To make washi tape in Procreate, draw a long rectangular strip on its own layer, clip a pattern layer to it, lower the opacity so the page shows through, and roughen the ends with a textured eraser. For reusable tape, build the strip into a stamp or roll brush by pasting the tape shape into Brush Studio's Shape source and a grayscale pattern into the Grain source. When you're done, hide the background and export a transparent PNG.

What You Need Before You Start

• Procreate on an iPad (an Apple Pencil helps, but it isn't required)
• A canvas sized for your end use: A4 or letter for planner pages, or a square or 16:9 canvas if the tape will end up in a video
• A few repeat patterns or pattern brushes. Hand-drawn doodles, dots, stripes, and florals all work.
• A rough-textured brush for torn edges, such as a chalk, charcoal, or dry-media brush

A canvas at least 3000 px on the long side is a safe starting point. Tape gets scaled and rotated a lot, and soft edges are obvious on a thin strip.

Method 1: Draw a Single Tape Strip with Layers

This is the fastest route and gives you full control over each piece. It suits one-off tapes, title-card decoration, and anything you'll hand-place.

Step 1: Set up a guide and sketch the strip

Open the Actions menu (wrench icon), go to Canvas, and turn on Drawing Guide. Tap Edit Drawing Guide, choose 2D Grid, and adjust grid size and opacity so it helps without distracting. Draw a long, narrow rectangle on a new layer. Real washi tape is commonly around 15–20 mm wide, so a long, narrow strip in similar proportions looks believable.

Step 2: Fill the base color

Fill the rectangle with your base color. Tap the layer, choose Alpha Lock, and fill with a solid color. Choose pattern colors at the same time. A good rule is to pick the base first, then try a second color on top as a quick swatch. Save both in a new palette so the whole tape set stays cohesive.

Step 3: Clip the pattern

Add a new layer above the strip, tap it, and choose Clipping Mask. Anything you paint on this layer now appears only inside the tape shape. Paint your pattern here with a pattern brush, stamps, or hand-drawn marks. Because it's clipped, you can't accidentally paint outside the edges, and you can swap the entire pattern later without touching the strip.

Step 4: Make it look like tape, not a sticker

Real washi is semi-transparent. Lower the base layer's opacity to roughly 70–85%, or set the pattern layer to Multiply. Then add a paper-fiber texture on another clipped layer at low opacity. A subtle grain does more for realism than any other single step.

Step 5: Rough up the ends

Torn or zigzag ends sell the effect. On the strip layer, use the Eraser with a rough brush to chew the short ends. Alternatively, use the Selection tool in Freehand mode to cut a zigzag, then delete. If your pattern layer is clipped, it follows the new edge automatically.

Step 6: Add a soft shadow (optional)

Duplicate the strip, Alpha Lock it, fill it black, blur it slightly with Gaussian Blur, drop the opacity to 15–25%, and offset it a few pixels. For compositing in After Effects, you may prefer to skip this and add the shadow there, where you can control it per shot.

Method 2: Build a Reusable Washi Tape Brush

If you'll make many tapes, a brush saves a lot of time. The approach has two flavors: a stamp (one tape piece per tap) and a roll (a continuous strip you drag out to any length).

How the brush logic works

A Procreate brush combines a Shape (the footprint) and a Grain (the texture seen through it). For tape brushes, the useful detail is how tones map to opacity: white is fully opaque, shades of gray are partially transparent, and black is fully see-through. That gives you built-in control over how translucent the tape looks.

Making a stamp brush

1. Create a square canvas and fill it with black.
2. On a layer above it, paint a white tape shape. Make it large without touching the canvas edges, and use snapping to center it.
3. Add a clipping mask above the white shape and paint designs in shades of gray. Light grays will read as strongly colored, dark grays as faint.
4. Select all, copy, and open a duplicate of an existing brush. Go to Shape > Edit > Import > Paste.
5. Confirm and test it on a fresh layer.

Anything black in the design becomes a see-through hole, which is useful for cut-out details but not for the body of the tape.

Making a roll brush

A roll brush needs a seamless repeat in the Grain source so the pattern runs without visible joins. If your pattern is square, copy it and paste it into the Grain editor. Procreate converts color artwork to grayscale there, so a colorful pattern becomes a tonal one. The color you pick when painting then tints it. If building a repeat feels tedious, a pattern-brush set or a simple offset-and-fill workflow works fine.

Two-color tape

Because brushes are tonal, one color comes from the brush itself. To get a second color, paint or stamp the tape in color one, add a clipping mask above it, and recolor the pattern with color two. The result is a base-and-pattern combination like real printed tape.

Apple Pencil hover

On supported Pencils, hovering shows an outline of the stamp before you commit. On models without full hover support, you can still preview size, and you can rotate the canvas to change the stamp's angle.

Exporting Your Washi Tape

Hide the paper or background layer so the checkerboard shows. In Actions > Share, choose PNG to keep transparency. Use PSD if you want every layer preserved for After Effects or Photoshop. Export a few sizes if the tape will be used at different scales.

Check these before you export:

• Edges don't have a halo from a leftover white or gray fill
• Tape layers aren't clipped to a hidden layer
• Shadow layers are either intentionally included or hidden

If you plan to print real tape

Digital and physical tape have different requirements. Manufacturers typically want 300 dpi, a CMYK color profile, and extra bleed on the cut edges, and many accept only layered or vector formats such as AI, PSD, or high-resolution PDF rather than PNG or JPEG. Procreate works well for the artwork, but finish the file in Photoshop or Illustrator and confirm the exact template with your manufacturer before designing. CMYK colors look different from on-screen RGB colors because the printable palette is more limited, so proof early.

Bringing Procreate Tape into Motion Work

Washi tape is a handy ingredient for scrapbook-style explainers, social edits, lyric videos, and collage title cards. A few practical ways to use your exports:

• Import the PSD or PNG into After Effects. Keep the tape on its own layer, set Multiply or Overlay when it sits over footage, and use the layer's anchor point at one end so it pivots naturally.
• Animate with imperfection. Subtle rotation, a slight scale pop on entry, and a Posterize Time effect at 8–12 fps give a hand-placed, stop-motion feel.
• Add edge variation in comp. A small amount of Roughen Edges or a Turbulent Displace on a duplicate matte can break up clean digital edges without redrawing.
• Build tape elements as a kit. Export a dozen strips at different angles and lengths, then use them as a library across projects.

Common Problems and Quick Fixes

The tape looks flat. Lower the opacity, add a paper-grain layer, and give the edges slight irregularity.

The pattern is cut off or misaligned. Check that the pattern layer is clipped to the strip and not to another group. Resize the pattern with the Transform tool before painting.

The brush stamp comes out as a solid block. The Shape image likely has no tonal variation or the wrong background. Make sure the shape is white on black and re-paste it.

Colors look dull after export. Procreate uses a color profile set in canvas properties. If you work across apps, keep the profile consistent (for example, Display P3 or sRGB) and check how After Effects is interpreting it.

Edges are fuzzy at video resolution. Redraw at a larger canvas size or rebuild the strip as a vector in another app. Avoid scaling small PNGs up in comp.

Quick Checklist

1. Choose a canvas size for your end use
2. Draw a strip on its own layer and fill it
3. Clip a pattern layer to it
4. Lower opacity and add paper texture
5. Rough up the ends
6. Save as a stamp or roll brush if you'll reuse it
7. Export a transparent PNG or layered PSD
8. Composite, animate, or use as a style reference

With the layered method for one-offs and a brush for repeat use, you can produce a whole set of washi tapes in an afternoon and carry them straight into your motion projects.

To make washi tape in Procreate, draw a long rectangular strip on its own layer, clip a pattern layer to it, lower the opacity so the page shows through, and roughen the ends with a textured eraser. For reusable tape, build the strip into a stamp or roll brush by pasting the tape shape into Brush Studio's Shape source and a grayscale pattern into the Grain source. When you're done, hide the background and export a transparent PNG.

What You Need Before You Start

• Procreate on an iPad (an Apple Pencil helps, but it isn't required)
• A canvas sized for your end use: A4 or letter for planner pages, or a square or 16:9 canvas if the tape will end up in a video
• A few repeat patterns or pattern brushes. Hand-drawn doodles, dots, stripes, and florals all work.
• A rough-textured brush for torn edges, such as a chalk, charcoal, or dry-media brush

A canvas at least 3000 px on the long side is a safe starting point. Tape gets scaled and rotated a lot, and soft edges are obvious on a thin strip.

Method 1: Draw a Single Tape Strip with Layers

This is the fastest route and gives you full control over each piece. It suits one-off tapes, title-card decoration, and anything you'll hand-place.

Step 1: Set up a guide and sketch the strip

Open the Actions menu (wrench icon), go to Canvas, and turn on Drawing Guide. Tap Edit Drawing Guide, choose 2D Grid, and adjust grid size and opacity so it helps without distracting. Draw a long, narrow rectangle on a new layer. Real washi tape is commonly around 15–20 mm wide, so a long, narrow strip in similar proportions looks believable.

Step 2: Fill the base color

Fill the rectangle with your base color. Tap the layer, choose Alpha Lock, and fill with a solid color. Choose pattern colors at the same time. A good rule is to pick the base first, then try a second color on top as a quick swatch. Save both in a new palette so the whole tape set stays cohesive.

Step 3: Clip the pattern

Add a new layer above the strip, tap it, and choose Clipping Mask. Anything you paint on this layer now appears only inside the tape shape. Paint your pattern here with a pattern brush, stamps, or hand-drawn marks. Because it's clipped, you can't accidentally paint outside the edges, and you can swap the entire pattern later without touching the strip.

Step 4: Make it look like tape, not a sticker

Real washi is semi-transparent. Lower the base layer's opacity to roughly 70–85%, or set the pattern layer to Multiply. Then add a paper-fiber texture on another clipped layer at low opacity. A subtle grain does more for realism than any other single step.

Step 5: Rough up the ends

Torn or zigzag ends sell the effect. On the strip layer, use the Eraser with a rough brush to chew the short ends. Alternatively, use the Selection tool in Freehand mode to cut a zigzag, then delete. If your pattern layer is clipped, it follows the new edge automatically.

Step 6: Add a soft shadow (optional)

Duplicate the strip, Alpha Lock it, fill it black, blur it slightly with Gaussian Blur, drop the opacity to 15–25%, and offset it a few pixels. For compositing in After Effects, you may prefer to skip this and add the shadow there, where you can control it per shot.

Method 2: Build a Reusable Washi Tape Brush

If you'll make many tapes, a brush saves a lot of time. The approach has two flavors: a stamp (one tape piece per tap) and a roll (a continuous strip you drag out to any length).

How the brush logic works

A Procreate brush combines a Shape (the footprint) and a Grain (the texture seen through it). For tape brushes, the useful detail is how tones map to opacity: white is fully opaque, shades of gray are partially transparent, and black is fully see-through. That gives you built-in control over how translucent the tape looks.

Making a stamp brush

1. Create a square canvas and fill it with black.
2. On a layer above it, paint a white tape shape. Make it large without touching the canvas edges, and use snapping to center it.
3. Add a clipping mask above the white shape and paint designs in shades of gray. Light grays will read as strongly colored, dark grays as faint.
4. Select all, copy, and open a duplicate of an existing brush. Go to Shape > Edit > Import > Paste.
5. Confirm and test it on a fresh layer.

Anything black in the design becomes a see-through hole, which is useful for cut-out details but not for the body of the tape.

Making a roll brush

A roll brush needs a seamless repeat in the Grain source so the pattern runs without visible joins. If your pattern is square, copy it and paste it into the Grain editor. Procreate converts color artwork to grayscale there, so a colorful pattern becomes a tonal one. The color you pick when painting then tints it. If building a repeat feels tedious, a pattern-brush set or a simple offset-and-fill workflow works fine.

Two-color tape

Because brushes are tonal, one color comes from the brush itself. To get a second color, paint or stamp the tape in color one, add a clipping mask above it, and recolor the pattern with color two. The result is a base-and-pattern combination like real printed tape.

Apple Pencil hover

On supported Pencils, hovering shows an outline of the stamp before you commit. On models without full hover support, you can still preview size, and you can rotate the canvas to change the stamp's angle.

Exporting Your Washi Tape

Hide the paper or background layer so the checkerboard shows. In Actions > Share, choose PNG to keep transparency. Use PSD if you want every layer preserved for After Effects or Photoshop. Export a few sizes if the tape will be used at different scales.

Check these before you export:

• Edges don't have a halo from a leftover white or gray fill
• Tape layers aren't clipped to a hidden layer
• Shadow layers are either intentionally included or hidden

If you plan to print real tape

Digital and physical tape have different requirements. Manufacturers typically want 300 dpi, a CMYK color profile, and extra bleed on the cut edges, and many accept only layered or vector formats such as AI, PSD, or high-resolution PDF rather than PNG or JPEG. Procreate works well for the artwork, but finish the file in Photoshop or Illustrator and confirm the exact template with your manufacturer before designing. CMYK colors look different from on-screen RGB colors because the printable palette is more limited, so proof early.

Bringing Procreate Tape into Motion Work

Washi tape is a handy ingredient for scrapbook-style explainers, social edits, lyric videos, and collage title cards. A few practical ways to use your exports:

• Import the PSD or PNG into After Effects. Keep the tape on its own layer, set Multiply or Overlay when it sits over footage, and use the layer's anchor point at one end so it pivots naturally.
• Animate with imperfection. Subtle rotation, a slight scale pop on entry, and a Posterize Time effect at 8–12 fps give a hand-placed, stop-motion feel.
• Add edge variation in comp. A small amount of Roughen Edges or a Turbulent Displace on a duplicate matte can break up clean digital edges without redrawing.
• Build tape elements as a kit. Export a dozen strips at different angles and lengths, then use them as a library across projects.

Common Problems and Quick Fixes

The tape looks flat. Lower the opacity, add a paper-grain layer, and give the edges slight irregularity.

The pattern is cut off or misaligned. Check that the pattern layer is clipped to the strip and not to another group. Resize the pattern with the Transform tool before painting.

The brush stamp comes out as a solid block. The Shape image likely has no tonal variation or the wrong background. Make sure the shape is white on black and re-paste it.

Colors look dull after export. Procreate uses a color profile set in canvas properties. If you work across apps, keep the profile consistent (for example, Display P3 or sRGB) and check how After Effects is interpreting it.

Edges are fuzzy at video resolution. Redraw at a larger canvas size or rebuild the strip as a vector in another app. Avoid scaling small PNGs up in comp.

Quick Checklist

1. Choose a canvas size for your end use
2. Draw a strip on its own layer and fill it
3. Clip a pattern layer to it
4. Lower opacity and add paper texture
5. Rough up the ends
6. Save as a stamp or roll brush if you'll reuse it
7. Export a transparent PNG or layered PSD
8. Composite, animate, or use as a style reference

With the layered method for one-offs and a brush for repeat use, you can produce a whole set of washi tapes in an afternoon and carry them straight into your motion projects.