What is cel shading?
Cel shading is the coloring system that makes art read as "anime": flat color fills with hard-edged shadows instead of soft gradients. Each area gets just three tones — a base color, a flat shadow, and a highlight — with crisp edges between them. That graphic, hard-edged look is the whole point; blending it into smooth gradients turns it into a different (more painterly) style.
Start with clean flat colors
Shading only works on top of solid flats. Put color below your lineart, set the lineart as a Reference layer, and use ColorDrop to fill each part — skin, hair, clothes, eyes — on its own layer. Keeping parts separated lets you shade each one without bleeding into the others. If layers and blend modes are new to you, see Procreate layers explained first.
1. Add a shadow layer on Multiply
Above a flat-color layer, add a new layer and clip it to that color (or turn on Alpha Lock) so your shadow stays inside the shape. Set the layer's blend mode to Multiply. Pick one consistent light direction for the whole piece, then paint shadow shapes where light doesn't reach — under the chin, beneath the hair, inside folds.
2. Choose a shadow color (not black)
The fastest way to make anime shading look flat and lifeless is to shade with grey or black. Instead, pick a shadow color that is darker, slightly more saturated, and shifted in hue toward a cooler tone (blue or purple). On a Multiply layer even a soft lavender reads as a natural shadow and keeps the colors vivid.
3. Keep the edges hard
This is what separates cel shading from soft painting: use a hard brush (or paint a selection and fill) so every shadow has a crisp edge. Resist the urge to blend. Keep shadow shapes simple and graphic — a few clean shapes read better than many fuzzy ones.
4. Add a second shadow (optional)
For more depth, add a darker core shadow in the deepest areas only — the underside of hair, the corner of a sleeve. Two shadow tones give contrast without losing the flat anime feel. Use it sparingly.
5. Add highlights
Add a layer above for highlights. A pale or white tone gives hair its shine, catches the rim of the jaw, and lifts glossy surfaces. A thin rim light along the edge of the figure (try a layer set to Add or Screen) separates the character from the background. In the eyes, a single white catchlight instantly adds life.
Shading skin, hair and eyes
- Skin: one soft-cool shadow under the chin, nose and bangs; keep it minimal.
- Hair: follow the hair flow with hard shadow shapes, then add a band of highlight where the light hits.
- Eyes: a dark shadow under the upper lid, a bright iris, and one catchlight — eyes carry the whole piece.
Common cel-shading mistakes
- Blending shadows into gradients — cel shading is hard-edged.
- Using black or grey shadows — shift the hue and saturate instead.
- Lighting from two directions — commit to one light source.
- Too many shadow shapes — keep them simple and graphic.
- Shading before the flats are clean — finish the flats first.
Brushes and next steps
You don't need special brushes for cel shading — a hard round for shadows and a soft round for the odd gradient cover it. Browse painting brushes, grab a free set on the anime & manga brushes page (or all free brushsets), and see our picks in best Procreate brushes for anime. For the full process from sketch to finish, follow our guide to drawing anime in Procreate.