Can I get back a deleted Procreate artwork?

Only from a backup. Procreate has no Recently Deleted folder, so an artwork deleted in the gallery is gone unless you exported it first or restore the whole iPad from an iCloud or computer backup made before you deleted it. Restoring a backup replaces everything on the iPad, so anything newer is lost unless you export it first.

Does deleting Procreate delete my art?

Yes. Procreate keeps its artworks inside the app, so deleting the app deletes them too. Export them as .procreate files to the Files app before you delete or reinstall it.

Does Procreate sync to iCloud?

Not yet. Syncing to iCloud Drive and the Files app is on Procreate's list of requests In Development. Until then, artworks stay on the one iPad, in its iCloud backup if Procreate is included in it, and wherever you export them.

Guides

How to back up your Procreate artworks

Procreate keeps your artworks inside the app, on one iPad. There's no Recently Deleted folder, so an artwork you delete is gone, and deleting the app takes every artwork with it. Losing art this way comes up again and again in Procreate's App Store reviews. A backup takes a few minutes. Here's how to make one, and what to do if something's already gone.

For Procreate 5.4.14 on iPadOS 26. From Procreate's Help Center and Community. Checked October 27, 2026.

Back up every artwork to Files

Export your artworks as .procreate files. They keep every layer, and Procreate opens them again with Import.

In Procreate's gallery, tap Select, then tap each artwork you want to keep.
Tap Share and choose Procreate.
Choose Save to Files, pick a folder, and tap Save. A folder in iCloud Drive is kept off the iPad. On My iPad isn't: it's deleted with the iPad.
Open the Files app and check the files are there. Do this before you delete anything.

A large gallery takes a while to export. Exports are copies: an artwork you keep working on needs exporting again.

Check your iPad backup includes Procreate

An iCloud backup of the iPad holds Procreate's artworks too, as long as Procreate is in it. In Settings, tap your name, then iCloud › iCloud Backup, and check that Back Up This iPad is on and the last backup is recent. A backup can't finish when iCloud storage is full.

An iPad backup is a safety net, not a way to get one artwork back. Restoring it puts back the whole iPad as it was that day, so anything newer is lost unless you exported it first.

Moving to a new iPad, or stuck restoring from iCloud? See Procreate on a new iPad.

Before you delete or reinstall Procreate

Procreate's own help says it plainly: deleting the app deletes your artwork. If Procreate isn't working right and you're about to reinstall it, export everything first, as above.

Moving to a new iPad? Your artworks don't download with the app. Restore the new iPad from the old one's backup, use Quick Start, or export them and import them on the new iPad.

If an artwork is already gone

You exported it. In Procreate's gallery, tap Import and choose the .procreate file.
You didn't, but the iPad was backed up before. Erasing the iPad and restoring that backup brings it back, and loses everything since. Export what you've made since then first.
Neither. Procreate's help says it can't be brought back.

How Rindraw keeps your drawings

We make Rindraw, a drawing app for iPad, iPhone and Mac, and we built it so none of this could happen to a drawing by accident:

Recently Deleted. A deleted drawing stays there for 30 days, and Restore puts it back in its stack. A drawing only goes for good from there.
Your library in iCloud Drive. In the gallery, tap Sort and View, then Keep Library › iCloud Drive. Your drawings are on every iPad, iPhone and Mac signed in to your Apple Account, and stay in iCloud Drive if you delete the app. See keeping your library in iCloud Drive.
Every stroke is saved as you draw. There's nothing to save before you close a drawing or switch devices.
Ordinary files. Each drawing is a .rindraw file you can see and copy in the Files app, and Rindraw saves Procreate and Photoshop files with their layers too.

Your Procreate artworks open in Rindraw with their layers, masks and groups. The backup you just made is all you need: see moving from Procreate.

Sources

Procreate Help Center, Can I recover lost or deleted artworks?: deleted artworks come back only from a backup; deleting the app deletes its artworks; restoring an iPad backup restores the whole iPad.
Procreate Community, What we're working on: "iCloud syncing: Sync files to iCloud Drive and the Files system on iPadOS" is In Development, as of October 19, 2026.
Procreate's App Store reviews (US): 4.4 stars from 50,849 ratings on October 27, 2026; lost and deleted artworks among the most common complaints in its recent low ratings.
Apple Support, Restore your iPhone or iPad from a backup.

Related guides

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