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The Irish Crafter Blog
How to Install Procreate Brushes
From download to drawing in under a minute
Every brush you download, free or paid, arrives the same way: as a .brush file (one brush) or a .brushset file (a whole set). Getting them into Procreate takes about ten seconds once you know the way, and it is the same on every iPad.
The ten-second install
- Download the file on your iPad. From Safari it lands in your Downloads folder in the Files app.
- Tap the file once. Procreate opens by itself and imports it: no menus, no digging.
- Open your Brush Library (the brush icon, top right). A .brushset appears as its own set in the list down the left. A single .brush lands in a set called Imported.
That is genuinely all there is to it on a good day. The rest of this post is for the days it does not behave.
If the download is a zip
Some shops wrap brushes in a zip file. Tap the zip once in the Files app and it unpacks into a folder beside it; open that folder and tap the .brushset inside. If tapping opens a preview instead, press and hold the file, choose Share, and pick Procreate from the list.
If nothing seems to happen
- Tapping does nothing: press and hold the file, tap Share, then choose Procreate.
- The file has a little cloud icon: it is still in iCloud, not on the iPad. Tap it once to download it properly, then tap again to install.
- You cannot find the brushes afterwards: swipe down in the Brush Library to reveal the search bar and type part of the name. Single brushes hide in the Imported set.
Keep them organised from day one
In the Brush Library, pinch outwards on the list of sets and you will see them side by side. Tap the small plus icon at the top of the list to make your own set, name it, then drag your favourite brushes in. Future you, with a library three times the size, will be glad you started this habit early.
Want brushes to practise with?
My free Procreate brushes page has a growing pile of stamp and liner brushes you can download and install exactly this way (they are for personal use only). And if you fancy a bit of sparkle, the Glitter Brush Set installs the very same way.