To combine two pictures in Procreate, insert both images as separate layers (Actions > Add > Insert a photo), position the top one with the Transform tool, then add a layer mask to the top image and paint with black to hide areas or white to reveal them. Use a blend mode such as Multiply for images with white backgrounds. Once the composite looks right, pinch the layers together or choose Merge Down to flatten them. Keep the layers separate until you're sure, so the blend stays editable.

Before you start: layers, not "merging"

In Procreate, combining two pictures is really a layering job. When you merge two layers, Procreate flattens them into one and doesn't decide which parts of each image to keep. If both pictures fill the whole canvas, the top one will cover the bottom one entirely until you remove, mask, or blend part of it.

So think in this order: import, arrange, mask or blend, then merge (only if you need to). Most of the quality in the final composite comes from the mask and blend steps, not from the merge.

Step 1: Bring both images into one canvas

Open or create a canvas at the size you want for the final piece. For production work, set the canvas dimensions and color profile first. Resizing a composite afterward costs you quality.

1. Tap Actions (the wrench icon) > Add.
2. Choose Insert a photo (from your Photos library) or Insert a file (from Files).
3. Repeat for the second image.

Each image arrives on its own layer. You can also drag images in from another app using iPadOS split view, which is useful when the source material lives in Photos or Files.

Importing many images at once

If you need more than two, select the images in the Photos app, press and hold one until it lifts, then drag the group over to Procreate in split view. A badge shows how many images are being carried, and each one lands on its own layer when you release. This is handy for building frame-by-frame references or assembling a set of plates, and it saves you from importing one image at a time.

Step 2: Arrange and scale each layer

Select the layer in the Layers panel and use the Transform tool (the arrow icon) to move, scale, or rotate it.

• Use Uniform mode to scale without distorting proportions.
• Use Distort or Warp if you need to match perspective between the two pictures.
• Turn on Snapping or the drawing guide if you need precise alignment.

Rename your layers early. Tap a layer once to select it, tap it again to open Layer Options, then choose Rename. "Sky plate" and "Subject" are far easier to work with than "Layer 3" and "Layer 4" once you're ten layers deep.

Step 3: Blend the two images with a layer mask

A mask is the cleanest way to blend two pictures because it hides pixels instead of deleting them. You can always change your mind.

1. Tap the top image's layer to open Layer Options and choose Mask. A mask thumbnail appears attached to the layer.
2. Select the mask thumbnail.
3. Pick a soft brush and paint with black to hide parts of the top image. Anything you hide reveals the layer underneath.
4. Paint with white to bring those areas back.
5. Use gray for partial transparency, which is how you get soft transitions.

For a smooth fade between two photos, use a large soft-edged brush at low opacity and build up the transition gradually. For hard-edged cutouts, use a selection tool to select the subject first, then fill the mask.

If the top image has a solid background

This is the most common stumbling block. When a picture has a solid background, the layer underneath won't show through, and merging won't change that. You have a few options:

• Select and mask: Use the Automatic selection mode to pick the background color, invert or fill as needed, and mask it away. This works best on flat, uniform backgrounds.
• Multiply blend mode: If the background is pure white, set the top layer's blend mode to Multiply. White drops out and darker content stays. The catch is that white areas inside the subject disappear too, so this suits scanned line art far better than photographs.
• A dedicated cutout step: For complex subjects like hair, fur, or smoke, hand-masking in Procreate gets slow. Do the extraction in a tool built for it, then bring the clean PNG back in.

Step 4: Use blend modes and clipping for creative combinations

Masking handles "this part of image A, that part of image B." Blend modes handle "image A interacting with image B." Tap the N next to a layer to open the blend mode list.

• Multiply darkens and is useful for shadows, textures, and line art.
• Screen and Add brighten, which suits light leaks, glows, and fire.
• Overlay and Soft Light add contrast and texture without fully replacing the image below.
• Lowering opacity gives you a simple double-exposure effect.

You can also use a Clipping Mask to constrain one image to the shape of another. Place the image above a layer containing a shape, tap the upper layer, and choose Clipping Mask. The image then shows only where the layer below has content.

Step 5: Match the two images

A composite falls apart when the two sources don't share the same color, contrast, and grain. Before you merge, check these:

• Color: Use Adjustments > Color Balance or Curves on the individual layers so shadows and highlights agree.
• Edge softness: A razor-sharp cutout over a soft background reads as pasted. A light Gaussian Blur on the mask edge or the layer can help.
• Grain and noise: If one picture is clean and the other is noisy, add a consistent noise layer across the whole composite.
• Light direction: If shadows fall in opposite directions, no amount of blending will rescue it. Flip or reposition one layer.

Step 6: Merge, group, or keep layers

Once the composite works, you have three options:

• Merge: Pinch two layers together in the Layers panel, or tap the top layer and choose Merge Down. You get one flattened layer.
• Group: Select multiple layers and group them. You keep full editability while tidying the panel.
• Duplicate first: Before any destructive merge, duplicate the layers or save a copy of the canvas so you have an editable version.

Merge sparingly. Merging bakes in your mask and blend decisions, and a flattened layer can't be recovered later. If you plan to hand the file to a compositor, keep it layered.

Exporting for a motion or compositing pipeline

If the combined image is headed to After Effects, Premiere Pro, Nuke, or a 3D tool, export it so the layers survive.

• Export as PSD to preserve layers for After Effects or Photoshop-based workflows.
• Export as PNG when you need transparency on a single flattened element.
• Export layers as separate files if you plan to animate them independently, such as parallax with a background and foreground at different depths.

Check your color profile before exporting. Colors that look right on the iPad can shift in a different color-managed environment, and some users report unexpected color shifts after export. Compare the exported file in your compositing app against the original before you build on it.

Common problems and fixes

• The bottom image won't show through: The top layer is opaque. Add a mask, remove the background, or use a blend mode.
• Edges look jagged after masking: Soften the mask with a soft brush or feather the selection before filling.
• The images look like they belong to different scenes: Match color and light with Curves or Color Balance, then add shared grain.
• Quality drops after scaling: Scaling a raster image up softens it. Start with larger source images or upscale before compositing.
• You merged too early: Use Undo if you haven't closed the canvas. Otherwise, rebuild from your duplicate or original files.

Quick recap

1. Insert both images so each sits on its own layer.
2. Position and scale with Transform.
3. Add a mask to the top layer: black hides, white reveals, gray is partial.
4. Use Multiply, Screen, Overlay, or opacity for creative blends.
5. Match color, edge softness, and grain.
6. Merge or group only when you're done, and export a layered PSD if the file is going to a compositor.

Once you treat combining pictures as layering and masking rather than merging, Procreate gives you enough control to build convincing composites. From there, you can move the result into your motion pipeline with your layers intact.

To combine two pictures in Procreate, insert both images as separate layers (Actions > Add > Insert a photo), position the top one with the Transform tool, then add a layer mask to the top image and paint with black to hide areas or white to reveal them. Use a blend mode such as Multiply for images with white backgrounds. Once the composite looks right, pinch the layers together or choose Merge Down to flatten them. Keep the layers separate until you're sure, so the blend stays editable.

Before you start: layers, not "merging"

In Procreate, combining two pictures is really a layering job. When you merge two layers, Procreate flattens them into one and doesn't decide which parts of each image to keep. If both pictures fill the whole canvas, the top one will cover the bottom one entirely until you remove, mask, or blend part of it.

So think in this order: import, arrange, mask or blend, then merge (only if you need to). Most of the quality in the final composite comes from the mask and blend steps, not from the merge.

Step 1: Bring both images into one canvas

Open or create a canvas at the size you want for the final piece. For production work, set the canvas dimensions and color profile first. Resizing a composite afterward costs you quality.

1. Tap Actions (the wrench icon) > Add.
2. Choose Insert a photo (from your Photos library) or Insert a file (from Files).
3. Repeat for the second image.

Each image arrives on its own layer. You can also drag images in from another app using iPadOS split view, which is useful when the source material lives in Photos or Files.

Importing many images at once

If you need more than two, select the images in the Photos app, press and hold one until it lifts, then drag the group over to Procreate in split view. A badge shows how many images are being carried, and each one lands on its own layer when you release. This is handy for building frame-by-frame references or assembling a set of plates, and it saves you from importing one image at a time.

Step 2: Arrange and scale each layer

Select the layer in the Layers panel and use the Transform tool (the arrow icon) to move, scale, or rotate it.

• Use Uniform mode to scale without distorting proportions.
• Use Distort or Warp if you need to match perspective between the two pictures.
• Turn on Snapping or the drawing guide if you need precise alignment.

Rename your layers early. Tap a layer once to select it, tap it again to open Layer Options, then choose Rename. "Sky plate" and "Subject" are far easier to work with than "Layer 3" and "Layer 4" once you're ten layers deep.

Step 3: Blend the two images with a layer mask

A mask is the cleanest way to blend two pictures because it hides pixels instead of deleting them. You can always change your mind.

1. Tap the top image's layer to open Layer Options and choose Mask. A mask thumbnail appears attached to the layer.
2. Select the mask thumbnail.
3. Pick a soft brush and paint with black to hide parts of the top image. Anything you hide reveals the layer underneath.
4. Paint with white to bring those areas back.
5. Use gray for partial transparency, which is how you get soft transitions.

For a smooth fade between two photos, use a large soft-edged brush at low opacity and build up the transition gradually. For hard-edged cutouts, use a selection tool to select the subject first, then fill the mask.

If the top image has a solid background

This is the most common stumbling block. When a picture has a solid background, the layer underneath won't show through, and merging won't change that. You have a few options:

• Select and mask: Use the Automatic selection mode to pick the background color, invert or fill as needed, and mask it away. This works best on flat, uniform backgrounds.
• Multiply blend mode: If the background is pure white, set the top layer's blend mode to Multiply. White drops out and darker content stays. The catch is that white areas inside the subject disappear too, so this suits scanned line art far better than photographs.
• A dedicated cutout step: For complex subjects like hair, fur, or smoke, hand-masking in Procreate gets slow. Do the extraction in a tool built for it, then bring the clean PNG back in.

Step 4: Use blend modes and clipping for creative combinations

Masking handles "this part of image A, that part of image B." Blend modes handle "image A interacting with image B." Tap the N next to a layer to open the blend mode list.

• Multiply darkens and is useful for shadows, textures, and line art.
• Screen and Add brighten, which suits light leaks, glows, and fire.
• Overlay and Soft Light add contrast and texture without fully replacing the image below.
• Lowering opacity gives you a simple double-exposure effect.

You can also use a Clipping Mask to constrain one image to the shape of another. Place the image above a layer containing a shape, tap the upper layer, and choose Clipping Mask. The image then shows only where the layer below has content.

Step 5: Match the two images

A composite falls apart when the two sources don't share the same color, contrast, and grain. Before you merge, check these:

• Color: Use Adjustments > Color Balance or Curves on the individual layers so shadows and highlights agree.
• Edge softness: A razor-sharp cutout over a soft background reads as pasted. A light Gaussian Blur on the mask edge or the layer can help.
• Grain and noise: If one picture is clean and the other is noisy, add a consistent noise layer across the whole composite.
• Light direction: If shadows fall in opposite directions, no amount of blending will rescue it. Flip or reposition one layer.

Step 6: Merge, group, or keep layers

Once the composite works, you have three options:

• Merge: Pinch two layers together in the Layers panel, or tap the top layer and choose Merge Down. You get one flattened layer.
• Group: Select multiple layers and group them. You keep full editability while tidying the panel.
• Duplicate first: Before any destructive merge, duplicate the layers or save a copy of the canvas so you have an editable version.

Merge sparingly. Merging bakes in your mask and blend decisions, and a flattened layer can't be recovered later. If you plan to hand the file to a compositor, keep it layered.

Exporting for a motion or compositing pipeline

If the combined image is headed to After Effects, Premiere Pro, Nuke, or a 3D tool, export it so the layers survive.

• Export as PSD to preserve layers for After Effects or Photoshop-based workflows.
• Export as PNG when you need transparency on a single flattened element.
• Export layers as separate files if you plan to animate them independently, such as parallax with a background and foreground at different depths.

Check your color profile before exporting. Colors that look right on the iPad can shift in a different color-managed environment, and some users report unexpected color shifts after export. Compare the exported file in your compositing app against the original before you build on it.

Common problems and fixes

• The bottom image won't show through: The top layer is opaque. Add a mask, remove the background, or use a blend mode.
• Edges look jagged after masking: Soften the mask with a soft brush or feather the selection before filling.
• The images look like they belong to different scenes: Match color and light with Curves or Color Balance, then add shared grain.
• Quality drops after scaling: Scaling a raster image up softens it. Start with larger source images or upscale before compositing.
• You merged too early: Use Undo if you haven't closed the canvas. Otherwise, rebuild from your duplicate or original files.

Quick recap

1. Insert both images so each sits on its own layer.
2. Position and scale with Transform.
3. Add a mask to the top layer: black hides, white reveals, gray is partial.
4. Use Multiply, Screen, Overlay, or opacity for creative blends.
5. Match color, edge softness, and grain.
6. Merge or group only when you're done, and export a layered PSD if the file is going to a compositor.

Once you treat combining pictures as layering and masking rather than merging, Procreate gives you enough control to build convincing composites. From there, you can move the result into your motion pipeline with your layers intact.