Banners can be a great way to add words to a piece of artwork. I wanted to find a quick way to draw them. This tutorial will show you how to draw three types of banners in Procreate: a simple banner, a curved banner, and a wavy banner.
To learn how to draw some banners, watch the video or read the post below.
What you’ll need:
- iPad (I’m using an iPad Pro 12.9 inch)
- Procreate app (Version 4.2.5)
- Apple Pencil (optional)
Create a new canvas
Tap the plus sign in the top right corner to create a new canvas. For this tutorial, choose the preset Square canvas.
Turn on the Drawing Guide
Tap on the wrench. Tap Canvas. Toggle the Drawing Guide on. Tap Edit Drawing Guide.
In the Drawing Guide under 2D Grid you can adjust the Grid Size. The size of the grid that I’m using for this tutorial is 143px. When you’re done with the Drawing Guide tap Done in the upper right corner.
Choose the monoline brush
Tap on the Paint button.
In the Brush Library, tap Calligraphy and select the Monoline brush.
Set the brush size slider on the side of the screen to about 25%.
Choose a color
Tap on the color swatch to choose a color. To choose black, tap on Value and enter the Hexadecimal #000000.
Draw the banners
Now we’re ready to draw the banners. I’ll show you how to create a simple banner, an arched banner, and a wavy banner. Just prepare your canvas, Drawing Guide, and brush following the above steps and then scroll to the banner you want to draw.
Simple Banner
Start with a rectangle
Draw a rectangle. Use the grid to help you size and position it. You can make it as big as you want, but make sure to center it and leave some space on either side of the rectangle. Hold your finger or Apple Pencil down after drawing the rectangle. Procreate will smooth out the shape. While still holding your pencil down, tap one finger on the screen to make the shape align to the grid and become a perfect rectangle. If the shape isn’t a rectangle, tap Edit Shape at the top of the screen and select Rectangle.
I made my rectangle 3 squares tall and 8 squares wide leaving about 3 squares on either side of it.
Make a new layer and draw some lines
Tap on the layers icon and tap on the plus sign to create a new layer.
Draw a line underneath the banner and extending to the side as in the screenshot below. After drawing, continue to hold down your pencil until the line becomes straight and tap one finger on the screen to align it to the grid. I drew my line about a half square underneath the rectangle, starting one square within the rectangle and extending almost to the edge of the canvas.
Draw a short line extending at an angle from the end of the line you just drew. Hold your pencil down until the line straightens. My line is about 1 1/2 squares long.
Duplicate, flip, and move the lines
Tap on the layers button. Swipe left on Layer 2 and press Duplicate.
Tap on the arrow.
At the bottom of the screen under Freeform tap Flip Vertical.
Use your finger or pencil to move the duplicated layer until it joins with your first line as shown below.
Tap on the arrow again.
Finish the side of the banner
Tap the Paint button to select your brush again. Draw a short line connecting the first line you drew to the rectangle. Keep your pencil or finger held down to form a perfect line.
Next draw another perfect line connecting the edge of the rectangle to the beginning of the line. If you pinch out with two fingers you can zoom in on your banner to see the lines more clearly.
Tap on the eraser button and in the Brush Library under Calligraphy choose the Monoline brush.
Erase the line that is within the rectangle. You may need to change the size of the eraser with the top slider on the side of the screen.
Duplicate and flip the side of the banner
Tap on the layers button. Tap on the top layer and select Merge Down.
Swipe left on Layer 2 and tap Duplicate.
Tap on the arrow.
At the bottom of the screen under Freeform tap Flip Horizontal.
Use your finger or pencil to move the duplicated object to the other side of the banner and line it up properly.
Tip: Tapping on the screen in the direction you want the object to move will move it slightly so you can get it lined up perfectly.
Then tap on the arrow again.
Finish the banner
Tap on the layers button. Tap on the top layer and tap Merge Down.
Then tap Merge Down on the new top layer so it merges with the rectangle and all of the layers are merged.
The banner is done!
Resize it or change its shape
To resize, tap on the arrow to select the whole banner. The options at the bottom of the screen default to Freeform. If you size it now, you can change the proportions. For instance, you can make it narrower.
If you tap Uniform at the bottom of the screen while the banner is selected, you can drag the nodes to size the banner without changing its shape.
If you want, you can warp the banner to create some interesting effects. Tap on the arrow to select the entire banner. At the bottom of the screen tap Warp.
Drag different areas of the banner to warp it into shapes and make it more wavy or arched. This isn’t very precise, but it’s a fun way to get some interesting effects. If you want a more precise way to create wavy or arched banners, scroll down in this article.
Add Embellishments
Add shadow lines:
Or add color and some words:
Arched Banner
This banner follows some of the same steps as the simple banner above, but there are a few modifications. Set up your canvas, pen, and drawing guide in the same way before starting.
Create some guidelines
Make some dots on your grid so you can see how the arc should be drawn.
I plan to make my arc about one square high and eight squares across leaving about three squares on either side of the canvas. I drew a dot where the banner should start, a dot where it should arch in the middle, and a dot where it should end.
Create a new layer and draw an arc
Tap the layers button and tap the plus sign to create a new layer above your dots layer.
Draw an arc following the dot guidelines that you drew. Hold down your pencil after drawing the line to create an arc shape.
Once you’ve drawn your arc, tap on the layers button, swipe left on Layer 1 (the dots layer), and press Delete.
Still in the Layers menu, swipe left on the arc layer and press Duplicate.
Tap on the arrow. Drag the duplicated arc so that the start of the line is about three squares below the other arc.
With the arc still selected, in the bottom menu tap Uniform. Drag one of the nodes of the line to make it slightly smaller than the top arc. Position the arc so it’s centered below the top arc. Then tap on the arrow again.
NOTE: Making the arc smaller will also make the line slightly narrower. If you want it to be the same width, you could draw the second arc by hand instead of duplicating the first one and making it smaller.
Draw lines connecting the two arcs together. Hold your pencil down after drawing each line to make the lines straight.
Tap on the layers button. Tap the top layer and press Merge Down.
Tap the merged layer and tap Rename. Name it “Arch.”
Tap the plus sign to create a new layer.
Draw the side of the banner
Draw a line beneath the banner and extending out to the side at an angle. Leave some space between the line and the edge of the canvas. I made mine almost four squares long and stopped about a square before the edge of the canvas. Hold down your pencil to make the line straight.
Then draw a short straight line extending at an angle from the line you just drew. Mine is about 1 1/2 squares long.
Tap on the layers button. Swipe left on Layer 2 and press Duplicate.
Tap on the arrow. At the bottom of the screen under Freeform tap Flip Vertical. Use the green point to swivel the selection so that the longer lines are lined up.
Move the selection so that the two short lines meet at the points.
Use two short lines to connect the side of the banner to the arch. Then tap on the eraser and clean up the main part of the banner so that the inside is blank.
Make the other side of the banner
Tap on the layers button. Tap on the top layer and then tap Merge Down.
Swipe left on Layer 2 and press Duplicate.
Tap on the arrow. At the bottom of the screen under Freeform, tap Flip Horizontal.
Move the duplicated layer to the other side of the banner and make sure the lines all fit together. You can tap on the screen in the direction you want the selection to go to nudge it slightly in that direction.
NOTE: If the selection doesn’t line up perfectly, you may need to use the green dot to swivel the selection slightly. You may also have to fix the side of the banner with your paintbrush or eraser tool if things don’t line up perfectly.
Add shadows, color, words, or other designs to finish the banner.
Wavy Banner
This banner also follows the same beginning steps as the simple banner. Set up your canvas, drawing guide, and pen the same way.
Draw some dots as a guide to make the top of the banner
Make dots on the grid where you want your wavy banner to start and end and dots in the middle to guide the line for the top of the banner. I made my wavy line about eight squares long keeping three squares on either side of the canvas. I put a dot in the middle and then two dots for the high and low points of the wavy line which are spaced about half a square up or down from the midpoint.
Here is my dot placement:
- Dot 1: Three squares into the canvas.
- Dot 2: Move two squares to the right and up half a square.
- Dot 3: Move two squares to the right and half a square down to be across from dot 1.
- Dot 4: Move two squares to the right and half a square down.
- Dot 5: Move two squares to the right and half a square up to be across from dots 1 and 3.
Create the main part of the banner
Tap on the layers button and tap on the plus sign to create a new layer above your dots layer.
On the new layer, use the dots as a guide to draw the wavy top of the banner.
Tap on the layers button, swipe left on Layer 1, and press Delete to delete the dots layer.
Still in the layers menu, swipe left on the wavy line layer and press Duplicate.
Tap on the arrow to select the duplicated wavy line. Use your finger or pencil to drag it underneath the other line. I moved mine so the starting point was about three squares below the other line.
Select the Paint brush. Draw two lines to connect the wavy lines as shown below:
Create the right side of the banner
Tap on the layers button and press the plus sign to create a new layer.
Draw a line from the upper right corner of the main banner, going up and back a bit, and then extending towards the edge of the canvas as shown below:
My line goes from the corner of the banner, back a little over a square and up about a square, then over about 4 squares to end a bit before the edge of the canvas.
Use a short line to connect the line you just drew to the main part of the banner as shown below:
Create the end of the banner
Tap on the layers button and tap the plus sign to create a new layer.
Draw a short line extending at an angle from the end of the banner inwards. I made mine about 1 1/2 squares long.
Swipe three fingers down on the screen and then press Copy & Paste to duplicate the line you just made and paste it into a new layer. If you’d rather, you can open the layers menu again, swipe left on the short line layer, and press Duplicate.
With the duplicated short line selected, under Freeform tap Flip Vertical. Then move the duplicated line so it connects with the original line to create the end of the banner.
NOTE: You may need to drag outside of the selection if the line keeps resizing when you try to move it. You may also need to tap outside of the selection in the direction you want the line to go to nudge it into place.
Use a line to connect the end of the banner to the main banner as shown below:
Create the left side of the banner
Tap on the layers button. Tap on the top layer and press Merge Down. Tap on the new top layer and press Merge Down so that the right side of the banner is merged.
Swipe left on the top layer which should contain the right side of the banner. Then press Duplicate.
Tap on the arrow to select the duplicated right side of the banner. At the bottom of the screen under Freeform tap Flip Horizontal and then Flip Vertical.
Then move the duplicated side of the banner onto the left side of the banner. You may have to use the eraser to clean it up a bit.
Tap on the layers button. Pinch all of the layers together to merge them, or tap on the top layer and press Merge Down. Continue to do this until all of the layers are merged.
Once all of the layers are merged, you can use the arrow to select the banner and move it or resize it. Then fill it with color, shadows, or words.
That’s it! You can use these same techniques to create all sorts of banners.
Thank you!
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This is a fantastic tutorial! The step-by-step instructions and visual aids make creating banners in Procreate very accessible. I particularly appreciate the detailed guidance on using the Drawing Guide and the tips for perfecting shapes. One question I have is: do you have any recommendations for adding more complex textures or patterns to the banners once they are drawn? Thanks.