Otto Stürcke PSA-MP
From Concept to Canvas: Procreate & Pastel
Skill Level: All Levels
Six Sundays: January 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, and February 7, 2027
9:00 to 1:00 pm (EST)
Zoom Only
Class Overview
Since the days of Da Vinci, artists have used technology to become more efficient in their craft, and today that evolution continues with tools that can dramatically expand what a pastel artist can plan, explore, and achieve. Computers and apps have become essential for visualizing and processing artistic concepts before a single mark is made, and Procreate is quickly becoming one of the most valuable tools available to working artists. In this course, Otto teaches his own pastel painting methods alongside the fundamentals of Procreate, an affordable, one-time purchase, non-AI graphic design application that allows artists to draw and paint digitally.
Students will prep and explore picture reference within Procreate, testing compositions, values, and color relationships before committing to pastel, then apply what they have refined during dedicated painting time. This class is well suited to any level of artist who wants to strengthen their decision-making at the easel by learning to plan with more confidence and intention. A variety of references and step-by-step guidance will be provided as Otto demonstrates how he utilizes Procreate in his own daily practice, a workflow that has become central to how he approaches every new painting.
To participate, students will need the latest version of the Procreate app on an iPad along with a compatible Apple Pencil. No prior digital art experience is necessary; Otto teaches the software from the ground up, so this course is just as valuable for an artist opening Procreate for the first time as it is for someone looking to deepen an existing digital practice.
What You Will Learn
- Confidence navigating Procreate for reference preparation and composition planning
- Skills to test value, color, and composition digitally before committing to pastel
- A repeatable workflow for translating digital studies into finished pastel paintings
- Techniques for blocking in, building form, and refining a pastel painting from start to finish
- Greater intention and control in artistic decision-making at the easel
- A practical, reusable process to bring into future studio work
Who This Course is For
- Artists who want to use Procreate as a planning tool for pastel paintings
- Artists curious about combining digital reference preparation with traditional pastel practice
- Both beginners and experienced pastel artists; all painting skill levels are welcome
- Students who have or can access an iPad and a compatible Apple Pencil; no prior app experience necessary. Otto teaches the software from the ground up
Course Overview
Over six weekly sessions, students will explore:
- Getting started in Procreate: navigating the interface, setting preferences, and organizing brushes, colors, and layers so the app becomes a natural extension of the studio
- Developing the concept: observing reference photos, planning composition, and exploring size and value relationships digitally before ever touching pastel
- Pairing Procreate with pastel practice: how digital planning fits into a daily studio routine, plus an overview of materials and why Otto chooses them
- Translating digital studies into analog pastel work: setting up a pastel palette and moving from digital notan, value, and color studies into physical materials
- Sculpting the painting: sketching, blocking in, washing, and building up form layer by layer in pastel
- Going for finish: self-critique, a technical checklist, and the final decisions that bring a painting to completion
Each session pairs demonstration and digital exercises with dedicated pastel painting time, so students see, in real time, how a digital planning stage can sharpen decisions before pastel ever touches paper. Because this course bridges two distinct tools, students leave with both a practical Procreate skill set and a deeper, more intentional pastel practice, plus a workflow they can return to for every future painting.
Critique Component
Students will receive guidance and feedback throughout the course as they apply digital planning tools to their pastel paintings. Otto provides direction on both the digital and analog stages of the process, helping students troubleshoot compositional and technical decisions as their work develops.
Student Experience
Students can expect a technically focused, hands on learning environment that bridges digital tools and traditional pastel painting. The course is structured to build confidence with Procreate step by step, while reinforcing core painting principles like value, color, and composition throughout.
Q & A
What led you to develop a course that combines Procreate with traditional pastel painting?
As an illustrator working in the film and television industry, I was quite familiar with Photoshop, and when I started using Procreate, I found the app very similar to Photoshop but with a much simpler user interface. Its usefulness crossed over into my daily work at the easel, and as I started demonstrating it to students in pastel workshops, their curiosity and eagerness to learn about the app encouraged me to develop this course.
What do you hope students gain from this course?
An appreciation for technology that can feel pleasantly useful and not overwhelming. I want students to gain the ability to take new tools and techniques and effortlessly merge them into their daily practice out in the field or in their studios. The app is there to strengthen the fundamentals of analog painting so the student can become a more successful and efficient artist.
What makes this course unique or especially meaningful to you?
There are many courses on digital painting, but I haven’t come across many that merge analog painting with digital painting tools. I enjoy seeing those “aha” moments on students’ faces when I show them some neat Procreate tips and tricks that they can then translate onto their physical artwork.
What would you like prospective students to know before enrolling?
That this course, whether you’re painting digitally or on the easel, still relies on all the fundamentals of painting, which we will work on strengthening. I will help guide you through each step of the process to help strengthen your understanding of the technical tools so they do not become either a crutch or detrimental to your creative process. You’ll find that, just like the masters did, using new tools and techniques can be enlightening and enjoyable. The focus of my workshops will always be to make the student a more proficient artist at the easel; this workshop will specifically utilize an app to do just that!
Instructor Bio
Otto Stürcke is a representational pastel artist based in Southern California, widely known for blending classical technique with contemporary subject matter. Greatly influenced by the Dutch Masters, his work is defined by a strong use of chiaroscuro and often explores allegorical narrative through a careful balance of light and dark.
Primarily self-taught, Stürcke built his early career as an illustrator, working for studios including Disney, Warner Bros, and Sony Pictures, before shifting his focus to fine art and finding pastel to be his medium of choice. His paintings frequently draw on his Latino heritage, bringing a personal and cultural dimension to his classically inspired compositions.
Stürcke has earned Master Circle status with the International Association of Pastel Societies and the Master Pastelist title with the Pastel Society of America, along with numerous national and international awards. His work has been featured in the Smithsonian’s American Latino Collective, the Butler Institute of American Art, and multiple publications including Southwest Art and the French publication 40 Maitres du Pastel.
Materials and Studio Setup
Required:
- Pastels: a good selection of pastels and/or pastel pencils, with a nice range of hues and hardness
- 1 Pitt Pastel Pencil #1122-177 for sketching, or a similar mid-dark pastel pencil
- Pastel pencils such as Stabilo Carbothello, Cretacolor, Caran D’ache, or Derwent (not essential, but useful for texture)
- An upright easel that can tilt forward or stand straight up
- 6 to 8 sheets of UART 12 by 18 inch Premium Sanded Pastel Paper in a neutral tone (400 or 500 grit for heavier mark making, 600 or 800 grit for lighter, detailed work)
- A stiff drawing board large enough to fit the mounted paper
- Isopropyl alcohol, 70 percent or 91 percent, for setting in dry pastel
- A value scale
- Artist tape or masking tape, three-quarter inch or one inch wide, in black, white, or beige
- 1 General’s Tri Tip eraser and 1 kneaded eraser
- A drop cloth, ground cover, brown paper, or tarp to protect the workspace
- A craft knife or single-edge blade for sharpening pastels and pastel pencils
- A colour shaper, soft taper point, size 0 or 2
- A few acrylic or oil bristle or synthetic brushes, flats and small rounds
- Paper towels
- An iPad with the latest version of the Procreate app installed
- A compatible Apple Pencil
Optional:
- A sanding block for sharpening pastels and color matching
- A view catcher for composition, cropping, and color values
- Latex gloves, for those who prefer not to work with bare fingers
- 1 Diane Townsend #10 White Soft Pastel for opaque coverage and highlights
- A shammy cloth, cut into small pieces as needed
Panels or mounted UART paper are not required for this course unless a student wants to do a watercolor or acrylic underpainting, since the course uses an alcohol wash directly on UART paper for initial forms. Resource material and reference pictures will be provided to each student.
