How to choose realistic watercolor Procreate brushes — a guide for beginners and professionals
Digital painting has been gaining popularity, and Procreate offers incredible possibilities for artists. The idea of painting with watercolors without the need for water, paint, or paper — anywhere you like — is undeniably appealing. But how do you choose the right realistic watercolor brushes for digital art to achieve professional results, even as a beginner?
Why digital watercolor changes everything
Anyone who has painted with traditional watercolor knows: the preparation alone takes time. You need to lay out your paints, brushes, and paper, prepare a sketch, and only then start painting. In summer heat, watercolor becomes even more demanding — it’s extremely sensitive to humidity, which makes color behavior unpredictable and drying times erratic.
And if something goes wrong? Correcting a mistake in watercolor on paper is genuinely difficult — a single misplaced stroke can be hard or impossible to fix. In digital painting, you simply undo the last action or erase and start again. That alone accelerates the entire process dramatically.
For beginners, this is a huge advantage. Traditional watercolor doesn’t forgive mistakes — it’s widely considered the most technically demanding medium in painting. Digital watercolor removes that pressure completely, letting you focus on learning color and composition without the anxiety of an irreversible stroke.
I created my Soft Watercolor Procreate Brushes specifically to make watercolor painting fast, flexible, and accessible — so you can paint wherever you want, whenever you want, without any setup. The brushes fully replicate the feel of real watercolor because they are built on my own hand-painted watercolor textures and brush imprints: I painted them, scanned them, and configured them carefully so that the digital result behaves just like the real thing.
What to look for when choosing watercolor Procreate brushes
Expertly crafted brushes
Ideally, the brushes should be created by a watercolor illustrator or an experienced artist. Who better understands how brushes should behave to achieve a truly realistic effect? Technically, a digital brush is built from a texture background and a brush shape — so the closer these are to real watercolor textures and authentic brush imprints, the more convincing the result.
A versatile collection
If you want to paint various styles — portraits, botanical illustrations, commercial artwork, landscapes — your collection needs enough brushes to cover each. A well-rounded set includes essential round brushes, textured brushes (goat-hair for grass and fur, bristle for rough strokes), detail brushes, and multiple blending brushes for smooth color transitions. Watercolor is loved for its flowing color, and a single blender is never enough for a truly realistic result. Stamp brushes for watercolor splashes and blotches also make a big difference — they add authenticity that’s difficult to replicate with a standard brush stroke.
Pre-textured canvases
A quality brush set should include canvases with real watercolor paper textures — but not just any texture image used as a background. These canvases need to be specially configured so that watercolor effects actually interact with the paper surface as you paint: the pigment spreads, pools, and behaves the way it does on real paper. Having several canvas options lets you choose the right paper feel for each project.
Tutorials for guidance
Watercolor techniques can be tricky for beginners, so it helps enormously if the brush creator provides tutorials showing how to use them effectively. Watching the process helps you understand which brush suits which stage and how to get the effect you’re after. Even experienced artists need time to explore new brushes and discover their full range.
Pre-made color palettes
Ready-made color palettes are a serious time-saver. If your brush set includes them, you can start painting immediately without having to build a palette from scratch.
Sketch stamp brushes
If the collection includes stamp brushes with pre-drawn sketches — flowers or other objects — you can test the brushes straight away and enjoy a relaxed, meditative coloring session without needing to sketch first.
For a truly realistic watercolor effect, try the Soft Watercolor Procreate Brushes — 72 brushes built on real watercolor textures, with canvases, color palettes, and botanical stamp sketches included.
Soft watercolor Procreate brushes + botanical edition
- 22 watercolor brushes for a stunning realistic result.
- 41 watercolor stamp brushes. Add drops, shadows, textures, splashes and salt stains to your watercolor illustration.
- 8 stamp brushes with floral sketches
- 6 canvases with real watercolor papers & special paper effects.
- 32 pre-made Procreate color palettes with soft and deep natural hues
Soft watercolor Procreate brushes by Yuliya Derbisheva
Try before you buy
You can also download a free sample (a few brushes and one canvas texture) to try before you buy
Brush demonstration:
Or visit my YouTube channel for tutorials showing the full painting process with these brushes.
