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# Procreate Resize Canvas: Change the Frame Without Accidentally Resampling the Art
- URL: https://theprocreate.com/learn/procreate-resize-canvas/
- Published: 2026-11-03T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T15:00:00.000Z
- Description: Duplicate the artwork before cropping. Change the canvas boundary for extra space, or enable Resample when the entire image needs new pixel dimensions.
- Author: Robert Rios
- Tags: learn, #topic-canvas, #section-canvas-before-the-first-stroke

To get more room around a drawing, change the canvas boundary and leave Resample off. To scale the artwork itself to new pixel dimensions, use **Resample**. Both controls live under [**Actions > Canvas > Crop and Resize**](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/actions/actions-canvas?ref=theprocreate.com).

![Crop and Resize Settings with Resample canvas switched off for a frame-only change.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/87/95/8795a9f5-73f0-42fe-8d7c-6a02022d8b40/content/images/2026/10/procreate-resize-canvas-body1-redo-v2.webp)

Keep Resample canvas off when you need more room around the existing drawing.

## Move the frame deliberately

I'd duplicate the artwork in Gallery first, so the change happens on a copy. [Swipe the artwork thumbnail left and tap **Duplicate**](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/gallery/gallery-organize?ref=theprocreate.com), then tap the title beneath each thumbnail so the original and the working copy are clearly named. Leave the original unchanged and open the working copy.

Open **Actions > Canvas > Crop and Resize**, then tap **Settings**. Check the unit beside the width and height: [the readouts use the measurement unit chosen when the canvas was created](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/actions/actions-canvas?ref=theprocreate.com). Enter values in that displayed unit. If the fields show inches, do not type a pixel count into them. The pixel example below applies only when both fields show **px**.

For a frame-only change, keep **Resample canvas** switched **OFF** in Settings. Look at the grid overlay: its edges mark the new canvas edges. Drag a side or corner to crop or enlarge, or tap a width or height readout to enter a precise value. **Aspect Lock**, the chainlink between the readouts, preserves the width-to-height ratio when you change one dimension. With **Snapping** on in Settings, the [crop overlay snaps to canvas and artwork edges and canvas centers](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/actions/actions-canvas?ref=theprocreate.com) to help position the frame.

Before you accept a crop, inspect every edge of the artwork. Cropping trims away content outside the new canvas boundary, so keep the original if you may need those edges later. When the frame and dimensions are right, tap **Done** in the upper-right corner to finish this operation. Tap **Cancel** instead to abandon the pending change. Cancel can't reverse a crop that's already been applied.

![Pending crop boundary cuts across a skyline edge, with excluded artwork dimmed outside.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/87/95/8795a9f5-73f0-42fe-8d7c-6a02022d8b40/content/images/2026/10/procreate-resize-canvas-body2-redo-v2.webp)

Check every edge before Done; marks outside the new canvas boundary will be trimmed.

The interface also shows [how many layers the new canvas size can support](https://theprocreate.com/learn/procreate-layer-limit/). [Larger canvases allow fewer layers](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/gallery/gallery-create?ref=theprocreate.com), and Procreate limits the maximum dimensions according to the device.

## Switch on Resample only for scaling

For artwork scaling, start from an unchanged working copy and open **Actions > Canvas > Crop and Resize**. Turning on **Resample** scales the image to the dimensions you enter and automatically enables **Aspect Lock**. If the new canvas needs different proportions, set the crop frame first with **Resample OFF**, then switch on Resample.

Tap **Settings**, check the displayed units, and switch **Resample canvas** **ON**. Tap the width or height readout and type the target value. [With Resample on, dragging the crop overlay does not change the numerical dimension readouts](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/actions/actions-canvas?ref=theprocreate.com). The values you type set the output canvas dimensions. For example, if the current frame is **3,000 × 2,000 px** and both readouts show px, entering **1,500** for width keeps the 3:2 ratio and gives a height of **1,000 px**. Check both readouts before you proceed. That's proportional scaling, so it doesn't squeeze the subject's width independently to fit a different ratio.

Inspect the frame and entered dimensions, then tap **Done** to finish the resample. Use **Cancel** instead if the pending result isn't the change you intended.

[Resample uses bicubic interpolation](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/actions/actions-canvas?ref=theprocreate.com). Enlarging an image creates data from existing pixels and can produce unexpected results, so inspect fine lines after scaling rather than inferring extra detail from a larger width and height.

[Changing **DPI** alone changes physical measurements](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/actions/actions-canvas?ref=theprocreate.com) such as inches, not the canvas pixel dimensions. This matters when [a print specification gives both physical size and resolution](https://theprocreate.com/tools/procreate-print-planner/). After **Done** on either route, open **Actions > Canvas > Canvas information > Dimensions** and compare **Pixel width** and **Pixel height** with the requested size. Check the actual canvas edges and [inspect an exported file](https://theprocreate.com/fixes/procreate-export-blurry/) before handoff.

![A 3:2 skyline canvas has a horizontal Pixel width arrow of 1,500 px and a vertical Pixel height arrow of 1,000 px.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/87/95/8795a9f5-73f0-42fe-8d7c-6a02022d8b40/content/images/2026/10/procreate-resize-canvas-body3-redo-v3.webp)

After Done, compare both pixel dimensions with the target. This 3:2 example is 1,500 × 1,000 px; changing DPI alone does not change those dimensions.

For a pixel-level edge check, use your viewer's actual-pixels view. If you already use Photoshop on a desktop, open the actual exported file and choose [**View > 100%**, where each image pixel displays as one monitor pixel](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/desktop/get-started/learn-the-basics/zoom-images.html?ref=theprocreate.com). Compare the same fine lines and edge regions without resizing the file again. A fit-to-window view alone doesn't confirm pixel-level quality.

## Match the control to the request

If a drawing needs extra blank space for a caption or border, enlarge the frame with **Resample OFF** and check where the existing marks sit inside it. If the destination instead requires a different pixel width for the entire image, Resample changes the artwork itself. Those two requests can sound similar in a brief but have different effects on detail and composition, so I'd confirm the required dimensions in pixels before changing either control. Then inspect both the canvas and an exported copy. The [canvas size for print guide](https://theprocreate.com/export-print/procreate-canvas-size-for-print/) helps translate a physical-size request into a pixel target, but it doesn't replace the receiving printer's specification.