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In Procreate for iPad, use the built-in Background Color layer for a flat color, or assign an illustrated frame as the Animation Background to keep it beneath every animated frame. For an illustrated background, turn on Animation Assist, put the background frame at the far left of the timeline, tap it again, and choose Background. Procreate Dreams uses a different control: Movie Settings → Stage → Background color.
Choose the right kind of background
“Background” can mean different things in an animation. Pick the workflow that matches what you need:
- Flat color: Set the artwork’s built-in Background Color layer. It is not an animation frame.
- Fixed illustrated, textured, or imported scene: Assign a frame as the Animation Background. Procreate keeps it beneath the other frames.
- Moving or changing scenery: Keep the scenery as ordinary animation content so it can change from frame to frame. A locked Animation Background is for a stationary scene.
These instructions are for Procreate’s Animation Assist on iPad. If you mean Procreate Dreams, see the separate section below. Menu wording can vary by app version; the linked handbook pages describe the controls.
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Set a plain-color background
- Open the Layers panel.
- Tap Background Color at the bottom of the layer list.
- Choose a color in the Color panel, then tap away or confirm the selection.
- Play the animation to check that the color appears behind the artwork.
Every Procreate artwork has a built-in Background Color layer. Because it is separate from the animation frames, you do not need to assign it in Animation Assist. To make the canvas transparent instead, hide the layer using its visibility checkbox. Procreate handbook: Layers interface.
Set a fixed illustrated background
- Open your artwork and tap the wrench icon, then Canvas, then turn on Animation Assist.
- Create or select the layer containing the background artwork. Put it at the bottom of the Layers panel; it should appear as the leftmost frame in the Animation Assist timeline.
- Tap the leftmost frame, then tap it again to open Frame Options.
- Turn on Background.
Existing layers appear as frames when Animation Assist is enabled, and the bottom layer becomes the leftmost timeline frame. Grouped layers are treated as one frame. Procreate handbook: Animation interface.
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Only the leftmost frame can be assigned as the Animation Background, and only one background frame can be assigned at a time. Once assigned, it is locked at the bottom of the Layers panel and remains beneath the other animation frames. Ordinary frame content overlaps it. Procreate handbook: Animation options.
Change or remove the assigned background
To replace the background, move the intended replacement frame to the far left of the timeline, open its Frame Options, and enable Background. To remove the current assignment, select the background frame, open Frame Options, and turn off Background. You can then reposition or edit the frame like ordinary animation content.
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Fix common background problems
The Background option is missing
First confirm you are in Procreate for iPad, not Procreate Dreams, and that Animation Assist is on: wrench → Canvas → Animation Assist. Then move the intended frame to the far left and tap it again to open Frame Options. A frame elsewhere in the timeline cannot be assigned as the Animation Background.
The background covers the animation
Check that the background artwork is not an ordinary layer above the animation. Move its frame to the leftmost position and assign it using Frame Options. An assigned Animation Background is locked at the bottom of the Layers panel.
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The background appears in only one frame or disappears in playback
A background drawn in an ordinary frame is visible only when that frame is shown. Assign static artwork as the Animation Background instead. For a flat color, check that the Background Color layer is visible. Also inspect the background artwork itself: it may not cover the full canvas, or the layer may have been hidden.
Onion-skin previews are hard to read
An opaque or detailed background can make it harder to judge overlapping frames. As a workflow choice, temporarily reduce or disable onion skinning while checking motion, use a simpler or lighter background during rough animation, and use playback to judge the finished movement. Keep detailed scenery separate from the foreground animation where possible. This is a practical preview tip, not a special background setting.
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Make the background transparent on export
For a flat-color background, hide the built-in Background Color layer. If you also have painted or imported artwork assigned as an Animation Background, hide or remove that artwork too; hiding Background Color alone will not make painted content transparent. Check the result using the export format and destination you intend to use rather than assuming every format handles transparency identically. Procreate documents hiding Background Color for transparent PNG output in its Layers handbook.
- Want a visible background? Confirm the color layer or background artwork is visible.
- Want transparency? Check for both the built-in color layer and any painted background artwork.
- Need transparency in a particular file format? Verify the exported file itself before relying on it.
When the background needs to move
Do not assign scenery as the locked Animation Background if it needs to scroll, change color, shift for parallax, or change between scenes. Use ordinary frames or grouped layers for background elements that change over time. Procreate treats grouped layers as one frame, which can help keep a composed scene together. For independent tracks and keyframed movement, Procreate Dreams offers a more timeline-focused workflow.
Procreate Dreams uses Stage settings
In Procreate Dreams, set the project-level color through Movie Settings → Stage → Background color. Stage settings also include a Transparent background toggle. This is different from assigning an Animation Background frame in Procreate’s Animation Assist. Dreams handbook: Movie Settings properties.
For an illustrated background that needs its own timing or movement, use Drawing or other content on a timeline track rather than relying only on the Stage color. A Drawing added from the Create menu fills from its current timeline position to the end of the movie, making it useful for backgrounds and images that may be keyframed. Dreams provides separate timeline modes and supports keyframes for movement and scale. Dreams handbook: Timeline · Dreams handbook: Keyframes.
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