I bought an iPad Air 2024 and Procreate in July, but I don't know where to start. I watch tutorials on YouTube but I feel lost with all the brushes and layers. Are there any free resources or courses you'd recommend to learn the basics?
If you're just starting out, the real problem isn't the brushes - it's understanding how the canvas works differently from paper and pencil. With Procreate, the thing that'll change everything is starting with a blank page and just playing around for 20 minutes without any pressure: create a new document, grab the standard brush (the default one is fine), draw something simple like a face or a hand. While you're drawing, experiment with layers - create a new one, draw on top, reduce the opacity, erase part of it. This gets you understanding the logic way faster than any linear tutorial.
YouTube is honestly a mess because every creator has their own workflow, and after three videos you've got 150 different methods floating around in your head. What people said about the Learn section inside the app is solid - it's structured well for exactly that reason. But also add Marco Bucci's tutorials if you can find them (he draws in a cartoon style), because even though they don't use Procreate specifically, they actually teach you digital drawing from scratch in a sensible way. Your brushes are there and they're staying there: you don't need to learn any others for months.
The trick nobody really talks about: create a tiny canvas (like 512x512 pixels) and do a quick sketch every day for a week. Small means less intimidating, and a week builds you a habit. Then when you move to a big canvas, your hand's already relaxed and you're not thinking about the controls anymore - just what you're actually drawing.
Procreate has a "Learn" section built right into the app with really well-made official videos - starting there is way more useful than getting lost in random tutorials on YouTube because they're made specifically for your software. For the basics (brushes, layers, selections) you don't need anything complicated: just pick a default brush, draw a lot on a new canvas, and learn to play around with opacity and blending modes before diving deeper. YouTube is fine once you've grasped the general mechanics, otherwise you'll actually end up more confused. If you want to spend less, Skillshare has affordable subscriptions and Procreate-specific courses, but honestly you'll learn 70% of what you need just by drawing and watching the official tutorials without any pressure.
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