Pencilmania Procreate Brush Set Review: Realistic Graphite Brushes for Digital Artists
Digital drawing is convenient, but recreating the natural texture, pressure, grain, and softness of traditional graphite can be difficult with standard brushes. Artists who enjoy pencil sketching often want the flexibility of Procreate without losing the character of drawing on real paper.
Pencilmania by Manero Brushes is a graphite and pencil brush collection created specifically for Procreate. It combines realistic pencil tools, shading brushes, paper textures, and drawing examples to help digital artists produce traditional-looking sketches on the iPad.
Pencilmania is a digital brush package containing 54 Procreate brushes designed around graphite and traditional pencil techniques. The collection includes different pencil hardness levels ranging from 12H through HB to 12B, along with erasers, graphite shading tools, hatching brushes, side-tip pencils, graphite sticks, and mark-making brushes.
The package is designed for Procreate 5.4 and above, making it primarily suitable for iPad artists already working within the Procreate ecosystem.
One of Pencilmania's strongest features is the variety of pencil styles available. Instead of relying on a single generic sketch brush, artists can move between harder pencils for fine lines and softer graphite options for darker shading.
The collection also includes brushes intended for hatching, broad graphite marks, blending, and erasing. Many brushes work effectively with Procreate's Smudge tool, allowing artists to build smoother tonal transitions and experiment with different sketching techniques.
Traditional pencil artwork depends heavily on the interaction between graphite and paper. Pencilmania includes 10 high-resolution paper textures designed to complement graphite and pencil artwork.
These textures can help digital illustrations feel less flat by introducing visible paper grain and surface variation. Artists creating portraits, concept sketches, character studies, or realistic pencil illustrations may find this especially useful.
Apple Pencil and Workflow Improvements
The brush set has received several updates aimed at improving usability. Compatible brushes support Apple Pencil Pro barrel roll, while other Apple Pencil models can use azimuth-based behavior where appropriate.
The brushes are also organized into categories for easier navigation. Recent updates redesigned the thumbnails for clearer greyscale readability in Procreate 5.4 and introduced performance and precision refinements.
Two pencil portrait time-lapses and their finished PNG images are included, giving buyers examples of how the brushes can be used in completed artwork.
Who Is This For?
Pencilmania is best suited to Procreate illustrators, portrait artists, sketchers, concept artists, and hobbyists who enjoy the appearance of traditional graphite. It may be particularly appealing to iPad users who want more pencil variety than a basic brush library provides.
Pros and Cons
Pros
54 graphite and pencil brushes
Multiple realistic pencil hardness options
10 high-resolution paper textures
Shading, hatching, eraser, and graphite-mark brushes
Apple Pencil Pro barrel-roll support on compatible tools
Free future updates are included
Cons
Designed specifically for Procreate
Requires Procreate 5.4 or newer
Large brush selection may take time to explore
Digital brushes cannot perfectly duplicate every aspect of physical graphite
Conclusion
Pencilmania offers a comprehensive toolkit for artists who want to combine the flexibility of digital illustration with the appearance of traditional pencil drawing. Its combination of graphite brushes, different hardness levels, paper textures, shading tools, and workflow improvements makes it a practical option for Procreate users focused on sketching and pencil-style artwork.
If you want to explore Pencilmania and see whether its graphite tools fit your drawing workflow, visit the product page here:
Comments