An iPad and either a 1st or 2nd generation Apple Pencil, or an Apple Pencil Pro, are essential for use with most of my brushes - this way you can use pressure to make the stroke bigger/smaller/more or less solid etc. This does not apply to stamp brushes.

If budget is a concern, you will be absolutely fine with a cheaper iPad. The main advantage of an iPad with more memory (like iPad Pro) is that it will enable you to have more layers and larger canvases, and also might have faster performance. However, most iPads will give you good enough performance for casual/hobby use as long as they are compatible with the right Apple Pencil.

There are multiple different versions of Apple Pencil - and different iPads have different compatibility with them. So it’s important to make sure that the pencil and the iPad that you buy are compatible with each other. It's very important to note that the Apple Pencil USB-C is NOTpressure sensitive and will not give you the functionality you need for digital art.

The following website gives you a list of which iPads are compatible with which pencil version, and as long as you buy an iPad and pencil combo that is listed on that page and does not include the USB-C version, you should be good to go with Procreate!

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT211029

The iPad app you will need is called Procreate, and the latest version which is what you can find in the app store. They are continually updating and improving the app, and I’m always testing my brushes when a new version of Procreate comes out to ensure that they are forward compatible. I am not affiliated with Procreate in any way.

Procreate has recently released a new update to their app (Procreate 5.4) which has introduced Brush Libraries, which can at first make it look like all your previously downloaded brushes have disappeared. However, your brushes should still be there in a different brush library, called the “Classic Library.” This video will show you how to navigate there.

The first thing to be aware of with metallic brushes is that they need to be on a separate layer, above the rest of the artwork. If you are using them on the same layer as something else, they often come out looking flat white because they interact with what is already on that layer, which is why they need their own layer.

It can also be difficult to choose colors that work well with metallic brushes, which is why in some brush sets I’ve included color palettes specifically for this. Generally, darker colors work best and have more depth.

For printing digital artwork, the paper choice is very important - I usually suggest going with high quality glossy photo paper for anything including metallics, as it will enhance the shiny illusion. Semi gloss photo paper is another good option.

If you print on regular printer paper or cardstock, it will definitely turn out really bad, because essentially digital art is a photo, and it needs to be printed on photo paper, with a printer that is capable of printing high quality photos.

It’s also very important to set your size in your document before creating the artwork and sending it to a printer, or printing at home. This is because creating a small image and then blowing it up to a larger image creates more pixels than were in the original file and this results in the grainy look, and this would be true when sizing up any type of artwork or photo. So it’s very important to create the artwork in a large size at 300 DPI to begin with so that it will be suitable for printing.

With metallics, the main thing to keep in mind is that it’s not “true" metallics when printed, meaning that it won’t reflect light the way real metallics would - having reflective properties would require *actual* glitter/foil material, which is not something that can be created digitally. It prints out more like a picture of something sparkly, so that it can give the impression of metallics but on closer inspection it’s just a photo, I hope that makes sense? If you are in our facebook group, you can search for #printedartwork to see some examples of how other people’s prints have turned out, and different methods that they have used.

First of all, check the opacity slider (bottom left), to make sure that your opacity is all the way up.

If your opacity slider is up and there is still nothing coming out of the brush, it could be a blender brush. Several of my brush sets include blending brushes, which means they do not add anything new to the canvas, instead they blend what is already on the canvas in the particular layer you are on. So if you try using the brushes on a blank layer, nothing will happen because they are only meant to blend what is already there. Each of the blender brushes has a different style of blending so that you can smear and smudge what you have painted and pull it outward or fade it inward.

You'll find more information about the particular brush set, including any blender brushes, by checking out the PDF guide that came with your purchase.

It’s not possible to make Vector/AI artwork in Procreate. It’s possible to use the “image trace” function in Adobe Illustrator or a similar program, however even with a very detailed photographic trace (that would create a huge file) this will likely result in artwork that is much less realistic looking (even “cartoony”) because that is the nature of vectors. It depends on the artwork in question, if it’s fairly simple artwork then you could give that a try but if it’s a very detailed piece with lots of texture and/or metallics, I would not advise it.

I tend to use a large canvas because when exporting an image for print, it’s better to scale down than to scale up. So if I start with a 16x20" canvas and then decide I want to print it at 8x10” there is no loss in quality. But if it was the other way around and I started out with 8x10”, printing it any bigger than that would result in a pixelated image. It’s also important to make sure that your DPI is set to 300.

If you purchased here on my website via Payhip (my payment partner), or on one of my other shops including Gumroad, Etsy, or Creative Market, you should have gotten an email receipt with a download button, sent to the email address you provided during the checkout process. If you do not see this email in your inbox, it may have gone into your spam/junk folder, which can happen sometimes depending on your email provider.

There are also instruction sheets with links to more videos, etc within the download folders, specific to that brush set.

If you have any trouble finding your download, you are very welcome to contact me and I will be happy to assist.

• Try the purchase in a different browser, or update your browser and try again
• Try the purchase on a different device
• Turn off browser extensions and VPNs and try again
• Check to make sure you have enough funds in your account to cover the payment
• Call your card provider or contact PayPal and ask them if there are blocks or limitations on your account

Any products that you have purchased while logged into your account should also appear in your dashboard after you have logged in.

If you made purchases before creating a login, you may need to migrate them to your account before you will see them on your dashboard, which is completely optional for your convenience.

You can do this by going to any previous purchase receipt email, and clicking the download button. Follow the "get started" button at the bottom of that page and you will be guided through the process. If you need me to re-send your receipts just let me know.

Yes, if you have already purchased a brush set and then I update that brush set, the update is free for you. When I update a brush set, I usually send out an email to everyone who has purchased to let them know how to download the new files. However, this doesn't always get delivered as you may not have opted in to emails from me, or it might otherwise go to your spam folder.

If you purchased via my website, Gumroad, Creative Market, or Design Bundles, then you should be able to go back to the product page while logged in, hit download again, and the new files will be there. If you purchased via Etsy, or if you otherwise are having any trouble getting the update, you are welcome to contact me and I'll be happy to help you out. To speed up the process, include as many details about the original purchase as possible, for instance which marketplace or website you bought it from, which email address and/or username you used, rough dates or years if you remember them, and any names or email addresses you might have previously used.

It’s completely fine to pay in your own currency, and the payment will be automatically converted at checkout. The prices are displayed in USD simply because my shop platform doesn’t support automatic currency display by region.

I’m so sorry for this inconvenience. As a small business I do not have a tax account in some countries depending on regional tax regulations, so I am unable to comply with tax obligations for digital purchases there.

I am working on a solution for this but in the meantime, the best option in this case would be to purchase via my Etsy shop instead, as Etsy handles tax compliance on purchases made through their marketplace: https://www.etsy.com/shop/alainajensenbrushes

Some other options would be the following websites:

https://alainajensen.gumroad.com/

https://creativemarket.com/AJBrushes

You are absolutely welcome and encouraged to sell the artwork that you make using my brushes! In fact, it makes me really happy to see other creatives succeeding in their entrepreneurial pursuits, which is why I sell my brushes with a built in commercial license.

You can read more about my license terms here: https://alainajensen.com/license

Yes you can use the brushes to create backgrounds for stock sites etc. The only precaution would be if you are using any stamp brushes (the kind where you tap the screen and a shape appears) they would need to be combined with other brushes, stamps or elements in order to be sold this way. If you are looking at any of my dynamic brushes like Amazing Alcohol Ink or Painterly, this is not a concern because these are not stamps. 

You can read more about my license terms here: https://alainajensen.com/license

My understanding of NFTs is still very basic and I plan to continue researching and possibly revising my stance on this.

However from what I understand, an NFT has to be unique and copyrighted to the owner - while your artwork made with the brushes is absolutely your own work, there are elements in some of the brushes (shapes and patterns) which might be recognisable from one persons artwork to another as having been made with my brushes. So at this time I am not comfortable saying that my brushes can be used to make an NFT.

No, "remixing" my brushes and selling or sharing them is not permitted. This includes duplicating the brush + changing settings and/or images, or otherwise using my brushes as a template or inspiration for your own (if you intend to sell them).