To add an image in Procreate, open your canvas, tap the Actions (wrench) icon, choose Add, then tap Insert a file or Insert a photo and select the image. It lands as a new layer that you can move, scale, and rotate with the Transform handles. To start a new canvas from an image instead, tap Import or Photo in the Gallery.

Quick steps: add an image to an existing canvas

1. Open your artwork and tap the Actions icon (the wrench).
2. Tap Add.
3. Choose Insert a file (opens the Files app) or Insert a photo (opens Photos).
4. Select the image. It appears on the canvas as a new layer.
5. Drag, pinch, or use the Transform handles to position it, then tap the Transform tool again to commit.

That covers most cases. The details below matter once you're working with production assets such as layered PSDs, reference frames, or stills headed for a compositing pipeline.

The three ways to insert an image

Under Actions → Add you'll find three image options. Each creates a new layer in the open artwork.

Insert a file

This opens the Files app, starting with your recent images. Use the navigation bar at the bottom to browse any connected location or folder. It's the right choice for assets that came from a desktop machine: renders, exported stills, or graphics from your compositing project.

Insert a photo

This opens your Photos library. Use it for photos you've taken and images you've saved to your device.

Take a photo

This launches the iPad camera. Shoot, tap Use Photo, and the picture drops into the open artwork. It's handy for quickly capturing a sketch, a physical texture, or an on-set reference.

Drag and drop

You can also drag a compatible image from another app straight onto the canvas, and it will import as a layer. If you have Procreate in Split View beside Files or Safari, this is often faster than the menu route.

Create a new canvas from an image

Sometimes you don't want to add an image to an existing artwork. You want the image to be the artwork. From the Gallery:

1. Tap Import to open Files, or Photo to open Photos.
2. Tap the image you want.
3. Procreate creates a new canvas and opens it immediately.

This method carries over information such as resolution and color profile, so the canvas matches the source image. For anything you plan to paint over at full size, such as a frame from a shot or a matte painting base, this is usually the better route. Dropping a large image into a smaller canvas means working at the canvas resolution rather than the source's.

You can also drag and drop a compatible image into the Gallery to create a new canvas.

Supported file formats

Procreate accepts a wide range of formats when you import:

• .procreate
• .psd
• .jpeg
• .png
• .tiff
• .gif
• .pdf

Vector formats are the exception. .ai, .eps, and .svg are not supported. If your logo or shape work lives in Illustrator or an After Effects shape layer, rasterize it first. Export a PNG at the resolution you need, ideally with transparency, then bring that in.

When you use Actions → Add, the handbook lists PNG, JPEG, and PSD as the compatible types for inserting files and photos.

Layered PSDs: the one gotcha that matters

If you insert a PSD through Actions → Add, whether via Insert a file or Insert a photo, Procreate places it as a single flattened image. Your layers are not preserved.

To keep the layers, import the PSD from the Gallery (Import) so it opens as its own artwork. If you need that content inside an existing canvas, import the PSD as a new artwork first, then copy the layers across or work from there.

This catches many artists who build a base in Photoshop or an After Effects-adjacent workflow and expect to keep their layer structure when adding it to an in-progress piece.

Add an image as a Private Layer

Private Layers are useful when the image is for your eyes only: a reference photo, a color study, or a client frame you're tracing from.

A Private Layer behaves like any other layer, except it won't appear in the Gallery preview image or in an exported Time-lapse video. You don't have to remember to hide or delete it before sharing the process.

To add one:

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. Choose your image.

The layer appears in the Layers panel with the word Private beneath its name. Layered PSDs can't be imported as Private Layers. Like the standard Add route, they come in flattened.

Add a reference image instead of a layer

If you want an image to look at rather than paint with, use the Reference companion instead of adding a layer:

1. Tap Actions → Canvas.
2. Turn on Reference.
3. Choose Image (the other options are Canvas and Face) and import the picture you want.

The reference appears in a floating window that you can move and resize without affecting your artwork's layers. This is usually the cleaner choice for mood boards, character sheets, or storyboard frames, because nothing ends up in your export by accident.

Resize and position the inserted image

After you insert an image, Procreate puts you in Transform mode so you can adjust it right away:

• Uniform keeps proportions locked when you drag the corner handles. Use it for most scaling so you don't distort the image.
• Free-form and other modes let you stretch or skew when you want to.
• Drag inside the bounding box to move the layer, then tap the Transform tool (the arrow icon) again to confirm.

Once placed, the image is a normal layer. You can mask it, change its blend mode, adjust opacity, group it, or clip other layers to it. To swap an image inside an existing composition, insert the new one above the old layer, match its size and position, and delete or hide the original. Remember to adjust any layers that depend on it, such as color overlays or reflections.

Procreate Pocket on iPhone

The same options exist in Procreate Pocket, but the toolbar is tucked away. Tap the ellipsis button to expand the top tools, open Actions → Add, and choose Insert a File, Insert a Photo, or Take a Photo. Pocket also has a Quick Add Photo button, available while any Actions tab is open, which jumps straight to your Photos and brings the selected photo in as a new layer.

Troubleshooting common problems

The layers in my PSD are gone. You inserted it through Actions → Add. Re-import it from the Gallery to preserve layers.

I can't import my vector logo. Procreate doesn't support .ai, .eps, or .svg. Export a high-resolution PNG instead.

The image is tiny or blurry on the canvas. The source may be lower resolution than your canvas, or you scaled it up after inserting. Start from a higher-resolution export, or create the canvas from the image via Gallery import so its dimensions carry over.

My reference shows up in the time-lapse. Use a Private Layer, or use the Reference companion instead of a regular layer.

I can't find my file in Files. Use Browse in the Files navigation bar to reach other locations. If the file lives on your Mac or PC, move it over first with AirDrop or drag and drop.

Using Procreate images in a motion and VFX pipeline

For motion designers, animators, and VFX artists, Procreate is often where a frame gets painted or refined before it goes somewhere else: a style frame, a matte element, a hand-drawn texture, a character pose. A few habits keep that handoff clean:

• Import at final resolution. Create the canvas from the source image when you can, so you aren't up-scaling later.
• Keep layered work layered. Export as PSD from Procreate when the next stop is After Effects or Photoshop, and use PNG when you want transparency in a flat deliverable.
• Name layers before export. It saves time when the file opens in a compositing app.
• Use Private Layers for reference. Traced frames and client comps stay out of Gallery previews and Time-lapse exports.

Summary

For a normal image, use Actions → Add → Insert a file or Insert a photo. For a layered PSD, import from the Gallery so the layers survive. For an image only you should see, use a Private Layer or the Reference companion. Convert any vector work to PNG first, since Procreate won't open .ai, .eps, or .svg files. With those rules in hand, getting an image into Procreate takes seconds, and the more important decision becomes where the finished frame goes next.

To add an image in Procreate, open your canvas, tap the Actions (wrench) icon, choose Add, then tap Insert a file or Insert a photo and select the image. It lands as a new layer that you can move, scale, and rotate with the Transform handles. To start a new canvas from an image instead, tap Import or Photo in the Gallery.

Quick steps: add an image to an existing canvas

1. Open your artwork and tap the Actions icon (the wrench).
2. Tap Add.
3. Choose Insert a file (opens the Files app) or Insert a photo (opens Photos).
4. Select the image. It appears on the canvas as a new layer.
5. Drag, pinch, or use the Transform handles to position it, then tap the Transform tool again to commit.

That covers most cases. The details below matter once you're working with production assets such as layered PSDs, reference frames, or stills headed for a compositing pipeline.

The three ways to insert an image

Under Actions → Add you'll find three image options. Each creates a new layer in the open artwork.

Insert a file

This opens the Files app, starting with your recent images. Use the navigation bar at the bottom to browse any connected location or folder. It's the right choice for assets that came from a desktop machine: renders, exported stills, or graphics from your compositing project.

Insert a photo

This opens your Photos library. Use it for photos you've taken and images you've saved to your device.

Take a photo

This launches the iPad camera. Shoot, tap Use Photo, and the picture drops into the open artwork. It's handy for quickly capturing a sketch, a physical texture, or an on-set reference.

Drag and drop

You can also drag a compatible image from another app straight onto the canvas, and it will import as a layer. If you have Procreate in Split View beside Files or Safari, this is often faster than the menu route.

Create a new canvas from an image

Sometimes you don't want to add an image to an existing artwork. You want the image to be the artwork. From the Gallery:

1. Tap Import to open Files, or Photo to open Photos.
2. Tap the image you want.
3. Procreate creates a new canvas and opens it immediately.

This method carries over information such as resolution and color profile, so the canvas matches the source image. For anything you plan to paint over at full size, such as a frame from a shot or a matte painting base, this is usually the better route. Dropping a large image into a smaller canvas means working at the canvas resolution rather than the source's.

You can also drag and drop a compatible image into the Gallery to create a new canvas.

Supported file formats

Procreate accepts a wide range of formats when you import:

• .procreate
• .psd
• .jpeg
• .png
• .tiff
• .gif
• .pdf

Vector formats are the exception. .ai, .eps, and .svg are not supported. If your logo or shape work lives in Illustrator or an After Effects shape layer, rasterize it first. Export a PNG at the resolution you need, ideally with transparency, then bring that in.

When you use Actions → Add, the handbook lists PNG, JPEG, and PSD as the compatible types for inserting files and photos.

Layered PSDs: the one gotcha that matters

If you insert a PSD through Actions → Add, whether via Insert a file or Insert a photo, Procreate places it as a single flattened image. Your layers are not preserved.

To keep the layers, import the PSD from the Gallery (Import) so it opens as its own artwork. If you need that content inside an existing canvas, import the PSD as a new artwork first, then copy the layers across or work from there.

This catches many artists who build a base in Photoshop or an After Effects-adjacent workflow and expect to keep their layer structure when adding it to an in-progress piece.

Add an image as a Private Layer

Private Layers are useful when the image is for your eyes only: a reference photo, a color study, or a client frame you're tracing from.

A Private Layer behaves like any other layer, except it won't appear in the Gallery preview image or in an exported Time-lapse video. You don't have to remember to hide or delete it before sharing the process.

To add one:

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. Choose your image.

The layer appears in the Layers panel with the word Private beneath its name. Layered PSDs can't be imported as Private Layers. Like the standard Add route, they come in flattened.

Add a reference image instead of a layer

If you want an image to look at rather than paint with, use the Reference companion instead of adding a layer:

1. Tap Actions → Canvas.
2. Turn on Reference.
3. Choose Image (the other options are Canvas and Face) and import the picture you want.

The reference appears in a floating window that you can move and resize without affecting your artwork's layers. This is usually the cleaner choice for mood boards, character sheets, or storyboard frames, because nothing ends up in your export by accident.

Resize and position the inserted image

After you insert an image, Procreate puts you in Transform mode so you can adjust it right away:

• Uniform keeps proportions locked when you drag the corner handles. Use it for most scaling so you don't distort the image.
• Free-form and other modes let you stretch or skew when you want to.
• Drag inside the bounding box to move the layer, then tap the Transform tool (the arrow icon) again to confirm.

Once placed, the image is a normal layer. You can mask it, change its blend mode, adjust opacity, group it, or clip other layers to it. To swap an image inside an existing composition, insert the new one above the old layer, match its size and position, and delete or hide the original. Remember to adjust any layers that depend on it, such as color overlays or reflections.

Procreate Pocket on iPhone

The same options exist in Procreate Pocket, but the toolbar is tucked away. Tap the ellipsis button to expand the top tools, open Actions → Add, and choose Insert a File, Insert a Photo, or Take a Photo. Pocket also has a Quick Add Photo button, available while any Actions tab is open, which jumps straight to your Photos and brings the selected photo in as a new layer.

Troubleshooting common problems

The layers in my PSD are gone. You inserted it through Actions → Add. Re-import it from the Gallery to preserve layers.

I can't import my vector logo. Procreate doesn't support .ai, .eps, or .svg. Export a high-resolution PNG instead.

The image is tiny or blurry on the canvas. The source may be lower resolution than your canvas, or you scaled it up after inserting. Start from a higher-resolution export, or create the canvas from the image via Gallery import so its dimensions carry over.

My reference shows up in the time-lapse. Use a Private Layer, or use the Reference companion instead of a regular layer.

I can't find my file in Files. Use Browse in the Files navigation bar to reach other locations. If the file lives on your Mac or PC, move it over first with AirDrop or drag and drop.

Using Procreate images in a motion and VFX pipeline

For motion designers, animators, and VFX artists, Procreate is often where a frame gets painted or refined before it goes somewhere else: a style frame, a matte element, a hand-drawn texture, a character pose. A few habits keep that handoff clean:

• Import at final resolution. Create the canvas from the source image when you can, so you aren't up-scaling later.
• Keep layered work layered. Export as PSD from Procreate when the next stop is After Effects or Photoshop, and use PNG when you want transparency in a flat deliverable.
• Name layers before export. It saves time when the file opens in a compositing app.
• Use Private Layers for reference. Traced frames and client comps stay out of Gallery previews and Time-lapse exports.

Summary

For a normal image, use Actions → Add → Insert a file or Insert a photo. For a layered PSD, import from the Gallery so the layers survive. For an image only you should see, use a Private Layer or the Reference companion. Convert any vector work to PNG first, since Procreate won't open .ai, .eps, or .svg files. With those rules in hand, getting an image into Procreate takes seconds, and the more important decision becomes where the finished frame goes next.