From Photoshop to Illustrator to Procreate: My Creative Journey

If you've been following Scrappin Doodles for a while, you may have noticed that my artwork has evolved over the years. While my love for drawing cute, whimsical characters has never changed, the tools I use certainly have!

When I first started creating clip art, I drew everything in Adobe Photoshop using a Wacom pen tablet. It was an amazing way to bring my ideas to life, and I spent countless hours learning digital illustration and developing my own style.

As my business grew, I transitioned to Adobe Illustrator. Illustrator allowed me to create clean, scalable vector artwork and became my primary illustration program for many years. Using a Wacom tablet with Illustrator gave me the precision I needed, and it helped me build the large clip art library that so many of you have enjoyed over the years.

Then, in 2026, I made a change that completely transformed the way I create my artwork—I switched to Procreate.

Drawing directly on the screen with an Apple Pencil feels incredibly natural, almost like putting pencil to paper. Instead of looking down at a pen tablet while watching my monitor, I'm drawing exactly where my hand is, which makes the creative process feel much more intuitive and enjoyable. I find myself sketching more freely, adding little details, and creating artwork that feels softer, more expressive, and full of personality.

While I'll always appreciate everything Photoshop and Illustrator helped me accomplish, Procreate has rekindled the simple joy of drawing. It allows me to focus less on the software and more on creativity, and I truly believe that has given my recent illustrations a warmer, more natural, hand-drawn feel.

As I continue creating new clip art, coloring books, and printables, my goal remains the same as it was when I started over 20 years ago—to create artwork that inspires creativity, brings a smile to your face, and helps make your projects a little more fun.

Thank you for being part of this journey with me. Your support has allowed me to keep doing what I love every day, and I can't wait to share all the new artwork I'm creating in this exciting new chapter.