Save Your Work and Your Sanity: A Foolproof Way to Protect and Organize Your Procreate Files

That One Time I Lost Every Procreate File

You may think that coming from a tech background, I've always followed best practices like backing up files. But I'll let you in on a little secret.

I haven't.

I've made my share of mistakes.

Today, I wanna tell you about a mistake that cost me a LOT of my original Procreate design files. Hopefully, by sharing my story, I will help you not make the same PAINFUL mistake.

Many years ago, my beloved iPad—my ride-or-die—decided it had had enough. One minute, I was happily sketching away, and the next?

Black screen.

Cue panic.

I did everything my techie mind could think of—hard resets, gentle pep talks, aggressive button-mashing; nothing worked. So I sent it off to Apple. Surely they could bring it back to life.

sigh

A very sympathetic technician had the sad job of informing me that my iPad was officially dead. And the kicker? Not a single file could be recovered. Not one. Every Procreate design I had ever made? Lost in the void.

The Backup Mistake You Might Be Making Too

After grieving my loss — and trust me, while I can laugh about it now, it was heartbreaking at the time — I vowed to never make the same mistake again.

So I backed-up my files religiously. I saved files to my hard drive and to my cloud backup. All was right with my world.

Or so I thought.

Fast forward to me, feeling very proud of my newfound responsibility, opening my laptop to admire my well-preserved files only to be greeted with 300 identical, cryptically named files: “Untitled (1).procreate,” “Untitled (2).procreate,” “Untitled (3).procreate.”

I’m sure you get the gist.

But wait, it gets better (... well, worse actually). 😂

I learned my lesson and started backing up files… but I didn’t start naming them.

If you've used Procreate for any length of time, you probably know where this is going...

One day I needed to find an older file. So I scrolled back through my history and found... . “Untitled (1).procreate”, “Untitled (2).procreate”, “Untitled (3).procreate”… you get the gist. A mind-numbing slog through 300 unlabeled Procreate files.

The worst part?

You can’t do a “preview” of Procreate files on your laptop, which means I couldn't easily see which one was which without opening the file. I had to open hundreds of files in Procreate and rename them.

One.

By.

One.

Every click brought me face-to-face with either a professional design or a half-finished doodle of my cat, Cheeseball, wearing sunglasses. I even found a few of my daughter's unicorn drawings.

Fun!

(Not.)

And guess who never went back to rename all 300 files? (Because, holy cow, who has the patience for that?!)

My Foolproof 3-Step System for Procreate File Organization

To spare you this pain and frustration, I’m sharing my super simple 3-step process to keep your Procreate files organized from the start!

But hey, before I dive in, just a quick reminder to sign up for my free email eduletter: 3, 2, 1... Let's Design. Once a week I send you helpful business advice and a tech hack (like this one). Click here to sign up today.

Step 1: Back It Up, Back It Up, Back It Up!

In the wise words of a certain pop icon — ahem —  “Back it up like a Tonka truck,” if you're not doing it already, you need to start backing up your files—now. NOW! (Yes, I'm yelling at you, but in a loving, motivational way.)

First things first: get yourself a cloud storage account. I use Dropbox, but Google Drive, iCloud, or OneDrive work just as well.

Why? If your iPad ever crashes (knock on wood), your files won’t disappear into the digital abyss. Plus, syncing across devices in the cloud means you can access your designs anytime, anywhere!

Bonus Tip:

Set up local folders on your devices that automatically sync with your cloud storage. A local folder is a folder on your computer hard drive and not in a cloud. If you back things up to your hard drive on your actual computer and have set up that folder to sync automatically to cloud storage, you don't even have to think about backing up—it just happens! Magic.

If you want more organizational hacks so you can take your business to the next level, check out my Creative Biz Blueprint (formerly Artful Notion). I designed it with creatives like you in mind. By using this integrated hub, you can easily and efficiently manage your workflows, maintain your brand consistency, engage your audience, and - best of all - focus more on your creative work.

Step 2: Name Your Files Like a Pro

Now that your files are safe, it’s time to actually name them in a way that makes sense!

I use a simple naming formula. Here is an example of how it works:

• What’s the main motif? →  Flowers
• What’s the theme? (season/holiday/vibe) → Fall
• What’s the style? → Watercolor

Your final file name? 🌸 Flowers | Fall | Watercolor 🌸

This makes it so much easier to find exactly what you need later... without having to open three hundred files.

Bonus Tip:

If you work in collections, add a collection name or number at the end! Ex: Flowers | Fall | Watercolor | Collection 01

Step 3: Keep It Consistent (Future-You Will Thank You)

A naming system is one of those tricky things that only works if you actually use it. Please take my advice and learn from my mistakes.

Whether you’re creating a new file, exporting to another format, or backing up, name your files right away. Make future-you's life easier. She'll love you for it.

Bonus Tip:

Create a “Master Naming Guide” for yourself so you always follow the same format. Jot it down in Notes, Notion, or on a sticky note—whatever works for you!

Need More Help Getting Organized?

Maybe you’ve already had a tech meltdown like this one and you're struggling to recover. Maybe you just need a little direction or a confidence boost. Did you know that I offer one-on-one coaching and portfolio reviews? If you need expert guidance, personalized support, and proven strategies to take your art business to the next level, reach out to me today to schedule a 30-minute session.

Final Thoughts + Links to Resources

Backing up and naming your files might not be the sexiest part of being a surface pattern designer, but trust me—just do it. Work smarter, not stressier (yes, I made that word up). The more you build these habits now, the more brain space you’ll have for things that actually spark joy—like sketching florals or choosing the perfect butter yellow. 

• Procreate Pattern Collection Masterclass
• Photoshop Patterns Unleashed
• Easyscale Photoshop Script
• Free Pattern Tester Tool

Now go name your files and back them up—you’ve got this!