How to Sell Procreate Brushes: Create, Test, and Preview Packs That Sell

What Are Procreate Brushes, and Why Do Artists Pay for Them?

Procreate is a popular drawing and painting app for iPad. Every brush in it is a combination of a shape (the stamp at the tip), a grain (the texture inside the stroke), and dozens of settings that control how the stroke reacts to Apple Pencil pressure, tilt, and speed.

Anyone with Procreate can build custom brushes. The catch is that great brushes take time: designing seamless grain textures, tuning pressure curves, and testing until a stroke feels natural. Buyers are paying to skip that work.

Procreate supports several brush file types. According to the official Procreate Handbook, its native formats are .brush (a single brush), .brushset (a set), and .brushlibrary, and the app can also import Photoshop .abr brushes.

What Illustrators Actually Buy: Texture, Lettering, and Watercolor

Browse public brush listings on Gumroad, Etsy, and Creative Market and three categories show up constantly. Each solves a different problem.

Planning “Brush Alchemy”: How to Structure a 150-Brush Pack

A big number sells only if the brushes are organized and genuinely different. Fifty near-identical pencils feel like filler. A smarter plan splits the pack into focused sets so buyers can find what they need fast.

Exporting each category as its own .brushset keeps the buyer’s Brush Library tidy. It also lets you sell individual sets later at a lower price and keep the full 150-brush bundle as the premium option.

How to Create Procreate Brushes That Feel Professional

1. Make your own source art. Scan real paper, ink blots, watercolor washes, and pencil marks, or paint them digitally. Original shapes and grains are what make a pack unique and legally yours to sell.
2. Build seamless grain textures. Grain repeats inside a stroke, so visible seams show up as stripes. Use offset or tiling tools to clean edges before importing.
3. Tune the Brush Studio settings. Adjust spacing and streamline under Stroke Path, set tapers, choose a Rendering mode, and add wet-mix settings for paint brushes. Small changes in pressure and size response make the biggest difference to how a brush “feels.”
4. Name every brush clearly. “Dry Ink — Medium” helps buyers more than “Brush 37.”
5. Add your details. Procreate’s brush settings include an area for brush information. Adding your creator name helps identify your work if a file gets shared around.

How to Test a Brush Set Before You Sell It

Testing is where many sellers cut corners, and it shows in reviews. Before release, put each brush through a simple routine:

• Pressure range: Draw from the lightest touch to full pressure. The stroke should change smoothly, not jump.
• Tilt and speed: Shading brushes should respond to Apple Pencil tilt. Fast strokes shouldn’t break into dots unless that’s the intent.
• Canvas sizes: Try a small social-media canvas and a large print canvas. Textures can look tiny or blurry at extreme sizes.
• Colors and blend modes: Test on light and dark backgrounds and with layer blend modes such as Multiply.
• Smudge and Erase: Many artists use brushes as blenders and erasers too. Check that they behave well.
• Performance: Very large grains or tiny spacing can make older iPads lag. If you can, test on more than one device.
• Fresh install: Export the set, import it into a clean Procreate setup, and confirm every brush arrives intact.

If you know other artists, a small beta group can catch problems you’ve stopped noticing. Ask them which brushes they actually used, not just which ones they liked.

How to Preview a Brush Pack So It Sells

Buyers can’t try brushes before purchase, so your previews do the selling. Strong brush listings usually combine:

• Stroke swatch sheets showing every brush, labeled by name, at a readable size.
• Finished artwork made only with the pack, so buyers see real results rather than isolated strokes.
• Close-up crops that reveal texture detail.
• Short screen recordings or time-lapses showing pressure response in action.
• A “what’s included” graphic listing set names, brush counts, file formats, and Procreate version requirements.

Be accurate. If an example piece used extra brushes or textures outside the pack, say so.

Packaging, Exporting, and Delivering Your Files

Procreate lets you export a single brush or an entire custom brush set as one file. Your download folder should feel effortless to open on an iPad:

• One .brushset file per category, named clearly (for example, BrushAlchemy_Texture.brushset).
• A short PDF install guide with steps for the Files app.
• A license PDF explaining what buyers can and can’t do.
• Optional extras such as color palettes or paper textures, if they’re your original work.

Note that Procreate’s own default brush sets can’t be exported, so build your products from your own brushes rather than lightly edited defaults.

Licensing Basics Every Brush Seller Should Know

Your license protects you and answers buyer questions before they ask. Common brush licenses typically allow buyers to use the brushes to create their own artwork, including commercial art, while prohibiting reselling, sharing, or redistributing the brush files themselves. Some sellers offer separate personal and commercial tiers.

Also check the rights for anything you put into your brushes. If you use a purchased “brush maker kit,” stock textures, or fonts as source material, confirm that their license allows you to sell brushes made from them. Some kits require a separate commercial license for that. When in doubt, create your own source art.

Where to Sell Procreate Brushes and How to Price Them

Popular options include Gumroad, Etsy, Creative Market, Payhip, Sellfy, and your own website. Marketplaces bring built-in search traffic, while your own store gives you more control over branding and customer emails. Fees and policies change, so check each platform’s current pricing pages before you launch.

On pricing, public listings cover a wide range: free sampler packs, small sets for a few dollars, and large bundles priced much higher. Rather than copying a competitor, price based on brush count, quality, how specialized the pack is, and whether a commercial license is included. A practical structure is:

• A free mini pack of 5–10 brushes to build trust and an email list.
• Individual sets (Texture, Lettering, Watercolor) at an entry price.
• The full 150-brush bundle at a better per-brush value.
• An optional commercial license upgrade.

How to Make Brush Sets Sell Repeatedly

• Release volumes. “Brush Alchemy Vol. 2” gives past buyers a reason to return.
• Offer free updates when you improve brushes, and tell customers by email.
• Bundle older sets into a discounted collection once you have several.
• Post process videos on Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok, where artists already look for brush ideas.
• Ask for reviews and share buyer artwork only with permission.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Padding the brush count with near-duplicates.
• Showing previews that don’t match what the brushes actually produce.
• Skipping install instructions, which leads to support emails and refunds.
• Using textures or fonts you don’t have the rights to sell.
• Forgetting to state Procreate version requirements.
• No license file, leaving buyers unsure about commercial use.

Honest Limitations

Brush packs are a crowded niche, and many quality free packs exist. Procreate runs on iPad, so your audience is limited to iPad users (Procreate Pocket on iPhone has its own brush system). Files can be shared without permission, and some buyers will need install help. A clear niche, real artwork previews, and good support make a bigger difference than brush count alone. Sales results vary, and no product guarantees income.

Keep Learning

• How to optimize your listings for the Gumroad Discover marketplace
• Scaling from one product to a 10+ product Gumroad store
• Using Pinterest to drive steady traffic to digital products

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Quiz: Are You Ready to Sell Brushes?

Disclaimer & Compliance Note