Why you have to do it yourself
Procreate’s gallery lives inside the app’s own storage on the iPad. Procreate’s help center says iCloud syncing is not available in Procreate or Procreate Pocket, so nothing copies the art anywhere unless you export it. Deleting the app, wiping the iPad, or losing it removes the gallery with it.
A full iPad backup to iCloud or a computer does include Procreate’s data. The catch, as Procreate’s recovery article explains, is that restoring a backup restores the whole iPad. It is a safety net for the device, not a way to get a single painting onto a computer.
Exported .procreate files are ordinary files you can keep anywhere and open later.
Where to keep the backups
| Destination | How to get files there | Open them without the iPad? |
|---|---|---|
| iCloud Drive | Share > Procreate > Save to Files > iCloud Drive | Yes, from icloud.com or a Mac |
| Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive | Share > Procreate > the cloud app | Yes, from any computer |
| A Mac or PC | AirDrop, Finder, or the Files app over a cable | Yes |
| An external drive plugged into the iPad | Files app > the drive | Yes |
| Full iPad backup | Automatic | Only by restoring to an iPad |
Cloud drives are the most convenient because the files are reachable from any computer. A copy on a computer or external drive protects against losing the cloud account.
Exporting many artworks at once
In the gallery, tap Select, tap the artworks or a stack, then Share and choose Procreate. Each artwork becomes its own .procreate file. Stacks do not become folders in the export, so make a folder in the destination first.
Files with long time-lapse recordings are the biggest, often hundreds of megabytes each, because the video is stored inside the file. If space is tight, keep .procreate files for work in progress and a PSD for finished pieces.
Opening the backups later
This is the part most backup guides skip. A .procreate file on a computer is useless to Windows, macOS and Photoshop on their own. Drop it on the toPSD converter and your browser shows the artwork and every layer, with the file never leaving your computer. From there you can save a full-size PNG for free, or a layered PSD to keep working in Photoshop, GIMP, Krita or Affinity. The first PSD is free with a free account.
Do this once with a fresh backup. If the file opens and the layers are there, the backup works. A backup you have never tested is a guess.
If it is already too late
If the iPad is gone and you never exported, the options are narrower: a full iPad backup restored to another iPad, or a technical route that rebuilds .procreate files from an extracted backup. The recovery guide covers both, and the file format page explains what is inside the files you are protecting.