How to Make Stickers on Procreate: Everyone loves a sticker—you can slap a cute or fun one on your daily planner, laptop, locker, water bottle… you name it, you can sticker it! If you’re wondering how to make stickers on Procreate, this powerful app is the ultimate tool to bring your creative ideas to life. Whether you want to design digital stickers for planning apps like GoodNotes or create beautifully printed sticker sheets, Procreate offers everything you need. Follow the step-by-step guide below on how to make stickers on Procreate and transform your artwork into adorable stickers you can print or share digitally! With these tips on how to make stickers on Procreate, you’ll be crafting your own unique sticker collections in no time.
Drawing a Sticker in Procreate
Step 1: Create a New Canvas with Your Sticker Size and Color Settings
Open Procreate and tap the + icon at the top-right corner to choose or customize your canvas size. For printing stickers on standard 8.5 x 11” paper, set your canvas to 2550 x 3300 pixels. If you’re using a Cricut cutter, keep the canvas within 9.25 x 6.75 inches (23.5 cm × 17.1 cm). Select the color profile and resolution depending on your sticker’s use: choose CMYK and 300 DPI for high-quality prints or RGB with 150–300 DPI for digital stickers.
More on canvas setup
Step 2: Sketch Your Sticker on the Canvas
Tap the brush icon in the top-right corner to open the Brush Library. Under the Sketching section, select your preferred brush. Adjust the brush size using the slider on the left, then begin sketching your sticker design directly on the canvas.
Brush and sketching tips
Step 3: Add Color on a New Layer
Tap the Layers icon and hit the + to add a new layer below your sketch. Choose colors from the Color Panel (top-right circle) and use your brush to paint the sketch on this new layer. For better control, consider creating separate layers for each color, which allows easy adjustments later.
Working with layers
Step 4: Merge All Layers into One
Once your coloring is complete and you’re happy with the design, tap the top layer and select Merge Down. Continue until all elements of your sticker are merged into a single layer, making it easier to move and resize the entire sticker as one piece.
How to merge layers
Step 5: Draw a White Border Around Your Sticker
Create a new layer underneath your merged design layer. Uncheck the “Background” box to make the canvas transparent. Using a hard airbrush with white color, draw a clean border around your sticker and fill it completely. Adjust the border smoothness by tweaking the brush’s color threshold if necessary. This white border will act as the sticker’s outline when printed or cut.
Adding outlines
Step 6: Clean Up Your File Before Exporting
Select the white border layer and use the Selection Tool with the Automatic option to select the background area. Swipe down with three fingers and choose Cut and Paste to isolate the background into a new layer, then delete it. This leaves your sticker design clean and ready for export.
Selection and editing tools
Step 7: Export and Save Your Digital Sticker
Open the Actions menu by tapping the wrench icon, select Share, and then choose PNG as the file format. Save the file to your iPad or preferred location to keep your transparent background and high quality intact.
Exporting artwork
Step 8: Make More Stickers from Scratch or Existing Art
Now that your first sticker is done, you can create more using the same steps or turn existing Procreate designs or photos into stickers. For existing art, simply open the image, remove the background, and export as PNG. For photos, drag them into your canvas, add a white border, then export.
Using existing images
Creating a Sticker Sheet
Step 1: Arrange Multiple Stickers on a Blank Canvas
Use the Selection tool to pick each sticker and drag it anywhere on your blank canvas. Resize and position the stickers as you like, but make sure to leave enough space between them for cutting if you plan to print a physical sticker sheet. To keep your sticker sheet visually appealing and dynamic, vary the sizes and orientations of some or all stickers.
Step 2: Add a White Outline Around Each Sticker
Create a new layer and place it beneath all your sticker layers. Uncheck the “Background” box in the layers panel to make the canvas transparent. Select white from your color palette, then use a hard airbrush to carefully draw a smooth white outline around each sticker. Fill in each outline completely to avoid visible gaps. Adjust the color threshold by sliding your stylus if you notice any defined lines between the outline and the sticker interior. This white outline layer acts as a background for your stickers on the sheet.
Step 3: Clean Up Your File Before Exporting
Select the layer with your white outline shapes and activate the Selection Tool. Choose the Automatic option and tap the background area. Swipe down with three fingers to open copy and paste options, then select Cut and Paste. This removes any stray background elements and places them in a new layer. Delete this new layer to ensure your sticker sheet image is perfectly clean and ready.
Step 4: Export and Save Your Sticker Sheet
Open the Actions menu by tapping the wrench icon, then choose Share. Export your file as a PNG and save it to your iPad or desired location. For digital use, you can crop individual stickers from the sheet if needed, though most digital planning apps like GoodNotes can handle whole sheets. If you’re using a Cricut cutter, import your sticker sheet PNG into Design Space where you can finalize cutting preparations before printing.
Printing & Cutting Stickers
Option 1: By Hand
Open your saved sticker file on your iPad, ensuring it’s in PNG format sized to standard printer paper (typically 8.5 x 11 inches or 22 cm × 28 cm). If you have an AirPrint-compatible printer, tap the Share icon on your file and select Print. Without AirPrint, use your printer manufacturer’s app (like Epson Smart Panel) or transfer the file to a computer for printing.
- Once printed, carefully cut out each sticker with scissors, leaving a thin border if you prefer.
- Tools & Materials: iPad + Procreate, printer with ink, inkjet-printable sticker paper, scissors.
- Pros: Affordable, customizable size, no quantity limits, quick setup, hands-on experience.
- Cons: Requires printer access, needs good scissor skills, less durable materials, not suitable for large volumes.
Option 2: With a Cricut
Open your saved sticker file in Cricut Design Space and select Print and Cut. Insert your design onto a new canvas, resize and reposition as needed, then select Make It. If your design spills beyond one page, shrink it in the Canvas view.
- Print using an AirPrint-compatible printer or print from a computer if AirPrint isn’t available. The Cricut machine will cut your stickers following the printed guidelines automatically.
- Tools & Materials: iPad + Procreate, printer + ink, inkjet-printable sticker paper, Cricut cutting machine + accessories.
- Pros: Professional finish, user-friendly software, adjustable sizing, fast multi-sticker production, great for experimenting.
- Cons: Expensive setup, trial-and-error process, time-consuming, limited print size, requires AirPrint-compatible printer, not ideal for very large volumes.
Option 3: At a Professional Print Shop
Locate a local print shop or online service to print your stickers. Upload your artwork following their instructions, select your sticker size, and place your order. Typically, delivery takes about a week.
- Tools & Materials: iPad + Procreate.
- Pros: High-quality results, convenient and easy, wide variety of materials available.
- Cons: Possible minimum order quantities, longer wait times, may require special file preparation.
Glossary of Sticker-Related Terms
Step 1: Dieline/Cutline
A dieline or cutline is the line along which a cutting machine will cut the material on which the sticker is printed. Creating an outline around your sticker separates the artwork from the dieline, preventing accidental cuts into the design itself.
Step 2: Kiss Cut
A kiss cut sticker is cut only through the top layer of the sticker material, leaving the backing paper intact. This makes kiss cut stickers easier to peel from the backing compared to die cut stickers. Most commercially available sticker sheets use kiss cut stickers.
Step 3: Die Cut
A die cut sticker is cut completely through both the sticker material and the backing paper. This means the sticker stands alone (not part of a sheet) and can be any custom shape. The sticker and its backing have the exact same shape and size.
Step 4: Sticker Sheet
A sticker sheet is a single page layout featuring multiple sticker designs. These are usually printed as kiss cut stickers so each sticker can be peeled off individually. Sticker sheets are ideal for printing multiple designs at once.
Step 5: Full Bleed
Full bleed refers to printing a graphic or design that covers the entire paper surface with no margins or borders. This requires either a borderless printer or printing a slightly oversized design and trimming the excess afterward.
Step 6: Material/Stock
Material or stock refers to the type of material used to manufacture stickers. Options include canvas, paper, vinyl, cling film, and specialty stocks like holographic, mirrored, or glittery materials. Coatings may include glossy, matte, or UV laminate finishes.
- Some materials are suitable for outdoor use, such as bumper stickers or floor stickers.
Step 7: Backing Paper
Sticker material consists of two layers: the top printed layer and the backing paper, which contains the adhesive. The backing paper is coated to allow easy release of the sticker when peeled off.
Step 8: Raster
Raster images are made of pixels, like digital photos. Enlarging raster images causes quality loss and pixelation. Raster images can hold detailed information without excessively increasing file size.
- Procreate creates raster images, with common raster file formats including .jpg, .gif, .png, and .tiff.
Step 9: Vector
Vector images are created with mathematical paths and shapes, allowing them to be resized infinitely without losing quality. However, vector images usually lack complex details and textures because that would increase file size significantly.
- Vector graphics are commonly created with Adobe Illustrator or Affinity Designer, and file formats include .ai, .eps, and .svg.
