Procreate stores your artwork only on your iPad, so the safest backup is to export your canvases as .procreate files from the Gallery (Select → Share → Procreate → Save to Files) and copy them to at least two other locations, such as cloud storage and an external drive. A full iPad backup through iCloud or a computer is a useful second layer, but it restores everything at once and can't give you a single file back. Also export PSD or PNG copies of important pieces, because .procreate files open only in Procreate.

Why Procreate Drawings Need a Manual Backup

Procreate keeps all of its data, including canvases, brushes, and palettes, in the app's local storage. There is no automatic sync to a second location. If you delete the app, reset the iPad, lose the device, or hit a bad update, the artwork can disappear permanently.

This matters more for people who use Procreate as part of a production pipeline. Storyboards, style frames, texture paintings, rotoscope passes, and character designs often feed into After Effects, Blender, Cinema 4D, or Nuke. A lost source file can mean redrawing an asset that a client has already approved.

Treat backups as routine, not a rescue plan. Do one before every Procreate update and every iPadOS update.

Method 1: Export From the Gallery to the Files App

This is the most reliable way to protect individual pieces, and it is the one to build your routine around.

1. Open the Procreate Gallery and tap Select.
2. Tap each canvas or Stack you want to back up. A checkmark confirms the selection.
3. Tap Share and choose Procreate as the format.
4. When the share sheet opens, choose Save to Files and pick a destination folder.

The .procreate format keeps layers, settings, and your Time-lapse Replay. Flattened and layered exports lose some of that data. A PSD, for example, won't carry the Time-lapse recording.

For a single piece, you can also swipe left on the canvas in the Gallery and tap Share.

Things to know about Stacks

Sharing a Stack exports what's inside it. As .procreate files, the contents come through as individual canvases, and the Stack grouping itself is not preserved. Exporting a very large Stack in one go can also be slow, so split big batches into smaller ones.

Name your canvases first

Default names like "Untitled" make a backup folder nearly useless when you need to find one file months later. Rename canvases in the Gallery before exporting. A scheme such as client_project_asset_v02 works the same way you would name files for an After Effects project.

Method 2: Drag and Drop in Bulk

If you want to move many files quickly, drag and drop avoids the Share menu.

1. In iPad Settings → Apps → Procreate, set your Preferred File Format (used when dropping into Files) and Preferred Image Format (used when dropping into Photos).
2. In the Gallery, tap Select and choose your canvases.
3. Press and hold one selected canvas to lift the group.
4. With another finger, swipe up from the bottom edge to open Files or Photos, and drop the group into your destination folder.

Set the preferred file format to Procreate before you drop into Files, or you may end up with a different format than the .procreate files you want for backup.

Method 3: Cloud Storage

Cloud services are the easiest offsite copy. iCloud Drive, Dropbox, and Google Drive all appear in the Files app, so the Save to Files step above can go straight to them. If a service doesn't show up, open the Files sidebar, tap the ellipsis, and choose Edit Locations (or the equivalent) to enable it.

A few practical notes:

• Create a dedicated "Procreate Backup" folder so exports don't get mixed with other files.
• Free storage tiers can fill up quickly with large layered files. Check your plan before you commit to cloud-only.
• Cloud sync is not the same as a backup. If you delete a file from a synced folder, it may be deleted everywhere.

Method 4: External Drive

Some iPads, such as the iPad Pro, can connect directly to an external drive, which gives you a large local copy with no subscription and no Wi-Fi requirement. You may need a computer to format the drive the first time. Check that your cable and drive are compatible with your iPad's port and that the drive appears in the Files app before relying on it.

Once it shows up in Files, export exactly as you would to any other location. This also works as the "second physical copy" that protects you if a cloud account is locked or a sync goes wrong.

Method 5: Full iPad Backup

A full device backup, made to a computer or to iCloud, captures apps and their data in one operation. It's useful for moving to a new iPad or recovering from a total failure. It has real limits, though:

• No single-file restores. You roll back the whole device, which can wipe out newer work made since the backup.
• Computer backups overwrite. Each new backup typically replaces the previous one unless you archive a copy.
• iCloud backups can be unreliable for big libraries. Artists report that Procreate data sometimes restores slowly or after everything else. If you use iCloud backup, confirm in iCloud settings that Procreate is toggled on in the list of backed-up apps.

Use a full backup as a safety net, not as your only plan.

Don't Forget Brushes, Palettes, and Fonts

Gallery exports do not include your custom tools. Back up these separately:

• Brushes: Export your custom brushes and brush sets using Procreate's Share options and save them with your backups.
• Palettes: Export your custom palettes the same way.
• Custom fonts and other imported resources: Keep the original files in a folder alongside your backups.

If you've spent hours tuning a texture brush for a recurring look, losing it is as costly as losing a drawing.

Save a Second Format for Pipeline Use

A .procreate file is the best archive, but it is a closed format. You can't open it in After Effects, Photoshop, Blender, or Nuke. For any piece that might return to a production pipeline, also export:

• PSD for layered work you plan to bring into Photoshop or After Effects. Check the result in the destination app, especially if the piece uses complex blend modes or effects.
• PNG for flattened references.
• High-resolution PNG when you need a clean master for compositing.
• Animated exports for Procreate's animation work. For frame-based animation, export frames as a sequence where you can, so you can rebuild timing in After Effects.

A flattened PNG preview of every .procreate file also helps you identify files visually without opening them.

A Simple Routine That Holds Up

You don't need an elaborate system. A practical setup looks like this:

1. Weekly: Select the week's new and changed canvases and export them as .procreate to a cloud folder.
2. Monthly: Copy the full backup folder to an external drive.
3. At project close: Export a PSD and PNG for delivery assets, and archive the .procreate file with the project folder.
4. Before updates: Export everything that matters, then update.
5. Quarterly: Make a full iPad backup, and open a few backed-up files to confirm they still import into Procreate.

That last step is the one most people skip. A backup you've never tested is a guess.

In practice, keep copies in several places: the iPad, an external drive, and a cloud folder.

Keeping Backed-Up Art Useful in a Motion Workflow

Backups are most valuable when the work they protect can be reused. Procreate drawings often become starting points for animation: a character design, a background paint, a key pose, or a style reference. A clean, well-named archive of your source art, saved in the right format, is the input you'll want for the next pass.

Quick Checklist

• Export as .procreate for full-fidelity archives.
• Add PSD and PNG copies for anything that will move into other software.
• Rename canvases before exporting.
• Back up brushes, palettes, and fonts separately.
• Keep at least two copies, one of them off the iPad and one offsite or in the cloud.
• Do a full iPad backup as a safety net, not as your main plan.
• Test a restore now and then.

Procreate won't protect your work for you, but a few minutes of exporting each week keeps a lost iPad from turning into a lost project.

Procreate stores your artwork only on your iPad, so the safest backup is to export your canvases as .procreate files from the Gallery (Select → Share → Procreate → Save to Files) and copy them to at least two other locations, such as cloud storage and an external drive. A full iPad backup through iCloud or a computer is a useful second layer, but it restores everything at once and can't give you a single file back. Also export PSD or PNG copies of important pieces, because .procreate files open only in Procreate.

Why Procreate Drawings Need a Manual Backup

Procreate keeps all of its data, including canvases, brushes, and palettes, in the app's local storage. There is no automatic sync to a second location. If you delete the app, reset the iPad, lose the device, or hit a bad update, the artwork can disappear permanently.

This matters more for people who use Procreate as part of a production pipeline. Storyboards, style frames, texture paintings, rotoscope passes, and character designs often feed into After Effects, Blender, Cinema 4D, or Nuke. A lost source file can mean redrawing an asset that a client has already approved.

Treat backups as routine, not a rescue plan. Do one before every Procreate update and every iPadOS update.

Method 1: Export From the Gallery to the Files App

This is the most reliable way to protect individual pieces, and it is the one to build your routine around.

1. Open the Procreate Gallery and tap Select.
2. Tap each canvas or Stack you want to back up. A checkmark confirms the selection.
3. Tap Share and choose Procreate as the format.
4. When the share sheet opens, choose Save to Files and pick a destination folder.

The .procreate format keeps layers, settings, and your Time-lapse Replay. Flattened and layered exports lose some of that data. A PSD, for example, won't carry the Time-lapse recording.

For a single piece, you can also swipe left on the canvas in the Gallery and tap Share.

Things to know about Stacks

Sharing a Stack exports what's inside it. As .procreate files, the contents come through as individual canvases, and the Stack grouping itself is not preserved. Exporting a very large Stack in one go can also be slow, so split big batches into smaller ones.

Name your canvases first

Default names like "Untitled" make a backup folder nearly useless when you need to find one file months later. Rename canvases in the Gallery before exporting. A scheme such as client_project_asset_v02 works the same way you would name files for an After Effects project.

Method 2: Drag and Drop in Bulk

If you want to move many files quickly, drag and drop avoids the Share menu.

1. In iPad Settings → Apps → Procreate, set your Preferred File Format (used when dropping into Files) and Preferred Image Format (used when dropping into Photos).
2. In the Gallery, tap Select and choose your canvases.
3. Press and hold one selected canvas to lift the group.
4. With another finger, swipe up from the bottom edge to open Files or Photos, and drop the group into your destination folder.

Set the preferred file format to Procreate before you drop into Files, or you may end up with a different format than the .procreate files you want for backup.

Method 3: Cloud Storage

Cloud services are the easiest offsite copy. iCloud Drive, Dropbox, and Google Drive all appear in the Files app, so the Save to Files step above can go straight to them. If a service doesn't show up, open the Files sidebar, tap the ellipsis, and choose Edit Locations (or the equivalent) to enable it.

A few practical notes:

• Create a dedicated "Procreate Backup" folder so exports don't get mixed with other files.
• Free storage tiers can fill up quickly with large layered files. Check your plan before you commit to cloud-only.
• Cloud sync is not the same as a backup. If you delete a file from a synced folder, it may be deleted everywhere.

Method 4: External Drive

Some iPads, such as the iPad Pro, can connect directly to an external drive, which gives you a large local copy with no subscription and no Wi-Fi requirement. You may need a computer to format the drive the first time. Check that your cable and drive are compatible with your iPad's port and that the drive appears in the Files app before relying on it.

Once it shows up in Files, export exactly as you would to any other location. This also works as the "second physical copy" that protects you if a cloud account is locked or a sync goes wrong.

Method 5: Full iPad Backup

A full device backup, made to a computer or to iCloud, captures apps and their data in one operation. It's useful for moving to a new iPad or recovering from a total failure. It has real limits, though:

• No single-file restores. You roll back the whole device, which can wipe out newer work made since the backup.
• Computer backups overwrite. Each new backup typically replaces the previous one unless you archive a copy.
• iCloud backups can be unreliable for big libraries. Artists report that Procreate data sometimes restores slowly or after everything else. If you use iCloud backup, confirm in iCloud settings that Procreate is toggled on in the list of backed-up apps.

Use a full backup as a safety net, not as your only plan.

Don't Forget Brushes, Palettes, and Fonts

Gallery exports do not include your custom tools. Back up these separately:

• Brushes: Export your custom brushes and brush sets using Procreate's Share options and save them with your backups.
• Palettes: Export your custom palettes the same way.
• Custom fonts and other imported resources: Keep the original files in a folder alongside your backups.

If you've spent hours tuning a texture brush for a recurring look, losing it is as costly as losing a drawing.

Save a Second Format for Pipeline Use

A .procreate file is the best archive, but it is a closed format. You can't open it in After Effects, Photoshop, Blender, or Nuke. For any piece that might return to a production pipeline, also export:

• PSD for layered work you plan to bring into Photoshop or After Effects. Check the result in the destination app, especially if the piece uses complex blend modes or effects.
• PNG for flattened references.
• High-resolution PNG when you need a clean master for compositing.
• Animated exports for Procreate's animation work. For frame-based animation, export frames as a sequence where you can, so you can rebuild timing in After Effects.

A flattened PNG preview of every .procreate file also helps you identify files visually without opening them.

A Simple Routine That Holds Up

You don't need an elaborate system. A practical setup looks like this:

1. Weekly: Select the week's new and changed canvases and export them as .procreate to a cloud folder.
2. Monthly: Copy the full backup folder to an external drive.
3. At project close: Export a PSD and PNG for delivery assets, and archive the .procreate file with the project folder.
4. Before updates: Export everything that matters, then update.
5. Quarterly: Make a full iPad backup, and open a few backed-up files to confirm they still import into Procreate.

That last step is the one most people skip. A backup you've never tested is a guess.

In practice, keep copies in several places: the iPad, an external drive, and a cloud folder.

Keeping Backed-Up Art Useful in a Motion Workflow

Backups are most valuable when the work they protect can be reused. Procreate drawings often become starting points for animation: a character design, a background paint, a key pose, or a style reference. A clean, well-named archive of your source art, saved in the right format, is the input you'll want for the next pass.

Quick Checklist

• Export as .procreate for full-fidelity archives.
• Add PSD and PNG copies for anything that will move into other software.
• Rename canvases before exporting.
• Back up brushes, palettes, and fonts separately.
• Keep at least two copies, one of them off the iPad and one offsite or in the cloud.
• Do a full iPad backup as a safety net, not as your main plan.
• Test a restore now and then.

Procreate won't protect your work for you, but a few minutes of exporting each week keeps a lost iPad from turning into a lost project.