesson 3: Touch-Ups and Shading Techniques
In this lesson, I will explain the creation of the shadows on each of the petals to show dimension on the flowers. I will show you two key techniques I use and explain every step of the way. By the end of the lesson, you will have the beginnings of a dimensional flower by using the Gaussian Blur and the eraser throughout.
Lesson 4: Experiments with Overlaps
This is the lesson in which we experiment with the layer order. I want to be sure that it all makes sense and gives us the dimension in the way it works best. I show you a method to layer the shadow clipping masks to achieve that goal.
Lesson 5: Multi-Part Motif Issues
In this lesson, we will be taking a close look at the layering. I will be finalizing the flowers and some of the leaves and that will include creating clipping masks to make all the shadows work. There are a few tricky spots, and you will see as I experiment with different techniques. We are one step closer to finalizing our design now.
Lesson 6: Starting the Finishing Touches
At this stage, I will show you the finishing of all the additional motifs. We take a quick look at color adjustments and change some of the layer orders, as well as grouping and flattening to make our dimension additions easier. This is the last step before adding background details. I will be adding the background color into the piece and then we will talk about what you will see in the follow-up class.
Lesson 7: Conclusion and Closing Thoughts
We will conclude everything in this lesson. I will chat about next steps which will include the follow-up class. Hope to see you there!
Concepts covered:
Concepts covered include but are not limited to Procreate floral design, layering, filling with recolor, working with a sketch on darken blend mode, Procreate canvas settings, brush settings, Procreate snapping and guides, Procreate floral brush creation, the Brush Studio in Procreate, adjusting Procreate brushes, hue and saturation adjustments, sizing of documents and brushes, adding texture with brushes, Procreate brushes for adding other interesting details, workflow best practices, painting best practice, Procreate composites, techniques with paints and blending, and much more.
You will get the bonus of…
55 minutes of direction from an instructor who has been in graphic design business and education for over 40 years
knowledge of multiple ways to solve each design challenge