To combine two brushes in Procreate, put both brushes in the same brush set. Tap the first brush to make it the Primary (bright blue), swipe right on the second to make it the Secondary (dark blue), then tap Combine at the top right of the Brush Library. The result is a Dual Brush that takes the Primary brush's name and carries the shape and grain of both. You can then edit each brush separately in Brush Studio, change the Combine Mode, or Uncombine to get your two original brushes back.

What You Need Before Combining Brushes

A few rules decide whether the Combine option appears at all:

• Both brushes must be in the same brush set. If they live in different sets, drag or duplicate one into the other's set first.
• Both must be single brushes. An existing Dual Brush can't be combined with anything else.
• Default brushes depend on your version. Since Procreate 5.4 you can combine default brushes, provided they aren't already Dual Brushes. On older versions you have to duplicate a default brush and combine the copy.

Even on current versions, work from copies. Swipe a brush thumbnail left and choose Duplicate, then create a new set (pull down on the set list and tap +) to hold your experiments. Combining merges the two brushes into one, so a backup is the easiest way to keep the originals intact. It also keeps your main sets from filling up with test brushes.

How to Combine Two Brushes in Procreate (Step by Step)

1. Open the Brush Library. Tap the Paint, Smudge or Erase button. Each tool has its own brush library, so combine in the one you plan to use.
2. Go to your working set. Find the two brushes you want to merge. Both should sit in the same set.
3. Select the Primary brush. Tap the first brush. It turns bright blue.
4. Select the Secondary brush. Swipe right on the second brush. It turns dark blue, and the word Combine appears at the top right of the library.
5. Tap Combine. Procreate merges the two into one brush with qualities of both.
6. Test it. Paint a few strokes on the canvas, or open the brush and use the Drawing Pad in Brush Studio.

On Procreate Pocket the process is the same, but the Combine button appears at the top of the Brushes interface rather than the top right.

Why the Primary Brush Matters

Selection order isn't cosmetic. The first brush you tap becomes the Primary, and the Dual Brush takes its name. Swapping the order can noticeably change how the brush looks and behaves. Combining a streaky wet gouache brush with a dry crayon brush, for example, gives you the streaky stroke of the first with the crayon-like internal texture of the second. If the result feels off, uncombine and try again with the roles reversed before you start tweaking settings.

Renaming the New Brush

Because the new brush inherits the Primary's name, you'll want to rename it so you can tell it apart from the original. Tap and hold the brush and choose Rename. You can also open the brush, tap About this Brush, and edit the name there. This is also the place to set a new reset point once you're happy with the settings.

How to Edit a Dual Brush

Tap the Dual Brush to open Brush Studio. At the top left (top, on Pocket) you'll see previews of the two component brushes. Tap one and a blue line appears beside it. Every change you make now applies only to that brush.

That independence is what makes Dual Brushes useful rather than a novelty. You can:

• Make the Primary brush the structural stroke, with a tight shape, defined taper and pressure response.
• Adjust the Secondary brush's grain or shape to add texture, scatter or edge breakup.
• Change size, opacity or dynamics on one side without disturbing the other.

Use the Drawing Pad in Brush Studio to test as you go. If it fills up, clear it from the Drawing Pad dropdown, or three-finger scrub on it.

Using Combine Mode

Combine Mode controls how the two brushes interact, much like a layer Blend Mode controls how two layers mix. To reach it, tap either brush preview in Brush Studio to expand the panel. It defaults to Normal. Tap it to see the full list, and each option updates live in the Drawing Pad, so you can scroll through modes and watch the stroke change.

Normal is fine for some pairings, such as glitter plus star confetti. Others only come alive with a different mode, so run through the list at least once for any brush you plan to keep.

If you're used to how older versions behaved with the Normal Combine Mode, check the toggle at the bottom of the Rendering tab in Brush Studio. It lets you recreate the older behavior.

How to Uncombine Brushes

Dual Brushes are reversible:

1. Tap the Dual Brush to open Brush Studio.
2. Tap either preview at the top to expand the panel.
3. Tap the Secondary brush preview.
4. Tap Uncombine, then confirm.

The Dual Brush separates back into its two component brushes. This is another reason to duplicate before combining: you can discard an experiment without worrying about the originals.

Troubleshooting: Why Is Combine Not Showing?

If the Combine button never appears, check these in order:

• Different sets. Move or duplicate both brushes into one set.
• One brush is already a Dual Brush. Dual Brushes can't be nested. Uncombine it first, or pick a different brush.
• Default brush on an older Procreate version. Duplicate it and use the copy.
• Wrong selection gesture. Tap the first brush, then swipe right on the second.
• Wrong tool library. Paint, Smudge and Erase each have their own libraries, so make sure you're in the one containing both brushes.

Brush Pairings Worth Trying

Pairing a brush with strong shape and a brush with strong grain is a reliable starting point:

• Wet and dry media. A gouache or ink brush with a crayon or charcoal brush gives you wet-looking streaks with a dry, gritty interior, a mix that isn't physically possible on paper.
• Base stroke plus scatter. A solid pencil or marker with a confetti, speckle or glitter brush adds sparkle or noise along a clean line.
• Clean line plus rough edge. A smooth inking brush with a textured dry brush gives line work that feels hand-drawn without breaking up completely.
• Texture stamps. Pair a basic round with a grain-heavy brush to turn flat color into something with surface character.

Save the keepers in their own set with clear names, such as "Gouache+Crayon" instead of leaving the default Primary name.

Taking Procreate Brushwork Into a Motion Pipeline

For motion designers, animators and VFX artists, custom Procreate brushes are mostly a way to build style frames: painted textures, hand-inked line work, concept paintings, and look-development references. Once you've got a brush that has the right feel, the question becomes how to carry that look into moving work.

A few practical routes:

• Paint style frames and texture plates. Export flattened or layered frames from Procreate and bring them into After Effects or Nuke as backgrounds, overlays, or matte textures.
• Frame-by-frame work. If your project is hand-drawn animation, your combined brushes give you a consistent mark-making vocabulary across frames, as long as you keep the brush set and the reset points fixed.
• Use the painted frame as a visual target. Some AI style-transfer tools accept a reference image, so you could use a frame painted with your Dual Brush as the style reference.

Your brush design stays in Procreate, and your final compositing stays where it already is.

As always, judge the output on your own footage and references. Style transfer reflects the quality and clarity of the reference you give it, and a brush with distinctive texture and strong shape tends to give it more to work with than a subtle, low-contrast one.

Quick Reference

Final Tips

• Duplicate before combining and keep experiments in a dedicated set.
• Choose your Primary deliberately, since it decides the name and much of the character.
• Edit each component separately before you touch Combine Mode.
• Scroll through every Combine Mode at least once.
• Save a reset point when a brush is finished, so you can always return to a known-good state.

Once you've got the workflow down, combining brushes takes seconds, and it's one of the fastest ways to build a custom mark-making toolkit that feels like yours.

To combine two brushes in Procreate, put both brushes in the same brush set. Tap the first brush to make it the Primary (bright blue), swipe right on the second to make it the Secondary (dark blue), then tap Combine at the top right of the Brush Library. The result is a Dual Brush that takes the Primary brush's name and carries the shape and grain of both. You can then edit each brush separately in Brush Studio, change the Combine Mode, or Uncombine to get your two original brushes back.

What You Need Before Combining Brushes

A few rules decide whether the Combine option appears at all:

• Both brushes must be in the same brush set. If they live in different sets, drag or duplicate one into the other's set first.
• Both must be single brushes. An existing Dual Brush can't be combined with anything else.
• Default brushes depend on your version. Since Procreate 5.4 you can combine default brushes, provided they aren't already Dual Brushes. On older versions you have to duplicate a default brush and combine the copy.

Even on current versions, work from copies. Swipe a brush thumbnail left and choose Duplicate, then create a new set (pull down on the set list and tap +) to hold your experiments. Combining merges the two brushes into one, so a backup is the easiest way to keep the originals intact. It also keeps your main sets from filling up with test brushes.

How to Combine Two Brushes in Procreate (Step by Step)

1. Open the Brush Library. Tap the Paint, Smudge or Erase button. Each tool has its own brush library, so combine in the one you plan to use.
2. Go to your working set. Find the two brushes you want to merge. Both should sit in the same set.
3. Select the Primary brush. Tap the first brush. It turns bright blue.
4. Select the Secondary brush. Swipe right on the second brush. It turns dark blue, and the word Combine appears at the top right of the library.
5. Tap Combine. Procreate merges the two into one brush with qualities of both.
6. Test it. Paint a few strokes on the canvas, or open the brush and use the Drawing Pad in Brush Studio.

On Procreate Pocket the process is the same, but the Combine button appears at the top of the Brushes interface rather than the top right.

Why the Primary Brush Matters

Selection order isn't cosmetic. The first brush you tap becomes the Primary, and the Dual Brush takes its name. Swapping the order can noticeably change how the brush looks and behaves. Combining a streaky wet gouache brush with a dry crayon brush, for example, gives you the streaky stroke of the first with the crayon-like internal texture of the second. If the result feels off, uncombine and try again with the roles reversed before you start tweaking settings.

Renaming the New Brush

Because the new brush inherits the Primary's name, you'll want to rename it so you can tell it apart from the original. Tap and hold the brush and choose Rename. You can also open the brush, tap About this Brush, and edit the name there. This is also the place to set a new reset point once you're happy with the settings.

How to Edit a Dual Brush

Tap the Dual Brush to open Brush Studio. At the top left (top, on Pocket) you'll see previews of the two component brushes. Tap one and a blue line appears beside it. Every change you make now applies only to that brush.

That independence is what makes Dual Brushes useful rather than a novelty. You can:

• Make the Primary brush the structural stroke, with a tight shape, defined taper and pressure response.
• Adjust the Secondary brush's grain or shape to add texture, scatter or edge breakup.
• Change size, opacity or dynamics on one side without disturbing the other.

Use the Drawing Pad in Brush Studio to test as you go. If it fills up, clear it from the Drawing Pad dropdown, or three-finger scrub on it.

Using Combine Mode

Combine Mode controls how the two brushes interact, much like a layer Blend Mode controls how two layers mix. To reach it, tap either brush preview in Brush Studio to expand the panel. It defaults to Normal. Tap it to see the full list, and each option updates live in the Drawing Pad, so you can scroll through modes and watch the stroke change.

Normal is fine for some pairings, such as glitter plus star confetti. Others only come alive with a different mode, so run through the list at least once for any brush you plan to keep.

If you're used to how older versions behaved with the Normal Combine Mode, check the toggle at the bottom of the Rendering tab in Brush Studio. It lets you recreate the older behavior.

How to Uncombine Brushes

Dual Brushes are reversible:

1. Tap the Dual Brush to open Brush Studio.
2. Tap either preview at the top to expand the panel.
3. Tap the Secondary brush preview.
4. Tap Uncombine, then confirm.

The Dual Brush separates back into its two component brushes. This is another reason to duplicate before combining: you can discard an experiment without worrying about the originals.

Troubleshooting: Why Is Combine Not Showing?

If the Combine button never appears, check these in order:

• Different sets. Move or duplicate both brushes into one set.
• One brush is already a Dual Brush. Dual Brushes can't be nested. Uncombine it first, or pick a different brush.
• Default brush on an older Procreate version. Duplicate it and use the copy.
• Wrong selection gesture. Tap the first brush, then swipe right on the second.
• Wrong tool library. Paint, Smudge and Erase each have their own libraries, so make sure you're in the one containing both brushes.

Brush Pairings Worth Trying

Pairing a brush with strong shape and a brush with strong grain is a reliable starting point:

• Wet and dry media. A gouache or ink brush with a crayon or charcoal brush gives you wet-looking streaks with a dry, gritty interior, a mix that isn't physically possible on paper.
• Base stroke plus scatter. A solid pencil or marker with a confetti, speckle or glitter brush adds sparkle or noise along a clean line.
• Clean line plus rough edge. A smooth inking brush with a textured dry brush gives line work that feels hand-drawn without breaking up completely.
• Texture stamps. Pair a basic round with a grain-heavy brush to turn flat color into something with surface character.

Save the keepers in their own set with clear names, such as "Gouache+Crayon" instead of leaving the default Primary name.

Taking Procreate Brushwork Into a Motion Pipeline

For motion designers, animators and VFX artists, custom Procreate brushes are mostly a way to build style frames: painted textures, hand-inked line work, concept paintings, and look-development references. Once you've got a brush that has the right feel, the question becomes how to carry that look into moving work.

A few practical routes:

• Paint style frames and texture plates. Export flattened or layered frames from Procreate and bring them into After Effects or Nuke as backgrounds, overlays, or matte textures.
• Frame-by-frame work. If your project is hand-drawn animation, your combined brushes give you a consistent mark-making vocabulary across frames, as long as you keep the brush set and the reset points fixed.
• Use the painted frame as a visual target. Some AI style-transfer tools accept a reference image, so you could use a frame painted with your Dual Brush as the style reference.

Your brush design stays in Procreate, and your final compositing stays where it already is.

As always, judge the output on your own footage and references. Style transfer reflects the quality and clarity of the reference you give it, and a brush with distinctive texture and strong shape tends to give it more to work with than a subtle, low-contrast one.

Quick Reference

Final Tips

• Duplicate before combining and keep experiments in a dedicated set.
• Choose your Primary deliberately, since it decides the name and much of the character.
• Edit each component separately before you touch Combine Mode.
• Scroll through every Combine Mode at least once.
• Save a reset point when a brush is finished, so you can always return to a known-good state.

Once you've got the workflow down, combining brushes takes seconds, and it's one of the fastest ways to build a custom mark-making toolkit that feels like yours.