How to Warp Text in Procreate

In today’s creative tutorial we are going to show you how to warp text in Procreate. Warping gives you more flexibility when editing text. While it can be used to curve text, we will be completely manipulating the text in this tutorial. This is a great way to create unique logos or funky looking designs.

During this tutorial we are using a retro cartoon font called Insomniacz. We will be drawing a shape guide using brushes already in Procreate. For more brush options be sure to check out the awesome selection of Procreate Brushes on Design Bundles.

Step 1 - Create a Drawing Guide

Begin by opening Procreate and choosing a canvas size. We created a canvas size of 2000 x 1500. When warping, it helps to have a good amount of canvas space to work on.

You can warp your text freehand and create some totally fun results. If you prefer a more controlled method, then this is where your drawing guides will come in handy.

We added a 2D drawing guide with a 145px Grid Size.

Step 2 - Add your Text in Procreate

Create and edit your text as you want. We adjusted the Kerning to 10% so that we have some extra space when warping.

The text color can be adjusted using the Color Palette top right.

You can add an effect like 3D lettering or even add alternate glyphs to your font. Just keep in mind that warping can distort the effect.

We are going to keep this one simple. Warping will rasterize the text object but if you want you can do this beforehand. Tap on the Layers Panel top of the screen. Now, double tap on the text layer and select Rasterise.

Step 3 - Warp the Text in Procreate

Let’s have some fun with the Warp tool.

One thing to note before we begin. The Warp tool is found under the Selection Menu. If you leave the Selection Menu, the warp mesh will be applied. This means that if you click on the Warp tool again, a new mesh will be created.

This can be beneficial if the current mesh is no longer providing results.

Tap on the Selection Tool again. Then tap on the Warp option and a simple mesh will be added. This mesh contains corner nodes that can be edited by tapping and moving each one.

The mesh itself can be edited by tapping and dragging anywhere inside the mesh.

If you want more control then tap on the first icon, Advanced Mesh. This will add even more nodes, of which each can be independently adjusted. As with the basic mesh, you can also tap + drag anywhere in the mesh to edit.

You now have a basic idea of how to warp text. Let’s take a look at warping text with shape guides.

Step 4 - Warp Text with Shape Guides

While warping freehand can give interesting results, a shape can be a great guide. We already looked at how to use a curved line with text, which is more uniform. This time we will use a drawn shape. The shape layer will be hidden once done to reveal the result.

Create a new layer by going to the Layers Panel and tapping on the “+” icon. If you would like more information, we have a great tutorial on using layers in Procreate.

For this step we reverted back to the original text form and changed the color.

Go to the Brushes Panel at the top, then select the Technical Pen from the Inking category. Make sure the new layer is selected, then draw a smooth line around the text.

We drew a cute heart. Since this will only be a guide, we didn’t worry about making it a closed shape. If you intend to add a fill, the shape does need to be closed.

Move the text into the heart shape using the Uniform option under the Selection Tool.

In the image below we first used the basic Warp mesh to stretch out the text.

Next, we tapped on the Advanced Mesh. The individual nodes were moved around to best fit the shape. Remember, you can tap away to apply the mesh then go back and create a new one.

You can also adjust the size with the Uniform tool, then tap back on the Mesh tool. As long as you stay in the Selection menu, the current mesh will remain active.

Experiment with meshes and resizing until you get as close to the shape as possible.

To see the result, under the Layers Panel, untick the box next to the heart shape layer. This will hide this layer so you can see the result.

With the Warp tool you can completely change the look of your text. Give your logos an entirely new look, or create customized projects. We hope you enjoyed following this tutorial on how to warp text in Procreate.