How to Draw a Dog in Procreate in 5 Easy Steps

Learning how to draw a dog in Procreate allows you to capture their unique personality and charm while developing your digital art skills. The iPad app offers powerful tools for creating realistic or stylized pet portraits, from detailed fur textures to expressive eyes that bring your canine subject to life. With Procreate’s layering capabilities and specialized brushes, you can create stunning dog portraits by focusing on basic shapes first, then adding details and textures to achieve the look you want.

When drawing dogs in Procreate, starting with a good reference photo makes a significant difference. You’ll want to observe the proportions, unique features, and fur patterns of your subject before beginning. Many artists find success by working from simple shapes to complex details, using different layers to keep elements organized as they build their portrait.

The app’s versatility accommodates various artistic styles, whether you prefer creating realistic detailed portraits or cute, stylized illustrations of dogs. Custom brushes designed specifically for animal fur and hair can dramatically improve your results, helping you achieve texture and dimension that brings your dog drawing to life.

Step 1: Getting Started with Procreate

Before diving into creating your dog portrait, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with Procreate’s digital environment. This powerful iPad application offers intuitive tools that, once mastered, will help you create stunning pet artwork.

Understanding the Procreate Interface

When you first open Procreate, you’ll see the Gallery where all your artwork is stored. After creating a new canvas, you’ll enter the drawing interface where all the magic happens.

The top toolbar contains essential functions like brush selection, smudge tool, eraser, layers panel, and adjustment options. The side toolbar includes sliders to adjust brush size and opacity—essential controls for detailed dog portraits.

Gesture controls are a significant part of Procreate’s interface. Two-finger tap to undo, three-finger tap to redo, and pinch to zoom will become second nature as you work. The Apple Pencil integrates seamlessly with these gestures, offering pressure sensitivity that’s crucial for creating realistic fur textures.

Setting Up Your Canvas

Start by creating a new canvas with appropriate dimensions. For pet portraits, higher resolutions yield better detail.

Recommended Settings for Dog Portraits:

• Size: 3000 × 3000 pixels minimum
• DPI: 300 for print quality
• Color Profile: P3 for vibrant colors

Consider your iPad’s processing power when setting canvas size—larger canvases with more layers can slow performance. The layer limit depends on your canvas size and iPad model.

Import a reference photo of your dog by using the “Insert a photo” option in the Actions menu (wrench icon). Position and resize it on a separate layer that you can toggle visibility as needed.

Selecting and Customizing Procreate Brushes

Procreate offers numerous brushes perfect for dog portraits. The right selection makes creating realistic fur much easier.

Essential brushes for dog portraits:

• Round Brush: For initial sketching
• Tapered Brush: Creates varying thickness for fur strokes
• Textured Brush: Adds depth to fur patterns

Explore brush customization by tapping a brush and selecting “Duplicate and Customize.” Adjust spacing, scatter, and texture to create your own fur brushes that match your dog’s coat type.

Remember that different dog breeds require different brush approaches—short-haired breeds need finer, more controlled strokes, while fluffy breeds benefit from textured, scattered brushes. Many artists share their custom brushes through online learning platforms or create tutorials specifically for pet portraits.

Step 2: Learn Basic Drawing Techniques

Mastering a few fundamental techniques will significantly improve your dog portraits in Procreate. These skills form the foundation upon which all your digital pet artwork will be built, regardless of the breed or style you’re working in.

Creating Basic Shapes

Begin your dog drawing by identifying and blocking out basic shapes. Dogs can be broken down into simple geometric forms – circles for the head and joints, ovals for the body, and triangles for ears and muzzle.

Use the selection tool to create perfect circles or ovals. Don’t worry about details at this stage; focus on proportions and positioning.

For Yorkshire puppies or smaller breeds, keep the head proportionally larger compared to the body. For larger breeds, adjust accordingly.

Try using a medium-sized brush with medium opacity to create these initial shapes. This approach helps establish proper structure before adding any details to your portrait.

Utilizing Layers for Sketch Development

Create a new layer for your initial sketch, keeping it separate from your basic shapes. This layering approach gives you freedom to refine without losing your foundation.

Set your sketch layer opacity to around 50% when you’re ready to add details. This makes it easier to trace over with cleaner lines later.

Use a specific color for your sketch layer (blue or red works well) to differentiate it from final linework. Many artists use Procreate’s 6B Pencil brush for sketching due to its natural feel.

As you refine your drawing, continuously make new layers for different elements – one for outline, one for base colors, and separate layers for features like eyes and nose.

Using the Apple Pencil for Line Work

The Apple Pencil’s pressure sensitivity is invaluable for creating expressive dog portraits. Apply lighter pressure for delicate fur details and firmer pressure for defining features.

Adjust your brush size rather than zooming in and out constantly. Try keeping your brush at 10-15% size for fine details and 30-40% for broader strokes.

Practice using your wrist for straight lines and your elbow for curved lines. This technique creates smoother, more confident strokes that enhance your pet portrait’s quality.

For realistic fur textures, use quick, short strokes in the direction of fur growth. Procreate’s Tapered brush works exceptionally well for creating natural-looking fur patterns on dogs.

Consider activating Streamline in your brush settings at 15-20% to smooth out any hand tremors while maintaining control over your linework.

Step 3: Developing Your Dog Sketch

Transforming your initial idea into a polished dog portrait requires careful attention to anatomy, proportions, and distinctive features. The foundation of any successful dog illustration begins with understanding the subject’s structure before adding personality through refined details.

Analyzing Dog Anatomy

Dogs have unique skeletal and muscular structures that determine their appearance. Start by studying different dog breeds to understand their proportions and distinctive features.

Yorkshire Terriers have small frames with fine bone structure, while Bulldogs have compact bodies with muscular shoulders. Reference photos are crucial at this stage—collect several images of your specific breed from different angles.

Pay special attention to the relationship between the head, neck, and body. Notice how the skull shape varies dramatically between breeds, affecting ear placement, muzzle length, and eye position.

In Procreate, create a separate reference layer where you can mark key anatomical points like shoulder height, back length, and leg joints.

Blocking in the Main Proportions

Begin with simple shapes to establish your dog’s basic structure. Create a new layer in Procreate for this foundational sketch.

Use loose, confident strokes to draw ovals for the chest and hindquarters. Add circles for the head and joints. Connect these shapes with lines to represent the spine and limbs.

Quick blocking tips:

• Use a medium-sized brush with low opacity
• Work with broad strokes to capture overall form
• Keep lines light and adjustable
• Focus on capturing the correct scale relationships

Don’t worry about details yet—this stage is about getting proportions right. Check your work by flipping the canvas horizontally (Actions → Canvas → Flip Horizontal) to spot proportion issues.

Refining the Dog’s Features

Once your basic structure looks balanced, create a new layer to refine the details. Reduce the opacity of your blocking layer to use as a guide.

Begin with the head—define the eye shape, muzzle, and ear position carefully. Dogs’ eyes are typically almond-shaped and set at an angle that varies by breed. The nose should have a distinctive shape with nostrils clearly defined.

Move to the body outline, adding muscle definition and refining the leg positions. Pay attention to paw structure—dogs have distinctive toe pads and nail placement.

Add fur indication using directional strokes that follow the natural growth patterns. Short strokes work for short-haired breeds, while longer, flowing lines suit long-haired dogs.

Periodically zoom out to ensure your drawing maintains proper proportions and character as you add details.

Step 4: Coloring and Texturing Techniques

Bringing your dog portrait to life requires thoughtful application of color and texture. Mastering these elements will transform your line drawing into a realistic representation with depth and character.

Applying Base Colors

Start by creating a new layer beneath your line art. Use the Selection tool to keep colors within defined areas, preventing overlap. Choose a mid-tone color for each section of your dog’s fur, remembering that natural fur is rarely one solid color.

For realistic results, observe reference photos carefully to identify the base color palette. Many dogs have subtle variations even in seemingly solid-colored areas.

Apply flat colors using the Round Brush or Soft Brush at 80-90% opacity. Keep your base colors slightly muted rather than fully saturated, as this provides room to build highlights and shadows later.

Consider creating separate layers for different body parts (face, ears, body) to make adjustments easier as you progress.

Building Layers of Texture and Detail

Select specialized brushes to mimic fur textures. Procreate’s Brush Library contains excellent options like “Old Brush,” “Fur,” and “Hair” brushes in the Painting section.

Create a new layer above your base colors for texture. Using a slightly darker shade than your base, apply short strokes in the direction the fur naturally grows. For short-haired breeds, use small, tight strokes; for long-haired dogs, use longer, flowing strokes.

Vary your brush size and pressure to create natural-looking variation. Use smaller brushes (2-4px) for fine details around eyes and nose.

Add another layer for lighter fur highlights using a similar technique but with lighter colors. Reduce the opacity of texture layers to 60-70% for subtlety.

Adjusting Lighting for Realism

Identify your light source direction before adding lighting effects. This determines where highlights and shadows will appear on your dog portrait.

Create a new layer set to “Overlay” blending mode for shadows. Using a soft brush with dark blue or purple (not black), gently build shadows on areas that would receive less light.

For highlights, create another “Add” or “Overlay” layer. Use warm whites or slightly yellow tints to paint areas that catch the most light, such as the top of the head, nose, and ears.

Pay special attention to the eyes by adding catchlights—small white dots that reflect light sources. These tiny details instantly bring life to your portrait.

Adjust layer opacity as needed to find the right balance of light and shadow. Small touches like subtle rim lighting can dramatically improve the sense of dimension.

Step 5: Finalizing Your Dog Illustration

The final stage of creating your dog portrait in Procreate requires attention to detail and careful refinement. These finishing touches will elevate your artwork from good to exceptional, bringing your digital pet portrait to life.

Adding Final Details and Highlights

Begin by creating a new layer specifically for details and highlights. Use a smaller brush size with reduced opacity to add fur texture in the direction of hair growth. Pay special attention to areas like the ears, muzzle, and paws where fine details make a significant difference.

For highlights, select a lighter shade than your base color and carefully add them to areas where light would naturally hit—typically the top of the head, nose, and upper body. The Nikko Rull brush works excellently for blending these highlights naturally into your existing work.

Consider adding subtle whiskers using a fine pencil brush with light pressure. Don’t overdo these details—sometimes less is more when creating a balanced illustration that doesn’t appear overworked.

Creating Depth with Shadows

Shadows give your dog illustration dimensionality and make it appear more realistic. Create a new layer set to “Multiply” blend mode for your shadows work.

Select colors that are darker and slightly more saturated than your base tones. Apply shadows underneath the chin, inside the ears, and anywhere light would be blocked by the dog’s form. The transition between light and shadow should be gradual rather than harsh unless you’re aiming for a stylized look.

Remember to consider your light source direction consistently throughout your illustration. If light comes from the upper right, shadows will fall to the lower left. This consistency creates a believable three-dimensional effect in your artwork.

Use the Procreate pencil brush at low opacity to add subtle shadow details to fur textures.

Refinement and Final Touches

Step back and assess your illustration objectively. Look for areas that need balancing or refinement. Adjust color saturation if needed—natural dog colors are often less vibrant than we initially perceive.

Use the liquify tool to make minor adjustments to proportions if something seems off. Pay particular attention to the eyes, as they convey much of your dog’s personality and should be well-defined and expressive.

Add a subtle background that complements but doesn’t compete with your dog portrait. A simple gradient or soft texture works well. Consider adding a very slight vignette effect to draw attention to your subject.

Before finalizing, check your work at different zoom levels to ensure all elements work together harmoniously. Make any final brush stroke adjustments to ensure fur direction appears natural and consistent throughout the illustration.

Bonus: Post-Production and Sharing

Once you’ve completed your dog portrait in Procreate, several important steps remain to finalize and share your artwork with others. The right finishing touches and export settings can make a significant difference in how your work is received.

Exporting Your Artwork

Procreate offers multiple export options to ensure your dog portrait maintains its quality across different platforms. To export, tap the wrench icon, select “Share,” and choose your preferred format.

For high-quality prints, export as a PNG or TIFF file with 300 DPI resolution. These formats preserve transparency and detail essential for professional printing.

For web sharing, JPEG works well at 72 DPI, balancing file size and quality. Consider exporting at different resolutions if you plan to use your dog portrait across multiple platforms.

You can also export your artwork with a transparent background by enabling the “Transparent Background” option. This is particularly useful if you want to overlay your dog portrait onto other images later.

Creating a Time-Lapse of Your Drawing Process

Procreate automatically records your drawing process, creating a fascinating time-lapse video that can be shared alongside your finished piece.

To export your time-lapse, tap the wrench icon, select “Video,” then “Time-lapse Replay.” You can preview the recording before exporting it as a video file.

Adjust the time-lapse speed using the slider at the bottom of the screen. A moderate speed usually works best for dog portraits, allowing viewers to follow your technique without getting bored.

Consider adding music to your time-lapse in a video editing app to make it more engaging. Art Teachers often use these videos as educational tools to demonstrate techniques to students.

Sharing Your Work Online

Social media platforms offer excellent venues for showcasing your Procreate dog portraits and connecting with other digital artists.

Instagram and Pinterest work well for visual art, while platforms like Behance and ArtStation are ideal for more professional portfolios. Include relevant hashtags like #ProcreateDogPortrait or #DigitalPetArt to increase visibility.

When sharing, consider adding a brief description of your process or the techniques you used. This provides context and invites engagement from viewers interested in Procreate.

If you’re looking for feedback, join Procreate communities on Reddit or Facebook where artists regularly share work and offer constructive criticism. These groups can provide valuable insights for improving your future dog portraits.

Remember to watermark your work with your artist name or signature before posting online to protect your intellectual property.

Beginner’s Guide to Procreate

Our Beginner’s Guide to Procreate is the ultimate resource to kickstart your digital art journey. It covers everything from the basics of navigating the app to advanced techniques for creating stunning artwork so that you can not only get off to a strong start but gain confidence quickly. Dive in and unleash your creativity with Procreate!