Pattern Design Tutorials
How to Create & Repeat Patterns Designs in Procreate (Step-by-Step)
This is a step-by-step guide to how you can easily make pattern repeats directly on your Ipad using Procreate. And as long as you make sure your canvas size is large enough nothing is stopping you from using your pattern designs made in Procreate in a professional setting.
It may look like many steps, but I promise they are all simple and fast to learn!
1. Draw
Start by drawing your pattern design in the middle of the canvas, leaving empty space around all the edges. Then make a new layer that you fill with a solid color, this will help us when we move the layers around since Procreate’s transform tool need the canvas to be filled to work the way we want it to do.
2. Add a solid color layer
By tapping the N I have circled on the image you can change the layer opacity to about 50% so you can see your design beneath the solid color layer.
3. Group your layers
To move all your design layers as if they were one, we need to create a group of layers. To group your design layers with the solid color layer, you first select one layer and then swipe right on all the layers you want to add to your group. Then press on “Group”.
4. Duplicate your group
To duplicate your group, swipe left on it and click duplicate.
5. Move things around
You can hide one of your groups so only one is visible. Then take the transform tool that I have circled up to the left to move your group. Make sure that Magnetics and snapping are ON! Then drag your layer upwards, the solid color layer helps us see where we place it.
6. Move the second group
Now make your second group visible and move it downwards the same way you did previously. It will magically snap in place. But thanks to the solid color layer we can also see that there is no gap or overlap between the groups. Had there been a gap we would see a stripe of the background color peep through, and where there is an overlap it would show a darker color stripe where it overlapped because of the opacity on the colored layers.
7. Fill in the gap
Continue to draw your design in the empty space created by moving the groups.
Combine your two groups to one so it’s easier to keep things organized when you move forward.
8. Move it sideways
Repeat steps 4-7 but this time move your groups sideways.
9. Find empty spaces
Here I have filled in the gap created by moving my groups sideways. But as you can see there is an empty area on the top and bottom of my pattern.
I also cleaned up my groups and layers so only one remains, but this is optional, I just like my files neat and tidy.
10. Repeat and Fix
I repeated steps 4-6 again in order to fix my empty area, now I can just fill it in.
11. Done
Your pattern repeat is done!
But if you want to check how it actually looks like in a repeat do the extra steps below.
12. Shrink and copy
First, make a copy of your pattern layer so you don’t accidentally change it!
Then take your copied pattern layer and use the transform tool and shrink it to a fourth of its size. Duplicate your layer and move it to the right, and merge the two layers and then duplicate to move that copy down
13. Admire your pattern design repeat!
By shrinking and copying your layers on the previous step we now can see how our pattern repeat actually looks like repeated four times.
Now the pattern design is complete. You can export it from Procreate and use your repeated pattern.
Keep in mind that if you plan on using your pattern make sure to make the canvas size big from the start!
Feel free to check me out on Instagram if you want to follow my journey as a Pattern designer.
