How to Outline Lettering in Procreate: A Quick & Perfect Hack

If you have ever tried adding a clean border to your digital lettering, you know that drawing it manually can be frustrating. Wobbles, uneven thickness and missed spots often ruin the look of an otherwise perfect design. Fortunately, there is a brilliant workflow that creates a flawless outline around your lettering every single time.

This quick guide will walk you through the process using hidden features within Procreate.

Step 1: Duplicate Your Text Layer

Open your artwork in Procreate and navigate to the layers menu. Swipe left on your original lettering layer and select Duplicate. You will want to keep your top layer untouched, so tap on the bottom version to select it for the next steps.

Step 2: Apply a Gaussian Blur

With the bottom layer selected, open the Adjustments menu (the wand icon) and choose Gaussian Blur. Drag your Apple Pencil across the screen to the right until the blur effect reaches about 10%. This creates a soft, expanded halo around your original lettering.

Step 3: Select the Blurred Area

Next, tap the Selection tool (the S-shaped icon) and set the mode to Automatic. Tap directly onto your blurred lettering, then drag your pencil across the screen to adjust the selection threshold. You want to make sure the entire blurred area turns blue, indicating that the text and the surrounding haze are fully selected.

Step 4: Create and Fill the Outline Layer

Open your layers menu again and hide the blurred layer by unticking the box next to it. Create a brand-new layer directly above it. Choose the colour you want for your text outline from the colour palette. Tap on the new layer thumbnail and select Fill Layer. This instantly transforms your selection into a crisp, solid outline.

Step 5: Bonus Shadow Effect

If you want to add depth to your lettering, you can easily turn your new outline into a drop shadow. Duplicate the outline layer you just created, select the bottom version and use the transform tool to reduce its size slightly and shift it downwards. To finish, use a brush to join any disconnected edges between the shadow and the outline.

With this simple technique, you can skip the tedious hand-drawing process and achieve precise, professional outlines on all your hand-lettering projects.

Brushes used in this piece are from the Freestyler Pack for Procreate and Affinity