Building a digital product business around Procreate can start with a single creative skill and grow into a broader catalog of products for artists, illustrators, designers, and other digital creators. Procreate officially supports creating, organizing, exporting, and sharing custom brushes and Brush Sets, including selling original custom sets online, while Gumroad Engine can be relevant when you want to expand beyond creative assets into complementary digital products such as ebooks, guides, planners, checklists, and other niche resources.
The important idea is not to think of Procreate as the product itself. Think of Procreate as the foundation for a niche audience and a collection of problems you can solve with digital products.
Can You Build a Digital Product Business Around Procreate?
Yes. A Procreate-based digital product business can combine creative assets, educational products, templates, resources, and other downloadable products aimed at a specific audience.
Procreate allows creators to build custom brushes and Brush Sets, export them, and share them. Its official documentation specifically notes that original custom sets can be sold online.
That creates several possible product categories:
- Procreate brush packs
- Brush bundles
- Color palettes
- Texture collections
- Illustration resources
- Digital-art guides
- Procreate tutorials
- Reference ebooks
- Creative checklists
- Digital planners
- Templates
- Workflow resources
The strongest businesses don’t necessarily try to sell everything. They usually begin with a specific audience and a specific creative problem.
Start With a Procreate Niche, Not a Product
One of the biggest strategic mistakes is starting with the question:
“What digital product should I make?”
A better question is:
“Which Procreate users do I want to help, and what do they repeatedly need?”
For example, you could focus on:
- Digital watercolor artists
- Procreate lettering artists
- Children’s-book illustrators
- Comic artists
- Concept artists
- Botanical illustrators
- Tattoo designers
- Surface pattern designers
- Character artists
- Digital-art beginners
Once the audience is clear, product ideas become much easier to generate.
Step 1: Choose One Specific Procreate Audience
Start narrow.
Instead of targeting “Procreate users,” choose a smaller group with a recognizable need.
For example:
Broad: Procreate brushes
Narrow: Procreate watercolor brushes for botanical illustration
The narrow version immediately gives you ideas for products, content, tutorials, keywords, social posts, and future offers.
Questions to Ask
- What type of artwork does this audience create?
- What techniques do they struggle with?
- What repetitive tasks could be made faster?
- What resources do they already buy?
- What tutorials do they search for?
- What tools do they use alongside Procreate?
- What additional products could save them time?
Step 2: Create Your First Digital Product
Your first product doesn’t need to be enormous.
In fact, a focused product can be easier to explain, create, test, and improve.
For a Procreate-focused business, that might be:
- A 10-brush starter pack
- A specialized texture collection
- A lettering brush set
- A color palette collection
- A mini Procreate guide
- A workflow checklist
Procreate’s current brush documentation explains that creators can create new brushes and Brush Sets, customize them in Brush Studio, and export custom sets for sharing.
That makes brush products a natural starting point for creators who already have Procreate skills.
Step 3: Solve a Specific Problem With the Product
Don’t build a product simply because it is easy to make.
Build it because it solves a problem.
For example:
| Audience problem | Possible digital product |
|---|---|
| Watercolor textures take too long to create | Watercolor Procreate brush set |
| Artists struggle with consistent lettering | Lettering brush collection |
| Beginners don’t know how to organize brushes | Procreate workflow guide |
| Illustrators need faster foliage creation | Botanical brush pack |
| New users need a structured workflow | Beginner Procreate checklist |
The closer the product is to a recognizable problem, the easier it becomes to explain its value.
Step 4: Turn One Product Into a Product Family
This is where a digital product business becomes more interesting.
Suppose your first product is a watercolor brush pack.
Instead of immediately moving into an unrelated niche, build around the same customer.
You could create:
- Free watercolor sample brushes
- Starter watercolor brush pack
- Premium watercolor collection
- Watercolor color palette
- Procreate watercolor workflow guide
- Digital watercolor ebook
- Watercolor illustration checklist
- Complete watercolor bundle
Each product addresses a related need.
That creates a much stronger business structure than repeatedly launching unrelated products.
Step 5: Use Free Products to Attract the Right Audience
A free product can function as an entry point into your ecosystem.
For example, you could offer a small Procreate brush sampler for free and use it to introduce people to your paid collection.
The free product should be genuinely useful.
Its job isn’t simply to say, “Buy my other products.”
Its job is to demonstrate the quality of your work and attract people who are actually interested in your niche.
A Simple Product Funnel
Free resource → Entry product → Core product → Bundle → Related digital products
This structure gives customers multiple ways to engage with your business without forcing every visitor directly into a high-priced offer.
Step 6: Sell Your Products Through Gumroad
Gumroad is particularly relevant to this model because creators can use it to sell digital products directly to customers.
Your storefront can contain several related product types rather than just one brush pack.
A simple store could eventually include:
- Free Procreate resources
- Paid brush packs
- Brush bundles
- Digital-art guides
- Ebooks
- Templates
- Checklists
- Educational resources
The goal is to make the storefront feel like a resource center for a particular type of creator.
Step 7: Create Product Pages That Explain the Outcome
Your product page should answer the buyer’s most important questions quickly.
Explain:
- What the product is
- Who it is for
- What problem it solves
- What’s included
- How the files work
- How to install them
- What licensing applies
- What the customer can create with them
For visual products, demonstrations are especially valuable.
Show the brushes in actual artwork rather than relying only on screenshots of the brush library.
Step 8: Build Content Around Your Procreate Niche
A product business needs an audience.
Content can help you build that audience before someone ever becomes a customer.
For example, a Procreate watercolor business could publish content such as:
- How to create watercolor effects in Procreate
- How to make Procreate watercolor brushes
- Best Procreate brushes for watercolor
- How to create realistic paper texture
- How to organize Procreate brushes
- How to sell Procreate artwork
- How to price digital art products
Each article or video can answer a specific question while naturally introducing a relevant resource.
Step 9: Repurpose Each Topic Across Multiple Channels
You don’t need to invent a completely new idea for every platform.
One useful topic can become:
- A blog article
- A YouTube video
- A short-form video
- An email
- A Pinterest graphic
- A social post
- A downloadable checklist
For example, an article about “How to Create Watercolor Effects in Procreate” could become a tutorial video, a short tip video, an email, and a downloadable workflow checklist.
That gives one piece of research multiple opportunities to attract the same target audience.
Step 10: Build a YouTube Layer Around the Business
Procreate is highly visual, which makes video particularly useful for demonstrating digital products.
You could create videos showing:
- Brush demonstrations
- Speed-painting workflows
- Before-and-after comparisons
- Procreate tutorials
- Digital-art tips
- Brush creation tutorials
- Product walkthroughs
The video doesn’t need to be a sales pitch.
Teach something useful first.
Then point viewers toward the relevant resource when it genuinely extends the tutorial.
Step 11: Create an Email List Around the Niche
Your website and marketplace profiles are useful, but an email list gives you another way to stay connected with people who have already shown interest in your niche.
A simple lead magnet could be:
- 10 free Procreate brushes
- A Procreate shortcut cheat sheet
- A digital-art workflow checklist
- A beginner’s Procreate guide
- A color palette collection
- A brush organization checklist
Once someone joins, your emails can provide useful tutorials, product announcements, new resources, and relevant recommendations.
Step 12: Add Complementary Digital Products
This is where you can move beyond brushes.
A person who buys a Procreate brush may also need information.
For example:
| Core audience | Complementary product |
|---|---|
| Procreate beginners | Beginner guide |
| Digital illustrators | Illustration workflow ebook |
| Lettering artists | Lettering practice guide |
| Surface designers | Pattern workflow checklist |
| Freelance illustrators | Client workflow template |
| Digital-art entrepreneurs | Creative business guide |
This is the point where a brush store can evolve into a genuine digital-product catalog.
Where Gumroad Engine Fits Into the Business Model
Gumroad Engine is relevant to this strategy because its product materials describe a workflow for creating digital products from a niche or keyword, including ebooks, guides, planners, checklists, and journals.
The product materials also describe AI-assisted creation of product content, covers, supporting graphics, sales copy, and generated PLR licensing material, along with a workflow for publishing products to a connected Gumroad store.
It is not a replacement for Procreate itself or a dedicated Procreate brush-creation application. The stronger connection is what happens after you have identified an audience.
If your niche is digital art, you can continue creating specialized creative assets yourself while using a broader digital-product workflow for complementary information products.
For example, a Procreate creator might have:
- Original brush packs
- Illustration resources
- Digital-art guides
- Beginner ebooks
- Creative checklists
- Workflow planners
See the full Gumroad Engine review for the features, pricing, OTOs and bonuses.
If that broader product-creation workflow fits your strategy, you can explore the Gumroad Engine package and its digital-product workflow.
Step 13: Create a Product Ladder
A product ladder gives customers a logical progression.
| Level | Example | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Starter brush or checklist | Audience discovery |
| Entry | Small brush pack | First purchase |
| Core | Premium brush collection | Main offer |
| Bundle | Multiple related products | Higher-value purchase |
| Knowledge product | Guide or ebook | Expand the catalog |
The exact prices will depend on the audience, quality, licensing, competition, and product scope.
The important point is that each level should provide a clear reason for the customer to move forward.
Step 14: Protect Your Digital Products With Clear Licensing
If you’re selling Procreate brushes, licensing deserves special attention.
Clearly explain:
- Whether personal use is allowed
- Whether commercial artwork is allowed
- Whether client work is allowed
- Whether merchandise is allowed
- Whether print-on-demand is allowed
- Whether modification is allowed
- Whether redistribution is prohibited
- Whether resale of the original files is prohibited
Commercial use does not automatically mean customers can redistribute the original brush files.
Likewise, if you’re using someone else’s brushes to create your products, check their license before including those brush files in anything you sell.
Step 15: Use Customer Feedback to Expand the Catalog
Your customers can tell you what to create next.
Pay attention to questions such as:
- “Do you have a brush for this?”
- “Do you have a beginner version?”
- “Can you make a bundle?”
- “Do you have a guide?”
- “Can I use this commercially?”
- “Do you have more brushes like this?”
Those questions are product research.
Instead of guessing what your audience wants, use recurring questions to identify gaps in your product catalog.
Common Mistakes When Building a Procreate Digital Product Business
Trying to Serve Everyone
A broad “digital art store” can be harder to position than a store designed around a clear audience.
Creating Products Without a Problem in Mind
A product is easier to market when you can clearly explain the problem it solves.
Relying on One Product
A single successful product can become the foundation for related products.
Ignoring Licensing
Be precise about what buyers can and cannot do with digital assets.
Making the Store Look Like a File Dump
Organize products into logical categories and explain how they fit together.
Making Every Piece of Content a Sales Pitch
Educational content should genuinely answer the user’s question. Product recommendations should appear where they naturally solve the next problem.
Creating Products Faster Than You Can Support Them
More products create more customer questions, updates, files, licenses, and support requirements. Build your catalog at a pace you can manage.
A Simple 30-Day Procreate Digital Product Plan
Week 1: Choose the Niche
- Select one Procreate audience.
- Identify recurring problems.
- Research competing products.
- Choose your first product idea.
Week 2: Create the Product
- Build the brushes, resource, or guide.
- Test the files.
- Create example artwork.
- Write clear licensing terms.
- Prepare customer instructions.
Week 3: Build the Store and Content
- Create the Gumroad product page.
- Prepare product images.
- Publish helpful content around the niche.
- Create one YouTube tutorial.
- Prepare a free resource if appropriate.
Week 4: Launch and Learn
- Publish the product.
- Promote the useful content.
- Collect customer questions.
- Identify product gaps.
- Plan the next related product.
How to Keep Growing After Your First Product
Once your first product is live, don’t immediately abandon the niche.
Instead, look for the next logical problem.
A simple cycle looks like this:
Audience → Problem → Product → Content → Customer → Feedback → Next Product
That cycle can continue for as long as there are meaningful problems to solve.
Watch the Gumroad Creator Ecosystem
Gumroad is built around creators selling digital products directly to their audiences. If you’re studying how to build a Procreate-centered business, looking at the broader creator ecosystem can help you understand how creative assets, educational products, and other digital resources can coexist in one store.
Explore the Gumroad Engine workflow for expanding your digital-product catalog →
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make money selling Procreate digital products?
Procreate supports the creation and sharing of custom brushes and Brush Sets, and its documentation notes that creators can sell original custom sets online. Revenue depends on factors such as product quality, audience, pricing, licensing, distribution, and demand.
What digital products can I sell around Procreate?
Possible products include Procreate brushes, brush bundles, color palettes, textures, tutorials, ebooks, guides, checklists, templates, planners, and other resources designed for a specific type of digital artist.
Is Gumroad good for selling Procreate brushes?
Gumroad can be used to sell digital products such as Procreate brush sets and other downloadable resources. The suitability of the platform depends on your product, audience, pricing, marketing strategy, and preferred selling workflow.
How do I start a Procreate digital product business?
Start by choosing a specific audience, identify a recurring problem, create a focused digital product, build a clear product page, publish useful content, and then expand into related products based on customer needs.
Should I start with Procreate brushes or ebooks?
Start with the format that best matches your existing skill and audience. If you are already skilled at creating brushes, a focused brush product may be a natural starting point. If your expertise is teaching or explaining a process, a guide or ebook may make more sense.
Can I sell Procreate brushes I didn’t create?
Not automatically. You need a license that explicitly gives you the rights required for resale or redistribution. A commercial-use license normally does not mean you own the original brush files.
How can I create more digital products for the same Procreate audience?
Start with the problems your existing customers have. A brush buyer may also need tutorials, guides, palettes, checklists, workflow resources, or other tools related to the same creative process.
Does Gumroad Engine create Procreate brushes?
Gumroad Engine is positioned around broader digital-product creation rather than dedicated Procreate brush creation. Its product materials describe creating products such as ebooks, guides, planners, checklists, and journals, along with supporting sales and licensing assets and a Gumroad publishing workflow.
Final Thoughts
The best way to build a digital product business around Procreate is to build around an audience—not around one file.
Start with a specific type of creator. Identify a real problem. Create one useful product. Use content to attract the right audience. Then turn recurring questions and customer needs into your next products.
Your first product might be a brush pack.
Your second could be a bundle.
Your third could be a guide.
Your fourth could be a checklist or planner.
Over time, those individual products can become a connected catalog serving the same niche.
If you’re looking at Gumroad Engine as part of that broader strategy, the next step is to examine exactly what the software claims to create, how its Gumroad workflow is structured, and what is included in the current offer.
