Illustrators, comic artists and tattoo designers who work in Procreate often see their art traced, reposted or claimed by someone else. The .procreate file is a strong witness to how a piece was made, especially if time-lapse recording was on. What it lacks is a date that anyone else can trust. Here is what the file contains, what is weak, and what to freeze.
Short answer: A .procreate file shows how a piece was made, but its dates come from your own iPad. To show an illustration existed before it was traced or reposted, export the .procreate file and time-lapse and timestamp them with TimeBinder before you post the art. A TimeBind shows that the exact file existed no later than the recorded time and still matches its fingerprint. It doesn’t show who made it or what a court will make of it.
Disclosure: I’m Inna Hall, co-founder of TimeBinder, the file timestamping tool this guide uses. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Table of Contents
What is inside a .procreate file
- A zip archive. A .procreate file is a standard zip with a different extension.
- Document.archive: an Apple property list describing the canvas size, colour profile and the layer tree, with layer names, opacity and blend modes.
- Layer folders: one per layer, holding the pixels as compressed tiles.
- QuickLook/Thumbnail.png: a preview of the whole artwork.
- video/segments: the time-lapse recording as MP4 clips, if time-lapse recording was on for that canvas.
- Canvas statistics such as stroke count, which Procreate shows in the canvas information panel.
Why that is easy to challenge
Nothing in the file is dated by anyone but your iPad, and the file changes every time you touch the canvas. Posting the finished image to Instagram or a portfolio site gives you a public date, but platforms strip metadata, compress the image, and can remove posts or accounts. A traced copy may also be posted before yours. A record of the exact layered file, made before you post, is what fills the gap.
What to freeze
- The .procreate file at milestones: sketch, line art, flats, final. Share > Procreate exports the full file including the time-lapse.
- The exported image you post or send (PNG or JPG), because that is what will be compared.
- An exported time-lapse video if the .procreate file is too large to keep many copies of.
- Reference photos you took yourself and early thumbnails or scans from paper.
A simple routine
- Before posting or sending a piece, export the .procreate file and the image to the Files app.
- Open TimeBinder in Safari and TimeBind both files together.
- Post the same image you TimeBound, and keep the certificate with the files.
- For commissions, TimeBind the sketch you send for approval and the final delivery separately.
Which plan fits
The free plan gives you 1 Token a month, which is one Pooled TimeBind of up to 10 files. No credit card is required for the free plan. A Pooled TimeBind is usually recorded within 24 to 48 hours, and often sooner, depending on Bitcoin network activity; an ASAP TimeBind costs 3 Tokens and gets its own Bitcoin transaction straight away.
For more milestones, Essential is US$20 a month for 5 Tokens (5 Pooled, or 1 ASAP plus 2 Pooled). Expert is US$50 a month for 15 Tokens (15 Pooled or 5 ASAP), and unused Tokens roll over. Verification is free. See pricing.
What a timestamp does and doesn’t do
TimeBinder anchors each file’s SHA-256 fingerprint to Bitcoin and gives you a Proof of Time Certificate. That is verifiable evidence of when a file existed: it shows the file existed no later than the anchor date, and any later change to the file is detectable. An ASAP TimeBind can be checked directly on the Bitcoin blockchain without relying on TimeBinder; a Pooled TimeBind is verified through TimeBinder. Your file is hashed in your browser and never uploaded.
It doesn’t show who made the work or who owns it, it doesn’t stop copying, and it doesn’t cover a version you didn’t timestamp. Whether a traced or reposted piece infringes depends on how much was copied and where. See a visual artist dispute example scenario and design file timestamping.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a .procreate file show when I drew it?
Not in a way others can rely on. The file is a zip archive holding your layers, a settings file, a thumbnail and, if it was on, the time-lapse recording. Dates attached to the file come from the iPad, and the file changes every time you edit it.
Is the Procreate time-lapse good evidence?
It is excellent evidence of process, because it shows the artwork being built stroke by stroke. It does not carry an independent date. Timestamp the .procreate file (which contains the recording) or an exported time-lapse video to fix when it existed.
Will exporting a PNG change anything?
Exporting creates a new file and leaves the .procreate file alone. The PNG or JPG you post or send is what others will have, so timestamp it as well.
Can I timestamp files straight from my iPad?
TimeBinder runs in the browser, so you can use Safari on the iPad. Export the .procreate file and image to the Files app first, then choose them in TimeBinder.
Plan details were checked against timebinder.io/pricing on 29 October 2026.
