How to add a custom font to Procreate

Procreate is one of the friendliest iPad apps for custom fonts because it gives you two completely separate install paths. You can either drop a .ttf directly into Procreate (the font lives only inside Procreate, never touches your iPad's system fonts), or install it system-wide on iOS and let Procreate pick it up from there. Each has trade-offs.

This guide covers both, plus Procreate Pocket on iPhone, and what to do when your font doesn't show up.

Two paths, and which one to pick

Path 1: Import directly to Procreate

Drag the .ttf into Procreate's font picker. The font is available only inside Procreate. Doesn't appear in Pages, Notes, Word for iPad, or anywhere else.

Pick this if: you only want the font inside Procreate, you don't want to clutter your iPad's system fonts list, or you want the font scoped to a single app for any reason.

Path 2: Install system-wide via iOS

Install the font through iOS's configuration profile flow. The font appears in Procreate, plus every other iPad app that supports custom fonts.

Pick this if: you want to use the same font in Notes, Pages, Word, Affinity, etc., not just Procreate.

Most people want Path 1. It's simpler, doesn't require a configuration profile, and keeps your system fonts list clean.

Path 1 — Import the font into Procreate directly

This is the recommended path. It's been supported since Procreate 4.1.

Step 1 — Get the .ttf onto your iPad

Get the .ttf file accessible somewhere your iPad can read it. Easiest options:

• AirDrop from a Mac. Right-click the .ttf in Finder, AirDrop to your iPad. It'll land in the Files app, in Downloads or AirDrop.
• iCloud Drive. Drop the .ttf into iCloud Drive on any device, then open the Files app on iPad.
• Email to yourself. Email the .ttf to yourself, open the email on iPad, tap the attachment, choose Save to Files.

You don't need to install the font through Settings — Procreate reads it directly from Files.

Step 2 — Open the font picker in Procreate

Open any Procreate canvas. Tap the wrench icon (top-left) → Add → Text. A text element appears.

Tap the new text element to enter edit mode. Tap Edit Style at the top.

The font picker appears at the top, showing Procreate's bundled fonts and the iOS system fonts together.

Step 3 — Tap "Import Font"

In the font picker, scroll to the bottom and tap Import Font. iOS opens the Files app.

Navigate to where you saved your .ttf and tap it.

Step 4 — Confirm the import

Procreate adds the font to the picker immediately. You don't need to restart the app.

The font appears in the picker permanently from now on, alphabetically with the rest. It's part of Procreate's internal font library, not iOS's system fonts.

Step 5 — Use the font

Tap the imported font in the picker. Your text element now renders in your custom font. Size, kerning, tracking, paragraph alignment — everything works as it does for any built-in font.

You can apply this font to as many text elements and as many canvases as you want. It persists across Procreate sessions.

Path 2 — Install system-wide on iOS

If you want the font available everywhere on your iPad (not just Procreate), install it through iOS.

This is the same process as installing any custom font on iOS. The full walkthrough is in the iOS install guide, but the short version:

1. Get the .ttf to your iPad (AirDrop, iCloud, email).
2. Open it in the Files app.
3. Tap Install when prompted.
4. Go to Settings → General → VPN & Device Management and approve the configuration profile.
5. The font now appears in Settings → General → Fonts.

Procreate's font picker shows iOS-installed fonts automatically, no extra step needed.

The trade-off: every app that supports custom fonts will see it. Pages, Notes, Word for iPad (sometimes), Canva (if you also upload to Canva), and so on. For most people that's a feature, not a bug.

Procreate Pocket (iPhone)

Procreate Pocket has the same font-import flow as Procreate on iPad, with one extra wrinkle: the screen is smaller and the font picker is more cramped.

1. Open a canvas in Procreate Pocket.
2. Tap the wrench → Add → Text.
3. Tap the text → Edit Style.
4. Tap Import Font at the bottom of the font picker.
5. Pick the .ttf from Files.

Same persistence, same behavior. Procreate and Procreate Pocket don't share font libraries — fonts you imported into Procreate Pocket aren't visible in Procreate on iPad and vice versa. You'd have to import twice.

Using your custom font effectively

A few practical tips for getting good results with a custom font (especially a handwriting font you made yourself) in Procreate.

Sizing

Handwriting fonts often look right at larger sizes than body-text fonts. If you're laying out a title or hand-lettered piece, try 48pt and up. Smaller sizes can look thin or jagged depending on the stroke weight of the source.

Spacing

Procreate's text engine respects the font's built-in advance widths and kerning, but you can override them. Tap your text → Edit Style → adjust Tracking and Letter Spacing by hand. Useful when your handwriting font has tight or loose default spacing.

Multi-line layout

Make sure to set Leading (line spacing) generously. Handwriting fonts often have ascenders and descenders that overlap if leading is too tight.

Rasterising for further edits

Procreate text is vector until you rasterise it. Once you're happy with the layout, tap the layer → Rasterize. Now you can warp, smudge, paint over it, and treat it like any drawn artwork. Without rasterising, text remains editable indefinitely.

Common problems

Procreate says "Failed to import font"

Two common causes:

1. The file isn't actually a .ttf or .otf. Some "download" buttons give you a ZIP file. Unzip first, then import the inner .ttf.
2. The file is corrupted. Re-download or re-export the font from the source. Procreate is reasonably forgiving but malformed font files do fail.

Imported font doesn't appear in the picker

Check the alphabetical position. Procreate doesn't put imported fonts at the top — they're sorted alphabetically with everything else. Scroll through and find them by name.

Some characters render as boxes or fallback fonts

Your font is missing those characters. Handwriting fonts often only cover Basic Latin (a-z, A-Z, 0-9, basic punctuation). Accented characters, currency symbols, em dashes, and curly quotes may not be in the font, in which case Procreate falls back to a default font for those characters specifically.

Re-export the font with a wider character set if you need them.

Imported font is gone after a Procreate update

Procreate's imported font library has been persistent across all updates I've seen, but Procreate does have a known habit of clearing user content when there's a major version migration. Keep your .ttf files in iCloud Drive, not just in Procreate's internal library, so you can re-import quickly if anything goes wrong.

Procreate Dreams

Procreate Dreams (the animation app) handles fonts the same way as Procreate. Same import flow, same picker, same trade-offs. Fonts don't transfer between Procreate and Procreate Dreams — import twice.

What if I don't have a custom font yet?

Make one. If you have a handwriting style you like, you can turn it into a .ttf in about five minutes using your iPad's camera or by drawing each letter directly in the browser. Then come back here and import it into Procreate.

For broader install guides, see the iOS guide for system-wide installs and how to use a custom font in Word, Docs, and Canva for other apps.

Quick recap

• Procreate accepts custom fonts directly via the font picker → Import Font.
• Direct import keeps the font scoped to Procreate. System-wide iOS install makes it available to every app.
• Same flow on Procreate Pocket and Procreate Dreams, but each app has its own separate font library.
• Common failure modes: ZIP files instead of .ttf, missing characters, alphabetical sort hiding the new font.
• Pair with sensible sizing, tracking, and leading for the best results.

If your custom font isn't quite right yet, start over in the font maker — it's free to make and re-make until the output is what you want.