Open the ellipsis menu in Procreate Pocket, tap Actions (the wrench icon), then Add, and choose Insert a Photo, Insert a File, or Take a Photo. The image lands on your canvas as a new layer, ready to move, scale, mask, and blend. For the fastest route, tap Quick Add Photo from any Actions tab, pick an image, and it drops in as a new layer immediately. If your reference photo is going to feed an After Effects, Nuke, or Styleframe workflow afterward, the steps below also cover how to keep it clean for export.

Quick answer: the three ways to add a photo layer

Procreate Pocket gives you several entry points. They all end in the same place, a new layer in the active document, but the source differs.

• Insert a Photo: pulls from the iPhone Photos app.
• Insert a File: pulls from the Files app, which can reach any connected location.
• Take a Photo: opens the camera, and the shot is placed after you tap Use Photo.
• Quick Add Photo: a shortcut button inside the Actions tabs that opens the Photos picker directly.

Step-by-step: insert a photo from your library

1. Open or create a canvas in Procreate Pocket.
2. Tap the ellipsis button to expand the top toolbar.
3. Tap the wrench icon to open Actions.
4. Choose Add, then Insert a Photo.
5. Browse your Photos albums and tap the image you want.

The image appears as its own layer, ready for you to position and scale. Confirm the placement, then open the Layers panel to check it sits where you expect in the stack.

Using Quick Add Photo

While any Actions tab is open, tap the Quick Add Photo button. It opens the Photos picker without the extra menu steps. If you're dropping in several references in a row, this saves a lot of tapping.

Insert from Files or the camera

Insert a File

Use Actions → Add → Insert a File when the source image lives outside your Photos library: a render synced from your desktop, a frame exported from After Effects, or a still saved to iCloud Drive. The Files app opens to recent images, and you can browse any connected location from the bottom navigation bar.

Supported formats are PNG, JPEG, and PSD. Keep in mind that a PSD inserted this way comes in as a single flattened image. If you need to keep a PSD's layers, import it through the Gallery instead of through the Add menu.

Take a Photo

Actions → Add → Take a Photo launches the iPhone camera. Shoot, tap Use Photo, and the capture is added to the open document. This is handy for texture captures, lighting references, or quick plates of real-world surfaces you want to paint over.

Working with the photo layer once it's in

Adding the layer is the easy part. What you do next determines whether the image behaves like a reference or becomes part of the artwork.

Check the layer stack

Open the Layers panel and tap the photo layer to make it the Primary (active) layer. Painting only affects the Primary layer, so confirm which layer is selected before you draw. Swiping right on additional layers selects them as Secondary layers, which lets you move or transform several at once.

Use blend modes and opacity

By default a layer is opaque and covers what's beneath it. Change the blend mode or reduce opacity to composite the photo with your paint layers. Multiply works well for shading passes, and lowering opacity turns the photo into a tracing guide.

Mask instead of erasing

If you only need part of the photo, add a layer mask rather than erasing pixels. Masks let you revise later without losing the original image data, which matters if you're iterating on a design for a client.

Group and reorder

Hold and drag a layer to reorder it. Select multiple layers and tap Group to keep your photo references and paint passes organized, especially in files with many elements. You can also drag layers between canvases.

Rasterize or keep it simple

Photos are raster layers already, so you can paint, smudge, and apply adjustments directly. One thing to remember: Adjustments don't work while multiple layers are selected (Liquify is the exception), so deselect Secondary layers first.

Troubleshooting common problems

• The photo is the wrong size. Use Transform to scale it. If it's far larger or smaller than your canvas, resize the canvas resolution beforehand to avoid softness.
• My PSD came in flat. That's expected with Insert a File or Insert a Photo. Use Gallery import to preserve layers.
• I can't find my image. Check whether it's stored in Files rather than Photos, and use Insert a File instead.
• Painting isn't showing on the photo. The photo layer may not be the Primary layer. Tap it in the Layers panel.
• Adjustments are greyed out. You likely have Secondary layers selected. Tap a single layer to clear the selection.

Why motion and VFX artists use this workflow

Procreate Pocket is a mobile sketching tool, but it's a practical place to prep stills for motion work. Common uses include:

• Painting over a plate to build a style frame or mood board.
• Drawing quick matte shapes or roto guides on top of a reference photo.
• Sketching key poses over a photographed pose reference.
• Creating texture overlays you'll bring into After Effects, Blender, or Cinema 4D.

For delivery, export your layers or flattened image as PNG for lossless transparency, then bring the file into After Effects, Premiere Pro, or Nuke. Because Procreate Pocket can share layers as individual images, you can rebuild the stack in your compositing tool and keep control of each element.

Taking Procreate stills into Styleframe

Once you have a painted still, the next question is often how to animate it without losing the look you built. A painted still can serve as a reference for AI-assisted motion tools such as Styleframe.

Quick checklist

• Tap the ellipsis, then Actions → Add.
• Pick Insert a Photo, Insert a File, or Take a Photo, or tap Quick Add Photo.
• Confirm the new layer is Primary before painting.
• Use blend modes, opacity, and masks to integrate the image.
• Import PSDs through the Gallery to preserve layers.
• Export PNG or individual layers for your compositing tool.

Adding a photo layer takes seconds once you know the menu path, and the layer tools that follow give you the flexibility to treat it as reference, texture, or finished artwork.

Open the ellipsis menu in Procreate Pocket, tap Actions (the wrench icon), then Add, and choose Insert a Photo, Insert a File, or Take a Photo. The image lands on your canvas as a new layer, ready to move, scale, mask, and blend. For the fastest route, tap Quick Add Photo from any Actions tab, pick an image, and it drops in as a new layer immediately. If your reference photo is going to feed an After Effects, Nuke, or Styleframe workflow afterward, the steps below also cover how to keep it clean for export.

Quick answer: the three ways to add a photo layer

Procreate Pocket gives you several entry points. They all end in the same place, a new layer in the active document, but the source differs.

• Insert a Photo: pulls from the iPhone Photos app.
• Insert a File: pulls from the Files app, which can reach any connected location.
• Take a Photo: opens the camera, and the shot is placed after you tap Use Photo.
• Quick Add Photo: a shortcut button inside the Actions tabs that opens the Photos picker directly.

Step-by-step: insert a photo from your library

1. Open or create a canvas in Procreate Pocket.
2. Tap the ellipsis button to expand the top toolbar.
3. Tap the wrench icon to open Actions.
4. Choose Add, then Insert a Photo.
5. Browse your Photos albums and tap the image you want.

The image appears as its own layer, ready for you to position and scale. Confirm the placement, then open the Layers panel to check it sits where you expect in the stack.

Using Quick Add Photo

While any Actions tab is open, tap the Quick Add Photo button. It opens the Photos picker without the extra menu steps. If you're dropping in several references in a row, this saves a lot of tapping.

Insert from Files or the camera

Insert a File

Use Actions → Add → Insert a File when the source image lives outside your Photos library: a render synced from your desktop, a frame exported from After Effects, or a still saved to iCloud Drive. The Files app opens to recent images, and you can browse any connected location from the bottom navigation bar.

Supported formats are PNG, JPEG, and PSD. Keep in mind that a PSD inserted this way comes in as a single flattened image. If you need to keep a PSD's layers, import it through the Gallery instead of through the Add menu.

Take a Photo

Actions → Add → Take a Photo launches the iPhone camera. Shoot, tap Use Photo, and the capture is added to the open document. This is handy for texture captures, lighting references, or quick plates of real-world surfaces you want to paint over.

Working with the photo layer once it's in

Adding the layer is the easy part. What you do next determines whether the image behaves like a reference or becomes part of the artwork.

Check the layer stack

Open the Layers panel and tap the photo layer to make it the Primary (active) layer. Painting only affects the Primary layer, so confirm which layer is selected before you draw. Swiping right on additional layers selects them as Secondary layers, which lets you move or transform several at once.

Use blend modes and opacity

By default a layer is opaque and covers what's beneath it. Change the blend mode or reduce opacity to composite the photo with your paint layers. Multiply works well for shading passes, and lowering opacity turns the photo into a tracing guide.

Mask instead of erasing

If you only need part of the photo, add a layer mask rather than erasing pixels. Masks let you revise later without losing the original image data, which matters if you're iterating on a design for a client.

Group and reorder

Hold and drag a layer to reorder it. Select multiple layers and tap Group to keep your photo references and paint passes organized, especially in files with many elements. You can also drag layers between canvases.

Rasterize or keep it simple

Photos are raster layers already, so you can paint, smudge, and apply adjustments directly. One thing to remember: Adjustments don't work while multiple layers are selected (Liquify is the exception), so deselect Secondary layers first.

Troubleshooting common problems

• The photo is the wrong size. Use Transform to scale it. If it's far larger or smaller than your canvas, resize the canvas resolution beforehand to avoid softness.
• My PSD came in flat. That's expected with Insert a File or Insert a Photo. Use Gallery import to preserve layers.
• I can't find my image. Check whether it's stored in Files rather than Photos, and use Insert a File instead.
• Painting isn't showing on the photo. The photo layer may not be the Primary layer. Tap it in the Layers panel.
• Adjustments are greyed out. You likely have Secondary layers selected. Tap a single layer to clear the selection.

Why motion and VFX artists use this workflow

Procreate Pocket is a mobile sketching tool, but it's a practical place to prep stills for motion work. Common uses include:

• Painting over a plate to build a style frame or mood board.
• Drawing quick matte shapes or roto guides on top of a reference photo.
• Sketching key poses over a photographed pose reference.
• Creating texture overlays you'll bring into After Effects, Blender, or Cinema 4D.

For delivery, export your layers or flattened image as PNG for lossless transparency, then bring the file into After Effects, Premiere Pro, or Nuke. Because Procreate Pocket can share layers as individual images, you can rebuild the stack in your compositing tool and keep control of each element.

Taking Procreate stills into Styleframe

Once you have a painted still, the next question is often how to animate it without losing the look you built. A painted still can serve as a reference for AI-assisted motion tools such as Styleframe.

Quick checklist

• Tap the ellipsis, then Actions → Add.
• Pick Insert a Photo, Insert a File, or Take a Photo, or tap Quick Add Photo.
• Confirm the new layer is Primary before painting.
• Use blend modes, opacity, and masks to integrate the image.
• Import PSDs through the Gallery to preserve layers.
• Export PNG or individual layers for your compositing tool.

Adding a photo layer takes seconds once you know the menu path, and the layer tools that follow give you the flexibility to treat it as reference, texture, or finished artwork.