How to Create Outlines in Procreate
outline any object
In this tutorial, you’ll learn to easily create an outline of any object, without manually tracing around it!
To start, the object you are outlining should be solid and on one layer.
In the layers panel, make sure you are on the same layer that has the object on it.
Tap the selection tool. Turn it to Automatic, and make sure that Color Fill (the paint bucket) is turned off.
Now, select the negative space outside of the object that you’re outlining. If you are outlining letters with spaces in the centers, like O, tap to select the inside those spaces.
With this selection active, tap the Feather button on the bottom toolbar. Use the slider to increase the feathering amount. I’ve found the best results are achieved when feathering between 3% - 6%.
Tap Copy & Paste. This will create a new layer with the selection.
If you hide all the other layers, you’ll be able to see the outline, but note that it is faint, and softened along the feathered edge. We’re going to change that next!
New outline layer with feathered edge
Making the outline solid
Select the layer contents of the new outline layer. You can access this with a gesture by using two fingers to press and hold on the layer.
Choose the color you want the outline to be.
In the bottom selection toolbar, turn on Color Fill. This will automatically fill the selected area with color.
Deselect the layer, and then select the layer contents again, without changing anything else. With Color Fill turned on, each time you select the layer contents, it will fill in the selection with color.
Continue to deselect and reselect - you’ll notice the edge of the outline become increasingly crisp.
What this process does is, it makes the feathered edges slightly more opaque each time. The feathering is comprised of increasingly transparent pixels, and by re-selecting the pixels and filling with color, they gradually change from transparent to opaque.
In the video, I repeated the process 8 or 9 times to get a fully solid outline. However, this method can sometimes result in some pixelation along what used to be the feathered edge. If that’s the case for your outline, I’ve found an easy way to resolve that.
TIPS FOR Reducing Pixelation
Before you've filled in the outline completely (when there's still a slight bit of feathering on the edges - maybe filling the selection 5 or 6 times), you can use the Automatic Selection tool to select the feathered portions and erase (make sure to turn off Color Fill). When doing this Automatic Selection, instead of tapping exactly on the feathered part of the outline, tap right outside of it and keep your pencil to the screen, dragging side to side to adjust the threshold to get the right amount selected. I find a threshold between 30-50% usually works for me, but it might depend on the canvas resolution and the size of the object. This results in a slightly thinner outline, but more crisp edges.
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