Quick answer: Here is how to delete brush set in Procreate: open the Brush Library by tapping the brush icon, find the set in the left-hand column, tap its name once to select it, then tap the name a second time to open the set menu and choose Delete. Confirm when prompted. Only custom or imported sets can be deleted; Procreate’s default sets such as Sketching, Inking, and Painting show no Delete option and can only be reset or have individual brushes hidden by deletion. Before deleting, consider tapping Share to back up the set as a .brushset file, because deletion cannot be undone.
Brush collections grow fast. A few free packs, a couple of purchased sets, some experiments that never got cleaned up, and the Brush Library turns into a scroll that takes longer than the painting. Trimming it is simple once you know where Procreate hides the menu, and knowing what can and cannot be removed avoids a frustrated search for a Delete button that was never going to appear.
This walkthrough covers deleting an entire set, deleting single brushes inside a set, what happens with Procreate’s built-in sets, how to back up before you remove anything, and what to do if a set vanished when you did not mean it to. If pruning your library leaves room for something better, the roundup of the best Procreate brush sets for painting is a reasonable place to look for replacements.
Before You Start: Back Up the Set
Deletion in Procreate is permanent. There is no trash folder for brushes and no undo gesture in the Brush Library. If there is any chance you will want the set again, export it first.
- Open the Brush Library and tap the set name in the left column so it is highlighted.
- Tap the name again to open the set menu.
- Choose Share. Procreate packages the set as a .brushset file and opens the iOS share sheet.
- Save to Files, AirDrop it to a Mac, or send it to cloud storage. A typical set is a few megabytes.
Purchased sets can usually be downloaded again from the seller, but free packs from blogs and social media often disappear, so the backup habit is worth keeping.
How to Delete a Brush Set in Procreate
- Open a canvas. The Brush Library is only accessible from inside a canvas, not from the Gallery.
- Tap the brush icon at the top right of the screen (the paintbrush, not the smudge finger or eraser). The Brush Library opens with sets listed down the left and brushes on the right.
- Scroll the left column to the set you want to remove. Custom and imported sets appear below Procreate’s defaults, typically at the bottom of the list unless you have reordered them.
- Tap the set name once to select it. The brushes inside appear on the right so you can confirm it is the right set.
- Tap the set name a second time. A small menu appears with Rename, Delete, Duplicate, and Share.
- Tap Delete. Procreate asks you to confirm. Tap Delete again.
- The set and every brush inside it are gone. The next set in the list becomes active.
If the menu shows only Rename, Duplicate, and Share with no Delete, you are looking at one of Procreate’s default sets. See the section below for what you can do with those.
How to Delete Individual Brushes Instead
Sometimes a set is mostly useful and just needs a few duds removed.
- In the Brush Library, select the set so its brushes show on the right.
- Swipe left on the brush you want to remove. Buttons appear: Share, Duplicate, Reset (for default brushes), and Delete.
- Tap Delete and confirm.
Individual brushes inside Procreate’s default sets can be deleted this way, which is how the default sets can be slimmed down even though the set itself cannot be removed. A deleted default brush can be recovered by resetting the set, covered below.
Deleting Multiple Brushes at Once
Procreate allows multi-selection of brushes within a set.
- Tap and hold a brush until it lifts slightly, or swipe right on it, to select it. A highlight appears.
- Tap or swipe right on additional brushes to add them to the selection.
- With several selected, swipe left on any of them and tap Delete, or use the Delete option in the menu that appears at the top.
- Confirm. All selected brushes are removed together.
This is faster than one-at-a-time deletion when a large imported pack contains dozens of near-duplicates.
What About Procreate’s Default Brush Sets?
The sets that ship with Procreate, including Sketching, Inking, Drawing, Painting, Artistic, Calligraphy, Airbrushing, Textures, Abstract, Charcoals, Elements, Spraypaints, Touchups, Vintage, Luminance, Industrial, Organic, Water, and Materials, cannot be deleted as sets. The Delete option simply does not appear in their menu.
You have three ways to tidy them anyway.
- Delete individual default brushes by swiping left on each one. The set stays but shrinks.
- Reorder sets by tapping, holding, and dragging a set name up or down the left column. Push rarely used default sets to the bottom and your favorites to the top.
- Consolidate favorites into a new custom set. Tap the plus at the top of the set list to create a set, then drag or duplicate the brushes you actually use into it. Everything else can sit ignored below.
Restoring a default set to its original contents is straightforward if you later regret a deletion; the guide on how to reset brushes in Procreate walks through both single-brush and whole-set resets.
Comparing Your Options
| Action | Works on custom sets | Works on default sets | Reversible? | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delete entire set | Yes | No | No, unless backed up with Share | Tap set name twice, Delete |
| Delete one brush | Yes | Yes | Default brushes: yes via Reset. Custom: no | Swipe left on brush, Delete |
| Delete several brushes | Yes | Yes | Same as above | Select multiple, swipe left, Delete |
| Reset a default brush or set | No | Yes | Restores originals | Swipe left, Reset; or set menu, Reset |
| Hide by reordering | Yes | Yes | Yes | Drag set name down the list |
| Export then delete | Yes | Not as a set | Yes, reimport the .brushset | Set menu, Share, then Delete |
Deleting Duplicate Sets After Repeated Imports
Importing the same .brushset twice creates two identical sets, often with the same name. Procreate does not merge them. To clean up:
- Select each duplicate in turn and compare the brush lists on the right. They should be identical if they came from the same file.
- Check whether you have customized any brushes in one copy. Modified brushes keep the same name, so open Brush Studio by tapping the brush if you are unsure.
- Delete the untouched copy using the standard set-deletion steps.
Going forward, import sets only once and, if a creator issues an update, delete the old version before importing the new one.
Moving Brushes Out Instead of Deleting Them
Deleting is not the only way to shrink a set. Brushes can be dragged between sets: tap and hold a brush until it lifts, then drag it onto a different set name in the left column and release. The brush moves rather than copies. This lets you pull the two or three worthwhile brushes out of a bloated pack into a keeper set, then delete the pack with the remaining filler in one step. Duplicating a brush first, by swiping left and tapping Duplicate, is the safer route when you want the original left in place.
Freeing Storage by Deleting Brushes
Brushes are small compared to canvases. A single brush is usually under a megabyte; large sets with high-resolution grain textures can reach 50 to 100 megabytes. Deleting sets does recover that space, but if storage is the real problem, the Gallery is where the gigabytes are. Still, a library of several hundred brushes with large grain images can add up, and Procreate loads the whole library when the Brush Library opens, so a leaner set also opens faster.
Common Mistakes
Deleting without exporting. The single most common regret. Tap Share first; it takes ten seconds.
Deleting the wrong set because of similar names. Many free packs are named something like “Pencils” or “Inkers.” Select the set and look at its brushes before tapping Delete.
Trying to delete a default set. Not possible; use individual brush deletion or reordering instead.
Deleting a brush that is in use on a canvas. Strokes already painted are unaffected, since they are pixels, but the brush will no longer be available to continue. If a project depends on a brush, duplicate it into a safe set before cleaning up.
Expecting deletion to sync. Procreate does not sync brushes between iPads through iCloud. Deleting on one device leaves the set intact on another.
Confusing brushes with palettes. Color palettes live in the color panel, not the Brush Library, and are deleted separately by swiping left on a palette.
If a Set Disappeared Unexpectedly
A set that vanishes without a deliberate delete usually has one of these explanations.
- Accidental deletion. The two-tap menu is easy to trigger by mistake, and the confirmation dialog can be dismissed quickly. Reimport from a backup or re-download from the seller.
- It was reordered. A long drag can move a set far down the list. Scroll the whole left column.
- Procreate was reinstalled. Deleting and reinstalling the app removes all custom content. iCloud and iPad backups restore it only if the backup was taken while the sets were installed.
- A different iPad. Brushes do not sync across devices.
Procreate also offers a Backup option in the Actions menu under Help that can save the app’s content, which is worth running before any major cleanup or device change.
Keeping the Library Organized After the Cleanup
- Create a “Daily” set at the top with the five to ten brushes you reach for most. Drag or duplicate brushes into it from other sets.
- Rename imported sets with a prefix like the creator’s name so similar packs are distinguishable.
- Delete test brushes immediately after experimenting in Brush Studio, or move them into a single “Experiments” set.
- Export your custom sets every few months as .brushset files so a device swap or reinstall does not wipe out your work.
- Import selectively. When a pack offers 200 brushes, import it, pick the keepers into a custom set, and delete the rest.
FAQs
Can you delete default brush sets in Procreate?
No. The sets Procreate ships with cannot be removed, and their menu has no Delete option. You can delete individual brushes inside them, drag the sets to the bottom of the list, or gather your favorites into a custom set so the defaults stay out of the way.
How do you delete multiple brushes at once in Procreate?
Swipe right on each brush to select it, or tap and hold and then tap others. With several highlighted, swipe left on any one and tap Delete, then confirm.
Can you recover a deleted brush set in Procreate?
Only from a backup. If you shared the set as a .brushset before deleting, reimport it. Otherwise re-download it from the creator. There is no undo for brush deletion.
Why is there no delete option on my brush set?
It is one of Procreate’s default sets, which cannot be deleted. Only imported and user-created sets show Delete in the set menu.
Does deleting a brush set affect my existing artwork?
No. Strokes already on a canvas are pixels and do not depend on the brush. You simply cannot use that brush for new strokes.
How do you delete a brush set on Procreate Pocket?
The steps are the same: open the Brush Library, tap the set name to select it, tap again for the menu, and choose Delete. Procreate Pocket shares the same library structure as the iPad app.
Final Thoughts
Two taps on a set name and a confirmation is all it takes to delete a brush set in Procreate, with the one condition that default sets stay put and have to be slimmed brush by brush instead. Export before you delete, check the contents before you confirm, and keep a short favorites set at the top so the library works for you rather than against you. With the clutter gone, adding a few well-made sets is more useful than hoarding hundreds, and the comparison of painting-focused Procreate brush collections covers packs worth the slots they take up.
