To change the font in Procreate Pocket, double-tap your text layer and tap Edit Style, then pick a typeface from the Font list in the Typeface section. Tap a style variant (italic, bold, ultralight and so on) to apply it, then tap Apply Changes to commit. To use a font that isn't installed, tap the + next to the Text Style title in the same panel and import an .otf, .ttf, or .ttc file from the Files app.

Before You Start: Make Sure You Have a Live Text Layer

Procreate Pocket only lets you change fonts on a vector text layer. If the layer has been rasterized, it becomes a regular pixel layer and the font controls no longer apply.

To add live text:

1. Tap the ellipsis icon to expand the top toolbar.
2. Tap Actions (the wrench), then Add, then Add Text.
3. A bounding box containing the word "Text" appears, already highlighted so you can type over it. It uses the default font, Helvetica Neue, in your currently selected color.

You can tell a vector text layer from a raster one in the Layers panel. Vector text layers show an "A" in the thumbnail, and the layer name updates to match the text content. Raster layers show a normal image preview.

Step-by-Step: Change the Font

1. Open the Edit Style panel

Double-tap the text, then tap Edit Style. The panel is split into three sections: Typeface, Design, and Attributes. Tap the label at the top of the panel to move between them.

If you only want to change part of the text, highlight that portion first. The font applies to whatever is selected on that text layer.

2. Choose a font

In the Typeface section, the Font list sits on the left. Each font name is rendered in its own typeface, so you can scroll and preview the look without tapping anything. Tap a font to apply it to your selected text immediately. The list is alphabetical.

3. Choose a style variant

The list on the right shows the styles available for the selected font. What you see depends on the font and which glyph sets it includes. Many fonts offer regular, italic, and bold, and some add weights such as ultralight, thin, or black. Tap a variant to apply it. Choosing UltraLight, for example, gives you a noticeably thinner, lighter version than Regular.

4. Apply or discard

Tap Apply Changes to close the panel and keep your edits. Tap Exit Edit Style Menu to throw away everything you changed on the highlighted text. If you need to type more, tap the keyboard icon in the panel to dismiss it and bring the iOS keyboard back.

The panel is a pop-over like others in the app. Swipe the handle up to expand it and show more options, or drag it down to collapse or close it.

Fine-Tune the Type: Design and Attributes

Changing the typeface is usually only half the job. For title cards, lower thirds, or lettering references, the Design and Attributes sections matter just as much.

Design sliders

The Design section has six sliders:

• Size: scales the text. The box keeps its width and grows or shrinks in height.
• Kerning: adjusts the space between a specific pair of letters. Place the cursor between two letters to see it work.
• Tracking: adjusts spacing across every letter in a selected word or block. Highlight the text first.
• Leading: sets the space between lines.
• Baseline: shifts the invisible line the text sits on inside the box.
• Opacity: controls text transparency.

Kerning, tracking, leading, and baseline are standard typographic concepts. In Procreate Pocket you adjust them with sliders, so precision may take a bit more patience on a phone screen.

Attributes

The Attributes section handles alignment (left, center, right, justified), underline, outline, orientation (horizontal or vertical), and an all-caps toggle. The outline option turns a solid font into an outlined version. The caps toggle can be switched off to restore your original capitalization.

How to Import Your Own Fonts

Procreate Pocket ships with 26 default fonts under an open-source licence that allows personal and commercial use, and it also gives you access to the fonts built into iOS. The number of system fonts varies with your iOS version. For brand work or anything client-specific, you'll probably need your own typefaces.

Procreate Pocket accepts .otf, .ttf, and .ttc files. There are a few ways to bring them in.

Import from inside the app

1. Add a text layer, double-tap it, and tap Edit Style.
2. Tap the + symbol next to the Text Style title.
3. Browse the Files app to the folder with your font and tap the file.

The font then appears in the Font list. Imported fonts only show up if they import successfully and have characters that can display their name.

Drop the file into the Fonts folder

In the Files app, find the font file, tap and hold it, and with another finger navigate to Browse, then On My iPhone, then Procreate Pocket, then Fonts. Drop the file there. This is also where you remove a font: delete it from that folder.

AirDrop from a Mac

With AirDrop on for both devices, send the font file from Finder to your iPhone and save it to Procreate Pocket. This is the quickest route if your font library already lives on your Mac.

If a font downloads as a ZIP, unzip it first. Tapping the archive in the Files app should extract it to the same location.

One practical note for professionals: confirm the license on any font you import, especially if the artwork will end up in a delivered piece. Importing a font is technically easy, but the license determines whether you can use it in client work.

Troubleshooting: When the Font Won't Change

The text can't be edited at all

The most common cause is that the layer has been rasterized. Rasterizing converts text to pixels, and the Edit Style option stops being useful. Check the layer thumbnail: if it shows a picture rather than an "A", it's raster. The fix is to add a new text layer and retype.

To avoid this, rasterize only as a last step. You need to rasterize before using tools that require pixels, such as selections, adjustments, painting on the text, distort, or merging, so finish all font decisions first. Keep a duplicate of the vector layer, hidden, in case the client changes the copy.

Duplicating text

Community reports on older Procreate versions note that copying and pasting a text layer rasterized it, and that duplicating the layer was the way to keep it editable. If you need several text blocks in a consistent style, duplicate the layer instead of pasting. Also keep in mind that each text box needs its own layer.

The Edit Style button is missing

An older community thread on the iPad version reported the Edit Style button vanishing after an iOS update, and the fix was turning on Shortcuts under Settings, then General, then Keyboard. That thread was about a previous Procreate release on iPad, so treat it as a lead to check rather than a guaranteed fix on current Pocket builds. If the button is gone, also confirm you've double-tapped a live text layer and not a raster one.

Getting Procreate Pocket Type Into a Motion Pipeline

For motion designers, Procreate Pocket is mostly a sketchbook and style development tool rather than a final type engine. A sensible split looks like this:

• Explore in Procreate Pocket: try typefaces, weights, tracking, and layouts quickly on your phone, and combine lettering with hand-drawn elements.
• Finish in your motion tool: rebuild the final type as live text in your motion or compositing software, where you control exact values, licensed font files, and animation.
• Use the Procreate artwork as reference or texture: export it in a format your pipeline accepts and bring it in as a visual reference or as a rasterized element.

Doing it this way means a font decision made on the go doesn't become a legibility or licensing problem later.

Quick Reference

Once you know that Edit Style handles the font and Design and Attributes handle the rest, changing typefaces in Procreate Pocket takes a few taps. The main thing to remember is to keep the layer as live text until every typographic decision is final.

To change the font in Procreate Pocket, double-tap your text layer and tap Edit Style, then pick a typeface from the Font list in the Typeface section. Tap a style variant (italic, bold, ultralight and so on) to apply it, then tap Apply Changes to commit. To use a font that isn't installed, tap the + next to the Text Style title in the same panel and import an .otf, .ttf, or .ttc file from the Files app.

Before You Start: Make Sure You Have a Live Text Layer

Procreate Pocket only lets you change fonts on a vector text layer. If the layer has been rasterized, it becomes a regular pixel layer and the font controls no longer apply.

To add live text:

1. Tap the ellipsis icon to expand the top toolbar.
2. Tap Actions (the wrench), then Add, then Add Text.
3. A bounding box containing the word "Text" appears, already highlighted so you can type over it. It uses the default font, Helvetica Neue, in your currently selected color.

You can tell a vector text layer from a raster one in the Layers panel. Vector text layers show an "A" in the thumbnail, and the layer name updates to match the text content. Raster layers show a normal image preview.

Step-by-Step: Change the Font

1. Open the Edit Style panel

Double-tap the text, then tap Edit Style. The panel is split into three sections: Typeface, Design, and Attributes. Tap the label at the top of the panel to move between them.

If you only want to change part of the text, highlight that portion first. The font applies to whatever is selected on that text layer.

2. Choose a font

In the Typeface section, the Font list sits on the left. Each font name is rendered in its own typeface, so you can scroll and preview the look without tapping anything. Tap a font to apply it to your selected text immediately. The list is alphabetical.

3. Choose a style variant

The list on the right shows the styles available for the selected font. What you see depends on the font and which glyph sets it includes. Many fonts offer regular, italic, and bold, and some add weights such as ultralight, thin, or black. Tap a variant to apply it. Choosing UltraLight, for example, gives you a noticeably thinner, lighter version than Regular.

4. Apply or discard

Tap Apply Changes to close the panel and keep your edits. Tap Exit Edit Style Menu to throw away everything you changed on the highlighted text. If you need to type more, tap the keyboard icon in the panel to dismiss it and bring the iOS keyboard back.

The panel is a pop-over like others in the app. Swipe the handle up to expand it and show more options, or drag it down to collapse or close it.

Fine-Tune the Type: Design and Attributes

Changing the typeface is usually only half the job. For title cards, lower thirds, or lettering references, the Design and Attributes sections matter just as much.

Design sliders

The Design section has six sliders:

• Size: scales the text. The box keeps its width and grows or shrinks in height.
• Kerning: adjusts the space between a specific pair of letters. Place the cursor between two letters to see it work.
• Tracking: adjusts spacing across every letter in a selected word or block. Highlight the text first.
• Leading: sets the space between lines.
• Baseline: shifts the invisible line the text sits on inside the box.
• Opacity: controls text transparency.

Kerning, tracking, leading, and baseline are standard typographic concepts. In Procreate Pocket you adjust them with sliders, so precision may take a bit more patience on a phone screen.

Attributes

The Attributes section handles alignment (left, center, right, justified), underline, outline, orientation (horizontal or vertical), and an all-caps toggle. The outline option turns a solid font into an outlined version. The caps toggle can be switched off to restore your original capitalization.

How to Import Your Own Fonts

Procreate Pocket ships with 26 default fonts under an open-source licence that allows personal and commercial use, and it also gives you access to the fonts built into iOS. The number of system fonts varies with your iOS version. For brand work or anything client-specific, you'll probably need your own typefaces.

Procreate Pocket accepts .otf, .ttf, and .ttc files. There are a few ways to bring them in.

Import from inside the app

1. Add a text layer, double-tap it, and tap Edit Style.
2. Tap the + symbol next to the Text Style title.
3. Browse the Files app to the folder with your font and tap the file.

The font then appears in the Font list. Imported fonts only show up if they import successfully and have characters that can display their name.

Drop the file into the Fonts folder

In the Files app, find the font file, tap and hold it, and with another finger navigate to Browse, then On My iPhone, then Procreate Pocket, then Fonts. Drop the file there. This is also where you remove a font: delete it from that folder.

AirDrop from a Mac

With AirDrop on for both devices, send the font file from Finder to your iPhone and save it to Procreate Pocket. This is the quickest route if your font library already lives on your Mac.

If a font downloads as a ZIP, unzip it first. Tapping the archive in the Files app should extract it to the same location.

One practical note for professionals: confirm the license on any font you import, especially if the artwork will end up in a delivered piece. Importing a font is technically easy, but the license determines whether you can use it in client work.

Troubleshooting: When the Font Won't Change

The text can't be edited at all

The most common cause is that the layer has been rasterized. Rasterizing converts text to pixels, and the Edit Style option stops being useful. Check the layer thumbnail: if it shows a picture rather than an "A", it's raster. The fix is to add a new text layer and retype.

To avoid this, rasterize only as a last step. You need to rasterize before using tools that require pixels, such as selections, adjustments, painting on the text, distort, or merging, so finish all font decisions first. Keep a duplicate of the vector layer, hidden, in case the client changes the copy.

Duplicating text

Community reports on older Procreate versions note that copying and pasting a text layer rasterized it, and that duplicating the layer was the way to keep it editable. If you need several text blocks in a consistent style, duplicate the layer instead of pasting. Also keep in mind that each text box needs its own layer.

The Edit Style button is missing

An older community thread on the iPad version reported the Edit Style button vanishing after an iOS update, and the fix was turning on Shortcuts under Settings, then General, then Keyboard. That thread was about a previous Procreate release on iPad, so treat it as a lead to check rather than a guaranteed fix on current Pocket builds. If the button is gone, also confirm you've double-tapped a live text layer and not a raster one.

Getting Procreate Pocket Type Into a Motion Pipeline

For motion designers, Procreate Pocket is mostly a sketchbook and style development tool rather than a final type engine. A sensible split looks like this:

• Explore in Procreate Pocket: try typefaces, weights, tracking, and layouts quickly on your phone, and combine lettering with hand-drawn elements.
• Finish in your motion tool: rebuild the final type as live text in your motion or compositing software, where you control exact values, licensed font files, and animation.
• Use the Procreate artwork as reference or texture: export it in a format your pipeline accepts and bring it in as a visual reference or as a rasterized element.

Doing it this way means a font decision made on the go doesn't become a legibility or licensing problem later.

Quick Reference

Once you know that Edit Style handles the font and Design and Attributes handle the rest, changing typefaces in Procreate Pocket takes a few taps. The main thing to remember is to keep the layer as live text until every typographic decision is final.