From Watercolour to Repeat: Digitising Nostalgic Lollies in Procreate

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Some lollies stay with you long after the flavour fades. These watercolour illustrations began as a tribute to the sweets of my childhood—those pastel conversation hearts and brightly wrapped treats that filled party bags and corner shop jars in the 1980s. Each one carried a tiny message, a moment of delight, or a secret code between friends.

I wanted to capture that feeling—the playful colours, the imperfect lettering, the way sugar and sentiment blur together—and turn it into a repeat pattern that could live beyond the page. Using Procreate, I digitised the original watercolour artwork and built a seamless tile that honours both the analogue charm and the digital possibilities.

Whether you're new to repeat patterns or looking to bring your traditional art into a digital space, this process is gentle, joyful, and full of creative agency. Here's how I did it.

🖌️ Step 1: Scanning and Importing

I scanned the original watercolour at 1200 DPI to capture the softness of the pigment and the texture of the paper. In Procreate, I imported the image onto a large canvas (300 DPI) and duplicated the layer so I could work non-destructively.

✂️ Step 2: Isolating Motifs

Using the selection tool (freehand or automatic), I traced around each candy. I feathered the edges slightly to keep the watercolour bleed intact, then used “duplicate and mask” to isolate each motif. Alpha Lock helped me clean up stray marks without losing the original texture.

🎨 Step 3: Preserving Texture

To retain the paper grain and brushwork, I kept the original scan layer visible underneath a soft multiply layer. This gave the motifs depth and kept the hand-drawn feel alive. I also used subtle shadowing to lift the candies off the background.

🔁 Step 4: Building the Repeat

I created a square canvas (6000x6000px) and placed each candy with Procreate’s snapping and guides turned on. To test the repeat, I duplicated the tile and offset it in four directions, checking for awkward gaps or overlaps. I adjusted scale and rotation to keep the pattern playful and dynamic.

📤 Step 5: Exporting and Sharing

Once the repeat was seamless, I exported it as a PNG with a transparent background. I’ve used it for Spoonflower swatches, printable wrapping paper, and even a blog header. It’s a sweet reminder that analogue art can find new life in digital spaces.

💬 Reflections

Digitising this piece allowed me to play with scale, repetition, and colour in ways that felt both intuitive and expansive. It’s a reminder that sweetness—like creativity—can be shared in many forms. Whether you’re working with watercolour, collage, or crayon, Procreate offers a gentle bridge between the tactile and the digital.