To add a 3D model to Procreate, import a .USDZ or .OBJ file that already has a UV map. Tap Import in the Gallery and pick the file from the Files app, or drag and drop it, AirDrop it, or open it in Procreate from another app. The model opens in Procreate's 3D Painting mode, where you paint color, roughness, and metallic maps directly on the mesh. Procreate does not place a live 3D object onto a regular 2D canvas, so the model is a paintable asset, not a layer.

What Procreate does with 3D models

Procreate is a texture-painting tool for 3D, not a 3D scene editor. When you import a model, the Gallery treats it like a document and opens it in a dedicated 3D Painting interface. You can rotate, zoom, light, and paint it.

That matters if you come from After Effects, Cinema 4D, or Blender. Think of Procreate as a fast, Pencil-friendly stop for hand-painted textures: stylized color, roughness, and metallic detail on a model you built elsewhere. Geometry and UV work stay in your 3D app.

Requirements to check first:

• Device and version: Procreate's help center lists iPad 5th generation and later (excluding iPad mini 4 and iPad Air 2) running Procreate 5.2 or later.
• File format: Only .USDZ and .OBJ import. USDZ was created by Pixar and is designed mainly for AR. OBJ is a widely used format that stores geometry and supports unlimited colors.
• UV map: Any model you paint on must have UVs attached. Without them, Procreate has no texture space to paint into.

Prepare the model before you import it

Many failed imports come from the file, not from Procreate. A few minutes of prep in your 3D app saves a lot of frustration.

Convert unsupported formats

If your model is an FBX, a .max file, a Blender scene, or anything else outside OBJ and USDZ, convert it first. Procreate's own forum answers on this point are blunt: .max is proprietary, so it needs a converter before it becomes an OBJ. Route proprietary files through a 3D app or converter that can export OBJ or USDZ.

Also check whether your download is an archive. A .rar or .zip file isn't a model. Unarchive it on the iPad or your computer, then look for the OBJ or USDZ inside.

Check the UVs

Before exporting from Blender or Cinema 4D:

1. Confirm the model is unwrapped with non-overlapping UV islands where you want unique paint.
2. Give separate parts their own meshes or material slots if you want to select and paint them individually. Procreate lets you tap a mesh to select it.
3. Apply transforms and keep scale sensible so the model doesn't import tiny or enormous.
4. Export as OBJ (or USDZ if your pipeline supports it) and include materials if you have textures.

Bundle textures with OBJ files

OBJ files can be imported together with their texture maps. Put the OBJ and its maps for Color, Roughness, Metallic, Ambient Occlusion, and Normal into a single folder. Dragging that folder into Procreate brings in the model with its textures attached.

Four ways to import a 3D model

All four methods end the same way. The file lands in your Gallery and opens in 3D Painting.

Import from the Files app

1. Save your .USDZ or .OBJ to iCloud Drive, On My iPad, or another location the Files app can reach.
2. In Procreate's Gallery, tap Import in the top right.
3. Navigate to the file and tap it.

The model opens automatically and appears in the Gallery.

Drag and drop

Split View or Slide Over makes this fast. Press and hold a .USDZ or .OBJ file in Files, then drag it into Procreate. To bring in several files at once, pick up one file, tap the others to add them to the stack, and drag the stack in. You can import multiple models this way, but you can only paint on one at a time.

AirDrop

If the model lives on your Mac, AirDrop it to the iPad. Accept the transfer, then choose Procreate when prompted. It opens in 3D Painting and appears in the Gallery.

Open in Procreate from another app

Many marketplace downloads, including Etsy 3D assets delivered through Dropbox links, can be opened straight from the download. Save the file to the iPad, then use the Open in Procreate option. Some sellers host larger files off-platform because of upload limits, so you may need to follow a link first.

The built-in model pack

If you just want to test the workflow, open any canvas and tap Actions → Help → Download Model Pack. The models arrive in your Gallery, and tapping one opens 3D Painting. It's a quick way to learn the interface before you bring in production assets.

Troubleshooting imports

Painting once the model is in

After the import, these are the controls you'll use most.

Selecting and painting. Tap a mesh to select it, pick a brush and color, and paint with Apple Pencil. Drag one finger to rotate the model, and pinch or pan with two fingers. If you don't have a Pencil, you can enable finger painting under Actions → Prefs → Gesture Controls → General → Enable 3D painting with a finger.

Color, roughness, and metallic. Brushes in the Materials set can apply all three. In the Layers panel, expand a mesh to see its color, roughness, and metallic maps and paint on one at a time. Roughness and metallic use the grayscale value of the brush, so darker values give less effect and brighter values give more. Hue doesn't matter.

2D texture view. Under Actions → 3D, toggle Show 2D Texture to unwrap the model into a flat texture map. This suits blocking in base colors, large fills, and detail work that is awkward on a curved surface. Painting there works like standard 2D painting.

Paint Through Mesh. When one mesh blocks another, turn on Paint Through Mesh so strokes ignore unselected meshes. It helps with hard-to-reach areas.

Lighting Studio. Actions → 3D → Edit Lighting & Environment lets you add lights, change their hue, saturation, and intensity, and adjust the environment. Use it to judge how roughness and metallic values read before you export.

Reference. Actions → Canvas → Reference can show a live view of your model next to your working view, which is useful while painting in the flat 2D texture.

View in AR. From Actions → 3D, you can place the painted object in your room through the iPad camera. AR uses ambient lighting from the camera, not your Lighting Studio setup.

Getting painted models back into a motion pipeline

For motion designers, the real question is what happens after the painting. A sensible round trip looks like this:

1. Build or clean the model in Blender or Cinema 4D, with UVs.
2. Export OBJ (with texture maps if you have them) and bring it into Procreate.
3. Paint color, roughness, and metallic detail.
4. Export from Procreate using the Share menu, then bring the painted result back into your 3D app.
5. Light, animate, and render there, then composite in After Effects or Nuke.

Check the Share options in Procreate's handbook for what each export type includes, and test with a simple object before committing a complex asset. Verify that the exported maps line up with your original UVs before you build a shot around them.

Quick checklist

• Model is OBJ or USDZ, not archived or proprietary.
• UV map is present and clean.
• OBJ textures are bundled in one folder if you want them to import together.
• iPad and Procreate version meet the requirements.
• You only need to paint one model at a time.
• Export settings are tested on a small asset first.

Procreate's 3D support is narrow, and that's what makes it fast. Prepare the file well, import it through whichever method suits your setup, paint, and take the result back into the tools where you animate, light, and composite.

To add a 3D model to Procreate, import a .USDZ or .OBJ file that already has a UV map. Tap Import in the Gallery and pick the file from the Files app, or drag and drop it, AirDrop it, or open it in Procreate from another app. The model opens in Procreate's 3D Painting mode, where you paint color, roughness, and metallic maps directly on the mesh. Procreate does not place a live 3D object onto a regular 2D canvas, so the model is a paintable asset, not a layer.

What Procreate does with 3D models

Procreate is a texture-painting tool for 3D, not a 3D scene editor. When you import a model, the Gallery treats it like a document and opens it in a dedicated 3D Painting interface. You can rotate, zoom, light, and paint it.

That matters if you come from After Effects, Cinema 4D, or Blender. Think of Procreate as a fast, Pencil-friendly stop for hand-painted textures: stylized color, roughness, and metallic detail on a model you built elsewhere. Geometry and UV work stay in your 3D app.

Requirements to check first:

• Device and version: Procreate's help center lists iPad 5th generation and later (excluding iPad mini 4 and iPad Air 2) running Procreate 5.2 or later.
• File format: Only .USDZ and .OBJ import. USDZ was created by Pixar and is designed mainly for AR. OBJ is a widely used format that stores geometry and supports unlimited colors.
• UV map: Any model you paint on must have UVs attached. Without them, Procreate has no texture space to paint into.

Prepare the model before you import it

Many failed imports come from the file, not from Procreate. A few minutes of prep in your 3D app saves a lot of frustration.

Convert unsupported formats

If your model is an FBX, a .max file, a Blender scene, or anything else outside OBJ and USDZ, convert it first. Procreate's own forum answers on this point are blunt: .max is proprietary, so it needs a converter before it becomes an OBJ. Route proprietary files through a 3D app or converter that can export OBJ or USDZ.

Also check whether your download is an archive. A .rar or .zip file isn't a model. Unarchive it on the iPad or your computer, then look for the OBJ or USDZ inside.

Check the UVs

Before exporting from Blender or Cinema 4D:

1. Confirm the model is unwrapped with non-overlapping UV islands where you want unique paint.
2. Give separate parts their own meshes or material slots if you want to select and paint them individually. Procreate lets you tap a mesh to select it.
3. Apply transforms and keep scale sensible so the model doesn't import tiny or enormous.
4. Export as OBJ (or USDZ if your pipeline supports it) and include materials if you have textures.

Bundle textures with OBJ files

OBJ files can be imported together with their texture maps. Put the OBJ and its maps for Color, Roughness, Metallic, Ambient Occlusion, and Normal into a single folder. Dragging that folder into Procreate brings in the model with its textures attached.

Four ways to import a 3D model

All four methods end the same way. The file lands in your Gallery and opens in 3D Painting.

Import from the Files app

1. Save your .USDZ or .OBJ to iCloud Drive, On My iPad, or another location the Files app can reach.
2. In Procreate's Gallery, tap Import in the top right.
3. Navigate to the file and tap it.

The model opens automatically and appears in the Gallery.

Drag and drop

Split View or Slide Over makes this fast. Press and hold a .USDZ or .OBJ file in Files, then drag it into Procreate. To bring in several files at once, pick up one file, tap the others to add them to the stack, and drag the stack in. You can import multiple models this way, but you can only paint on one at a time.

AirDrop

If the model lives on your Mac, AirDrop it to the iPad. Accept the transfer, then choose Procreate when prompted. It opens in 3D Painting and appears in the Gallery.

Open in Procreate from another app

Many marketplace downloads, including Etsy 3D assets delivered through Dropbox links, can be opened straight from the download. Save the file to the iPad, then use the Open in Procreate option. Some sellers host larger files off-platform because of upload limits, so you may need to follow a link first.

The built-in model pack

If you just want to test the workflow, open any canvas and tap Actions → Help → Download Model Pack. The models arrive in your Gallery, and tapping one opens 3D Painting. It's a quick way to learn the interface before you bring in production assets.

Troubleshooting imports

Painting once the model is in

After the import, these are the controls you'll use most.

Selecting and painting. Tap a mesh to select it, pick a brush and color, and paint with Apple Pencil. Drag one finger to rotate the model, and pinch or pan with two fingers. If you don't have a Pencil, you can enable finger painting under Actions → Prefs → Gesture Controls → General → Enable 3D painting with a finger.

Color, roughness, and metallic. Brushes in the Materials set can apply all three. In the Layers panel, expand a mesh to see its color, roughness, and metallic maps and paint on one at a time. Roughness and metallic use the grayscale value of the brush, so darker values give less effect and brighter values give more. Hue doesn't matter.

2D texture view. Under Actions → 3D, toggle Show 2D Texture to unwrap the model into a flat texture map. This suits blocking in base colors, large fills, and detail work that is awkward on a curved surface. Painting there works like standard 2D painting.

Paint Through Mesh. When one mesh blocks another, turn on Paint Through Mesh so strokes ignore unselected meshes. It helps with hard-to-reach areas.

Lighting Studio. Actions → 3D → Edit Lighting & Environment lets you add lights, change their hue, saturation, and intensity, and adjust the environment. Use it to judge how roughness and metallic values read before you export.

Reference. Actions → Canvas → Reference can show a live view of your model next to your working view, which is useful while painting in the flat 2D texture.

View in AR. From Actions → 3D, you can place the painted object in your room through the iPad camera. AR uses ambient lighting from the camera, not your Lighting Studio setup.

Getting painted models back into a motion pipeline

For motion designers, the real question is what happens after the painting. A sensible round trip looks like this:

1. Build or clean the model in Blender or Cinema 4D, with UVs.
2. Export OBJ (with texture maps if you have them) and bring it into Procreate.
3. Paint color, roughness, and metallic detail.
4. Export from Procreate using the Share menu, then bring the painted result back into your 3D app.
5. Light, animate, and render there, then composite in After Effects or Nuke.

Check the Share options in Procreate's handbook for what each export type includes, and test with a simple object before committing a complex asset. Verify that the exported maps line up with your original UVs before you build a shot around them.

Quick checklist

• Model is OBJ or USDZ, not archived or proprietary.
• UV map is present and clean.
• OBJ textures are bundled in one folder if you want them to import together.
• iPad and Procreate version meet the requirements.
• You only need to paint one model at a time.
• Export settings are tested on a small asset first.

Procreate's 3D support is narrow, and that's what makes it fast. Prepare the file well, import it through whichever method suits your setup, paint, and take the result back into the tools where you animate, light, and composite.