To add another image in Procreate, open your canvas, tap the wrench (Actions), choose Add, then tap Insert a file or Insert a photo and pick the image. It lands on your artwork as a new layer that you can move, scale, and rotate right away. To add several at once, put Photos and Procreate in Split View, select the images in Photos, and drag them onto the canvas together.

Add an image to an existing Procreate canvas

This is the standard method on iPad:

1. Open the artwork you want to add to.
2. Tap the Actions icon (the wrench).
3. Tap Add.
4. Choose Insert a file to open the Files app, or Insert a photo to open your Photos library.
5. Tap the image you want.

The image appears on the canvas as a new layer, with the Transform tool already engaged. Drag to reposition it, use the corner handles to scale it, and tap the Transform tool again (or another tool) to commit the placement.

If you're scaling a photo or a piece of reference artwork, set the transform mode to Uniform first. Otherwise you can distort the image without noticing, which matters if the layer will later feed a composite or a style reference.

On Procreate Pocket (iPhone), the path is the same, but you first tap the ellipsis button to expand the top toolbar, then open Actions → Add. Pocket also has a Quick Add Photo button in the Actions tab that jumps straight to your photo library and drops the selection in as a new layer.

Insert a file, insert a photo, or take a photo

The Add menu gives you three ways to bring in an image. They all create a layer, but they pull from different places.

Insert a file

Use this when the image lives in Files, iCloud Drive, a connected drive, or a folder synced from your Mac or PC. You can browse every connected location from the navigation bar at the bottom. Procreate accepts PNG, JPEG, and PSD through this route.

Insert a photo

Use this for anything in your Photos library: camera shots, screenshots, saved renders, or images you've AirDropped from a workstation. It supports the same formats as Insert a file.

Take a photo

This opens the iPad camera. Shoot, tap Use Photo, and the picture lands in your open artwork as a layer. It's handy for quickly capturing a physical sketch, a texture, or a lighting reference without leaving the canvas.

Know what happens to PSD files

PSD behavior catches many people out. If you insert a PSD with Actions → Add, Procreate places it as a single flattened image. Your layers are not preserved.

To keep the layers, don't add the file to an existing canvas. Go to the Gallery and use Import to bring the PSD in as its own artwork. From there, you can copy layers between artworks if you need them in another canvas.

Other points on format support:

• Procreate can import .procreate, .psd, .jpeg, .png, .tiff, .gif, and .pdf files.
• Vector formats (.ai, .eps, and .svg) are not supported. Rasterize them first in Illustrator, Affinity, or another vector app, and export a high-resolution PNG.
• Importing an image from the Gallery creates a new artwork and carries over its resolution and color profile. Adding an image inside a canvas does not change the canvas size.

Drag and drop images into Procreate

Procreate supports drag and drop, which is often faster than the menu route. Open Procreate alongside another app in Split View, press and hold an image, and drag it onto your canvas. It's inserted as a new layer. Dropping an image into the Gallery creates a new artwork instead.

This is also the quickest way to bring in material from a Mac or PC, since AirDrop or drag and drop gets files onto the iPad in the first place.

How to add multiple images at once

The Add menu imports one image per action, which is slow if you have a stack of references or a sequence of frames. The workaround is Split View:

1. Open Photos and Procreate side by side. In Procreate, swipe up from the bottom edge to reveal the Dock, then drag the Photos icon to the left or right edge of the screen.
2. In Photos, tap Select and choose the images you need.
3. Touch and hold one of the selected images until it lifts, then drag it over to the Procreate canvas.
4. A green badge with a number shows how many images you're moving. Lift your finger and they're inserted as separate layers.

This is useful for frame-by-frame animation, contact-sheet style reference boards, or any job where you'd otherwise import 20 or 100 images one by one. Expect each image to arrive as its own layer, so name and group them early; a large stack gets confusing fast.

Add a private layer that stays out of your Gallery preview and Time-lapse videos

Sometimes you want an image on the canvas that isn't part of the artwork, such as a client reference, a color chart, or a photo you're tracing. Procreate's Private Layer option handles this.

1. Tap Actions → Add.
2. Slide the Insert a file or Insert a photo tab to the left.
3. Tap the grey Insert a private file or Insert a private photo button.
4. Pick your image.

The layer behaves like any other, but it's labeled "Private" in the Layers panel and doesn't show up in the Gallery preview or in exported Time-lapse videos. One limit: you can't import a layered PSD as a private layer. A PSD comes in flattened.

Use a reference image instead of a layer

If you only need to look at the image while you work, add it as a reference instead of a layer. Go to Actions → Canvas → Reference, then choose Image to import one. The reference sits in a floating window you can move and resize, and it doesn't affect your artwork or layer stack. It's the cleanest option for mood boards, pose studies, or a still from a shot you're matching.

Swap one image for another in an existing composition

A common reason to add another image is replacing an element, such as a landscape inside a frame or a texture inside a shape. A reliable approach:

1. Save or export the replacement image to your iPad if it's from another artwork.
2. Select the layer where the new image should sit.
3. Use Actions → Add → Insert a photo and choose the replacement.
4. Scale it uniformly until it covers the area, then commit the transform.
5. Delete or hide the old image layer.
6. Check any dependent layers, like multiply shading, glow, or reflections. They'll often need recoloring (Alpha Lock plus Fill Layer works well) or rebuilding to match the new content.

Troubleshooting

• Image won't import: Check the format. SVG, AI, and EPS files won't work. Convert to PNG or JPEG.
• PSD arrived flat: You used Add instead of Gallery Import. Re-import through the Gallery to preserve layers.
• Image is blurry after scaling: Procreate layers are raster. Enlarging a small image softens it, so import at the highest resolution you have.
• Drag and drop does nothing: Make sure both apps are in Split View, and that you're holding the image until it lifts before dragging.
• Can't find the Add menu on iPhone: Tap the ellipsis button to expand the top toolbar, then use the wrench.

Moving Procreate images into a motion pipeline

If you're a motion designer or VFX artist, Procreate is often a sketching, matte-painting, or look-development step rather than the final stage. A few habits keep that handoff clean:

• Keep layers separate. Keep elements on separate layers so they stay editable in your compositing app. Flattened inserts from the Add menu are fine for references but not for elements you'll need to animate.
• Name and group before exporting. A stack of "Layer 14" items won't help anyone.
• Plan for resolution. Check your canvas size against your delivery frame. Painting at HD and scaling to 4K in comp will show.
• Use private layers for references so they stay out of Gallery previews and Time-lapse videos.

Where Styleframe fits

Once you have a painted frame or two from Procreate, those images can serve as direction rather than final art. Styleframe is an AI video and motion tool that can work from reference images, so a Procreate painting can be a starting point for motion work.

Quick reference

With those options, you can add another image to a Procreate canvas, whether it's a single photo, a batch of frames, or a private reference, and know how it will behave when you take the work into the rest of your pipeline.

To add another image in Procreate, open your canvas, tap the wrench (Actions), choose Add, then tap Insert a file or Insert a photo and pick the image. It lands on your artwork as a new layer that you can move, scale, and rotate right away. To add several at once, put Photos and Procreate in Split View, select the images in Photos, and drag them onto the canvas together.

Add an image to an existing Procreate canvas

This is the standard method on iPad:

1. Open the artwork you want to add to.
2. Tap the Actions icon (the wrench).
3. Tap Add.
4. Choose Insert a file to open the Files app, or Insert a photo to open your Photos library.
5. Tap the image you want.

The image appears on the canvas as a new layer, with the Transform tool already engaged. Drag to reposition it, use the corner handles to scale it, and tap the Transform tool again (or another tool) to commit the placement.

If you're scaling a photo or a piece of reference artwork, set the transform mode to Uniform first. Otherwise you can distort the image without noticing, which matters if the layer will later feed a composite or a style reference.

On Procreate Pocket (iPhone), the path is the same, but you first tap the ellipsis button to expand the top toolbar, then open Actions → Add. Pocket also has a Quick Add Photo button in the Actions tab that jumps straight to your photo library and drops the selection in as a new layer.

Insert a file, insert a photo, or take a photo

The Add menu gives you three ways to bring in an image. They all create a layer, but they pull from different places.

Insert a file

Use this when the image lives in Files, iCloud Drive, a connected drive, or a folder synced from your Mac or PC. You can browse every connected location from the navigation bar at the bottom. Procreate accepts PNG, JPEG, and PSD through this route.

Insert a photo

Use this for anything in your Photos library: camera shots, screenshots, saved renders, or images you've AirDropped from a workstation. It supports the same formats as Insert a file.

Take a photo

This opens the iPad camera. Shoot, tap Use Photo, and the picture lands in your open artwork as a layer. It's handy for quickly capturing a physical sketch, a texture, or a lighting reference without leaving the canvas.

Know what happens to PSD files

PSD behavior catches many people out. If you insert a PSD with Actions → Add, Procreate places it as a single flattened image. Your layers are not preserved.

To keep the layers, don't add the file to an existing canvas. Go to the Gallery and use Import to bring the PSD in as its own artwork. From there, you can copy layers between artworks if you need them in another canvas.

Other points on format support:

• Procreate can import .procreate, .psd, .jpeg, .png, .tiff, .gif, and .pdf files.
• Vector formats (.ai, .eps, and .svg) are not supported. Rasterize them first in Illustrator, Affinity, or another vector app, and export a high-resolution PNG.
• Importing an image from the Gallery creates a new artwork and carries over its resolution and color profile. Adding an image inside a canvas does not change the canvas size.

Drag and drop images into Procreate

Procreate supports drag and drop, which is often faster than the menu route. Open Procreate alongside another app in Split View, press and hold an image, and drag it onto your canvas. It's inserted as a new layer. Dropping an image into the Gallery creates a new artwork instead.

This is also the quickest way to bring in material from a Mac or PC, since AirDrop or drag and drop gets files onto the iPad in the first place.

How to add multiple images at once

The Add menu imports one image per action, which is slow if you have a stack of references or a sequence of frames. The workaround is Split View:

1. Open Photos and Procreate side by side. In Procreate, swipe up from the bottom edge to reveal the Dock, then drag the Photos icon to the left or right edge of the screen.
2. In Photos, tap Select and choose the images you need.
3. Touch and hold one of the selected images until it lifts, then drag it over to the Procreate canvas.
4. A green badge with a number shows how many images you're moving. Lift your finger and they're inserted as separate layers.

This is useful for frame-by-frame animation, contact-sheet style reference boards, or any job where you'd otherwise import 20 or 100 images one by one. Expect each image to arrive as its own layer, so name and group them early; a large stack gets confusing fast.

Add a private layer that stays out of your Gallery preview and Time-lapse videos

Sometimes you want an image on the canvas that isn't part of the artwork, such as a client reference, a color chart, or a photo you're tracing. Procreate's Private Layer option handles this.

1. Tap Actions → Add.
2. Slide the Insert a file or Insert a photo tab to the left.
3. Tap the grey Insert a private file or Insert a private photo button.
4. Pick your image.

The layer behaves like any other, but it's labeled "Private" in the Layers panel and doesn't show up in the Gallery preview or in exported Time-lapse videos. One limit: you can't import a layered PSD as a private layer. A PSD comes in flattened.

Use a reference image instead of a layer

If you only need to look at the image while you work, add it as a reference instead of a layer. Go to Actions → Canvas → Reference, then choose Image to import one. The reference sits in a floating window you can move and resize, and it doesn't affect your artwork or layer stack. It's the cleanest option for mood boards, pose studies, or a still from a shot you're matching.

Swap one image for another in an existing composition

A common reason to add another image is replacing an element, such as a landscape inside a frame or a texture inside a shape. A reliable approach:

1. Save or export the replacement image to your iPad if it's from another artwork.
2. Select the layer where the new image should sit.
3. Use Actions → Add → Insert a photo and choose the replacement.
4. Scale it uniformly until it covers the area, then commit the transform.
5. Delete or hide the old image layer.
6. Check any dependent layers, like multiply shading, glow, or reflections. They'll often need recoloring (Alpha Lock plus Fill Layer works well) or rebuilding to match the new content.

Troubleshooting

• Image won't import: Check the format. SVG, AI, and EPS files won't work. Convert to PNG or JPEG.
• PSD arrived flat: You used Add instead of Gallery Import. Re-import through the Gallery to preserve layers.
• Image is blurry after scaling: Procreate layers are raster. Enlarging a small image softens it, so import at the highest resolution you have.
• Drag and drop does nothing: Make sure both apps are in Split View, and that you're holding the image until it lifts before dragging.
• Can't find the Add menu on iPhone: Tap the ellipsis button to expand the top toolbar, then use the wrench.

Moving Procreate images into a motion pipeline

If you're a motion designer or VFX artist, Procreate is often a sketching, matte-painting, or look-development step rather than the final stage. A few habits keep that handoff clean:

• Keep layers separate. Keep elements on separate layers so they stay editable in your compositing app. Flattened inserts from the Add menu are fine for references but not for elements you'll need to animate.
• Name and group before exporting. A stack of "Layer 14" items won't help anyone.
• Plan for resolution. Check your canvas size against your delivery frame. Painting at HD and scaling to 4K in comp will show.
• Use private layers for references so they stay out of Gallery previews and Time-lapse videos.

Where Styleframe fits

Once you have a painted frame or two from Procreate, those images can serve as direction rather than final art. Styleframe is an AI video and motion tool that can work from reference images, so a Procreate painting can be a starting point for motion work.

Quick reference

With those options, you can add another image to a Procreate canvas, whether it's a single photo, a batch of frames, or a private reference, and know how it will behave when you take the work into the rest of your pipeline.