OG tutorial (mostly from 2021-22):

This page includes more about working with multiple layers (copper + mask + silkscreen) in a single drawing, as well as how my Procreate files are set up.

Design process

Circuit design & layout in KiCad

If you want to incorporate actual component footprints in your design, or double-check the circuit before making the pretty version, you probably want to start by creating a schematic (in the Schematic Editor) and laying out the circuit (in the PCB Editor).

If you’re planning to draw the entire circuit by hand, or you just want to wing it, you can simply place components on the board in the PCB Editor.

Place the board edges where you want them (even if it’s just a rough shape).

Once you’re happy with the layout, take a screenshot of your entire circuit.

• Crop the image tight around the board
• Drop it over to the iPad

Draw in Procreate

Import the screenshot into Procreate.

Set up the canvas:

• Balance a large canvas (for high resolution) with a decent number of available layers to draw on (for creative freedom & experimentation).
  • My process requires extra layers for clipping masks, to turn each design layer white for exporting.
  • There is a max brush size, so you might actually need a smaller canvas if you want to draw something super chunky.
• Resize the original image to the canvas.
  • Resolution doesn’t matter: this is just a guide.
• Crop the canvas as close to the board edges as possible, so you don’t have to do that later – especially if you’ll be exporting a lot.
  • This avoids cropping after exporting, which is tedious – but also, this means your exported layers will match!
  • If you want to use the symmetry tool (or other drawing guides), center the board outline as much as possible. (But you can edit the drawing guide’s center point later, so don’t stress.)

Set up your layers:

• Colors: I set the background to black, and design in white (for silkscreen) and deep yellow (for gold-plated copper).
  • This is the colorway I usually use for my final designs, and is easier on the eyes than black-on-white, assuming relatively small areas of silkscreen.
  • Designing in white-on-black means I have to check “Negative” in KiCad when converting my images to PCB layer files. (My Mask layer is pretty much an exact duplicate of the Copper layer, since I want all the copper to be exposed and plated in gold.)