Procreate has no star or heart button for brushes, so you save favorites with one of three workarounds. Pin brushes in the Recent section of the brush library, build a "Favorites" brush set from duplicated brushes, or assign brushes to your QuickMenu slots. Pinning is the fastest method, a Favorites set is the most flexible, and the QuickMenu is best for the few brushes you reach for constantly.

Does Procreate Have a Favorites Button?

Not as a dedicated feature. Procreate users have asked for a one-tap star or heart on each brush, similar to what Infinite Painter offers, plus an automatic favorites folder that doesn't require copying brushes out of their original sets. Until that exists, you work with the tools already in the app.

This matters if you use Procreate for production work: texture creation, storyboards, hand-drawn animation frames, or painted style frames. A brush library with hundreds of entries across dozens of imported sets slows you down, and you won't want to hunt through folders mid-session.

The methods below are based on recent Procreate 5.x versions. Menu wording and swipe directions can shift between releases, so check your version if something doesn't match.

Method 1: Pin Brushes in the Recent Section

Pinning is the quickest way to mark favorites. It needs no new sets and no duplicated brushes.

How to pin a brush

1. Use the brush you want to save, even with a single stroke. Procreate adds it to the Recent section at the top of the brush library.
2. Open the brush library and find the brush in Recent. The most recently used brush sits at the top.
3. Swipe the brush (left in current versions) and tap Pin.
4. A star appears beside the brush, and it stays at the top of the list.

Recent normally shows only your last eight brushes, so older entries get bumped off as you work. Pinned brushes stay put, and the eight most recent ones still appear below them. In one test, more than 30 brushes were pinned, so there's no obvious cap.

Managing pinned brushes

• Unpin: swipe the brush and tap Unpin.
• Remove from Recent: swipe and tap Clear. This works for pinned and unpinned entries.
• Find the source set: swipe and tap Find to jump to the brush's original set. This helps when you pinned something and forgot which pack it came from.

Limitations

Pinned brushes can't be reordered. They're sorted by when you pinned them, with the newest on top. If you pin many brushes, the recently used list gets pushed further down and you'll scroll more to reach it. Pinning works best as a short list of 8–15 brushes, not a full catalog.

Method 2: Create a Favorites Brush Set

A dedicated set gives you a stable, reorderable home for your go-to brushes. It takes more setup but scales better.

Step 1: Create the set

1. Open the brush library with the brush icon at the top right.
2. Scroll to the top of the set list until you see the plus sign.
3. Tap it to create a new set and rename it Favorites.

Step 2: Duplicate before you move

Duplicate each brush before dragging it into your Favorites set. If you drag the original, you pull it out of its home set, which can break the organization of imported packs from other artists.

1. Open the set that holds the brush.
2. Swipe the brush name and tap Duplicate. A copy appears, usually named something like "Brush Name 1."
3. Tap and hold the copy until it lifts out of the list.
4. While holding it, use your other hand to navigate to the Favorites set and open it.
5. Drop the brush into the open set.

Drop the brush into the open set, not onto the set's name in the sidebar. Dropping on the name makes it easy to land in the wrong folder.

Moving several brushes at once

1. Duplicate the brushes you want to copy.
2. Tap one brush to select it. It turns blue.
3. Swipe additional brushes to the right to add them to the selection.
4. Tap and hold one of the selected brushes, drag them out, and drop them into your open Favorites set.

Why use a set instead of pins

• You can reorder the set and place your most-used brush at the top.
• You can group favorites by purpose using several sets, such as "Ink," "Texture," "Smudge," and "Project – Client X."

The tradeoff is that duplicated brushes are real copies. Edit the original and your favorite won't update, and the library grows larger. Keep names clear so you know which copy is the working version.

Method 3: Assign Brushes to the QuickMenu

The QuickMenu is Procreate's shortcut menu, and its slots can be customized, including assigning brushes. You get about six slots, which isn't many, but access is instant and you never open the library.

Use it for the brushes you truly can't work without: your main sketch pencil, a primary inking brush, a go-to eraser, and a smudge tool, for example. If you're building a detailed illustration or frame, reserve the remaining slots for actions like layer commands or color tools. Procreate users have also asked for multiple QuickMenu profiles so each project could have its own, but that isn't a built-in option, so treat the QuickMenu as a small, stable core set.

Which Method Should You Use?

A practical combination: put your 4–6 core tools in the QuickMenu, keep a Favorites set for your broader toolkit, and use pins for brushes you're testing on the current piece. When a pinned brush proves itself, duplicate it into your Favorites set.

Keep Your Favorites Organized Across Projects

Favorites drift. A brush you loved for one job becomes clutter on the next. A few habits help:

• Use project sets. Create a set like "Project – Title Sequence" and duplicate in the brushes you're trying. When the job ends, delete it. This mirrors how you'd organize footage or assets by project.
• Name sets by function. "Ink," "Grain," "Fill," and "Smudge" are easier to scan than brand names.
• Don't break imported sets. Always duplicate, as above, so an artist's original pack stays intact.
• Prune regularly. Unpin and remove brushes you haven't touched in weeks. A short list is faster than a comprehensive one.

Where Procreate Brushwork Fits in a Motion Pipeline

For motion designers and VFX artists, Procreate is usually a means to an end. You paint a texture, a character pose, a background, or a set of style frames, then take that work into After Effects, Nuke, or another compositor. Getting your brushes under control saves time at the front of that process.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

I don't see a Pin option. Pinning was added in a recent 5.x update. Update Procreate and look inside the Recent section.

My pinned brushes are in the wrong order. Pins can't be reordered. Use a Favorites set if order matters.

I dragged a brush into the wrong set. Open the wrong set and drag it out again. Dropping into the open set rather than the sidebar name prevents most of these mistakes.

My duplicate doesn't match the original after I tweaked it. Duplicates are independent. Make adjustments in the copy you actually use, and delete the old one to avoid confusion.

Recent keeps losing my brush. Recent holds only the last eight used brushes. Pin it, or move a duplicate into your Favorites set.

Final Takeaway

Procreate doesn't have a native favorites button, but combining pinning, a Favorites brush set, and a customized QuickMenu gets you most of the way there. Start with pins to test brushes, promote proven ones into a Favorites set, and reserve QuickMenu slots for the handful of tools you use every session. Then take your finished artwork into your motion and compositing pipeline, where After Effects, Nuke, or another compositor can pick it up.

Procreate has no star or heart button for brushes, so you save favorites with one of three workarounds. Pin brushes in the Recent section of the brush library, build a "Favorites" brush set from duplicated brushes, or assign brushes to your QuickMenu slots. Pinning is the fastest method, a Favorites set is the most flexible, and the QuickMenu is best for the few brushes you reach for constantly.

Does Procreate Have a Favorites Button?

Not as a dedicated feature. Procreate users have asked for a one-tap star or heart on each brush, similar to what Infinite Painter offers, plus an automatic favorites folder that doesn't require copying brushes out of their original sets. Until that exists, you work with the tools already in the app.

This matters if you use Procreate for production work: texture creation, storyboards, hand-drawn animation frames, or painted style frames. A brush library with hundreds of entries across dozens of imported sets slows you down, and you won't want to hunt through folders mid-session.

The methods below are based on recent Procreate 5.x versions. Menu wording and swipe directions can shift between releases, so check your version if something doesn't match.

Method 1: Pin Brushes in the Recent Section

Pinning is the quickest way to mark favorites. It needs no new sets and no duplicated brushes.

How to pin a brush

1. Use the brush you want to save, even with a single stroke. Procreate adds it to the Recent section at the top of the brush library.
2. Open the brush library and find the brush in Recent. The most recently used brush sits at the top.
3. Swipe the brush (left in current versions) and tap Pin.
4. A star appears beside the brush, and it stays at the top of the list.

Recent normally shows only your last eight brushes, so older entries get bumped off as you work. Pinned brushes stay put, and the eight most recent ones still appear below them. In one test, more than 30 brushes were pinned, so there's no obvious cap.

Managing pinned brushes

• Unpin: swipe the brush and tap Unpin.
• Remove from Recent: swipe and tap Clear. This works for pinned and unpinned entries.
• Find the source set: swipe and tap Find to jump to the brush's original set. This helps when you pinned something and forgot which pack it came from.

Limitations

Pinned brushes can't be reordered. They're sorted by when you pinned them, with the newest on top. If you pin many brushes, the recently used list gets pushed further down and you'll scroll more to reach it. Pinning works best as a short list of 8–15 brushes, not a full catalog.

Method 2: Create a Favorites Brush Set

A dedicated set gives you a stable, reorderable home for your go-to brushes. It takes more setup but scales better.

Step 1: Create the set

1. Open the brush library with the brush icon at the top right.
2. Scroll to the top of the set list until you see the plus sign.
3. Tap it to create a new set and rename it Favorites.

Step 2: Duplicate before you move

Duplicate each brush before dragging it into your Favorites set. If you drag the original, you pull it out of its home set, which can break the organization of imported packs from other artists.

1. Open the set that holds the brush.
2. Swipe the brush name and tap Duplicate. A copy appears, usually named something like "Brush Name 1."
3. Tap and hold the copy until it lifts out of the list.
4. While holding it, use your other hand to navigate to the Favorites set and open it.
5. Drop the brush into the open set.

Drop the brush into the open set, not onto the set's name in the sidebar. Dropping on the name makes it easy to land in the wrong folder.

Moving several brushes at once

1. Duplicate the brushes you want to copy.
2. Tap one brush to select it. It turns blue.
3. Swipe additional brushes to the right to add them to the selection.
4. Tap and hold one of the selected brushes, drag them out, and drop them into your open Favorites set.

Why use a set instead of pins

• You can reorder the set and place your most-used brush at the top.
• You can group favorites by purpose using several sets, such as "Ink," "Texture," "Smudge," and "Project – Client X."

The tradeoff is that duplicated brushes are real copies. Edit the original and your favorite won't update, and the library grows larger. Keep names clear so you know which copy is the working version.

Method 3: Assign Brushes to the QuickMenu

The QuickMenu is Procreate's shortcut menu, and its slots can be customized, including assigning brushes. You get about six slots, which isn't many, but access is instant and you never open the library.

Use it for the brushes you truly can't work without: your main sketch pencil, a primary inking brush, a go-to eraser, and a smudge tool, for example. If you're building a detailed illustration or frame, reserve the remaining slots for actions like layer commands or color tools. Procreate users have also asked for multiple QuickMenu profiles so each project could have its own, but that isn't a built-in option, so treat the QuickMenu as a small, stable core set.

Which Method Should You Use?

A practical combination: put your 4–6 core tools in the QuickMenu, keep a Favorites set for your broader toolkit, and use pins for brushes you're testing on the current piece. When a pinned brush proves itself, duplicate it into your Favorites set.

Keep Your Favorites Organized Across Projects

Favorites drift. A brush you loved for one job becomes clutter on the next. A few habits help:

• Use project sets. Create a set like "Project – Title Sequence" and duplicate in the brushes you're trying. When the job ends, delete it. This mirrors how you'd organize footage or assets by project.
• Name sets by function. "Ink," "Grain," "Fill," and "Smudge" are easier to scan than brand names.
• Don't break imported sets. Always duplicate, as above, so an artist's original pack stays intact.
• Prune regularly. Unpin and remove brushes you haven't touched in weeks. A short list is faster than a comprehensive one.

Where Procreate Brushwork Fits in a Motion Pipeline

For motion designers and VFX artists, Procreate is usually a means to an end. You paint a texture, a character pose, a background, or a set of style frames, then take that work into After Effects, Nuke, or another compositor. Getting your brushes under control saves time at the front of that process.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

I don't see a Pin option. Pinning was added in a recent 5.x update. Update Procreate and look inside the Recent section.

My pinned brushes are in the wrong order. Pins can't be reordered. Use a Favorites set if order matters.

I dragged a brush into the wrong set. Open the wrong set and drag it out again. Dropping into the open set rather than the sidebar name prevents most of these mistakes.

My duplicate doesn't match the original after I tweaked it. Duplicates are independent. Make adjustments in the copy you actually use, and delete the old one to avoid confusion.

Recent keeps losing my brush. Recent holds only the last eight used brushes. Pin it, or move a duplicate into your Favorites set.

Final Takeaway

Procreate doesn't have a native favorites button, but combining pinning, a Favorites brush set, and a customized QuickMenu gets you most of the way there. Start with pins to test brushes, promote proven ones into a Favorites set, and reserve QuickMenu slots for the handful of tools you use every session. Then take your finished artwork into your motion and compositing pipeline, where After Effects, Nuke, or another compositor can pick it up.