> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://theprocreate.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Procreate Time-lapse: Decide What the Recording Is Allowed to Show - URL: https://theprocreate.com/learn/procreate-time-lapse/ - Published: 2026-11-05T09:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-05T08:59:59.000Z - Description: Choose recording quality before drawing, keep private references out of the time-lapse, and review the exported process video before sharing. - Author: Robert Rios - Tags: learn, #topic-start-here, #section-start-here-pages-and-movement Procreate [enables time-lapse by default](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/actions/actions-video?ref=theprocreate.com) on a new canvas, unless you've disabled it globally. That recording can show stages you didn't intend to publish, so review the source material and settings before you start. ## Set quality before the project begins The initial setting is **1080p** at **Good Quality**, but [new canvases use the last time-lapse recording settings you selected](https://help.procreate.com/articles/drvany-adjust-time-lapse-recording-quality?ref=theprocreate.com). Check the resolution and quality instead of assuming a new canvas has returned to the initial default. A higher-quality recording produces a larger file, so I'd pick the quality for the intended delivery as well as the drawing. To choose new recording settings, tap **+** at the upper right of Gallery to open **New Canvas**. Tap the icon made of two rectangles with a small **+** at the upper right of that menu to open **Custom Canvas**. Choose **Time-lapse settings**, select the video resolution and recording quality, finish the other canvas settings, then tap **Create**. These [recording settings cannot be changed mid-project](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/actions/actions-video?ref=theprocreate.com), so choose them before creating the canvas. ![Custom Canvas Time-lapse settings with separate resolution and quality choices before Create.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/87/95/8795a9f5-73f0-42fe-8d7c-6a02022d8b40/content/images/2026/10/procreate-time-lapse-body1-redo-v3.webp) Choose the recording resolution and quality before Create. New canvases reuse the last settings you selected. For an existing canvas, open the artwork and check **Actions > Video > Time-lapse Recording** before drawing. The switch controls capture for that artwork. Its video resolution and quality were set when the canvas was created. Check that recording is on if you want the next drawing stages included, and check the separate global setting below if capture has been disabled across artworks. ## Keep private source material out of the video For an image reference that must not appear in the exported time-lapse, open **Actions > Add**. Swipe left on **Insert a file** or **Insert a photo**, then tap the revealed **Insert a private file** or **Insert a private photo** button. Choose the image in the picker. After insertion, open **Layers** and [check for the word **Private** beneath that layer's title](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/actions/actions-add?ref=theprocreate.com). ![Insert a photo is swiped left in Actions Add to reveal the grey Insert a private photo button.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/87/95/8795a9f5-73f0-42fe-8d7c-6a02022d8b40/content/images/2026/10/procreate-time-lapse-body2-redo-v2.webp) Swipe Insert a photo left, then choose Insert a private photo. Check for Private beneath the layer title after insertion. A [Private Layer is excluded from the Gallery preview and exported time-lapse](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/actions/actions-add?ref=theprocreate.com), while behaving like a regular layer in the artwork. It isn't a way to hide visible reference material from an ordinary artwork export. Using [Reference Companion](https://theprocreate.com/learn/procreate-reference-companion/) to view a reference without adding a paint layer is a different workflow, and it doesn't by itself tell you what a process video contains. Review the replay and the export before sharing. Open **Actions > Video > Time-lapse Replay** to inspect the recording. Drag your finger left or right across the canvas to scrub backward or forward through it. Check the stages you intend to share, then tap **Done** to exit the replay and return to the artwork. To pause the current artwork's recording, switch **Actions > Video > Time-lapse Recording** off. When Procreate asks whether to purge the existing video, remember that [**Purge** permanently deletes the recording so far](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/actions/actions-video?ref=theprocreate.com) and cannot be undone. Choose **Don't Purge** if you intend to retain it. Switching recording back on resumes capture, but work done during the pause is absent from the video. This switch doesn't change recording settings for other artworks. I'd use the global stop only when no artwork should record. Choose **Help > Advanced Settings** in Procreate to open **iPad Settings > Procreate**. Turn **Disable Time-lapse** on to stop recording across existing and new artworks. [Prior recordings are retained, but drawing done while globally disabled cannot be retrieved](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/actions/actions-video?ref=theprocreate.com) for the video. Turn **Disable Time-lapse** off when you want capture to continue from that point. ## Inspect the exported deliverable Use **Actions > Video > Export Time-lapse video** and choose **Full length** or **30 Seconds**. The [30-second export removes frames across the recording](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/actions/actions-video?ref=theprocreate.com) to fit the duration. It isn't a cut of the first 30 seconds of work. After choosing the length, [select where to send or save the video](https://help.procreate.com/articles/gZrGyA-time-lapse?ref=theprocreate.com). Complete that destination's save or transfer step, then open the saved file there and watch it before sharing. Choosing a length in Procreate doesn't finish the handoff. ![Actions Video menu with Export time-lapse video highlighted as the export entry point.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/87/95/8795a9f5-73f0-42fe-8d7c-6a02022d8b40/content/images/2026/10/procreate-time-lapse-body3-redo-v2.webp) Choose Full length or 30 Seconds after Export time-lapse video, finish saving, then watch the saved file. A shorter export is not a privacy filter. Before sharing, compare three separate things: the finished artwork, the replay inside Procreate, and the exported video. An acceptable final painting doesn't guarantee that its process video excludes a private source or an intermediate idea. If the replay contains material that shouldn't be shared, do not rely on the shorter export option to remove it. With fewer frames, it can still include stages from across the recording. Decide whether to keep the time-lapse private, revise the source workflow for a future project, or share only a separately reviewed deliverable. If the replay already shows a private source, I'd keep that time-lapse private.