Most drawing and design apps have an eyedropper and paint bucket tool. These tools make it easy to select a color that's already on your screen and fill an image.
The iPad drawing app Procreate has similar tools, but, at first glance, where they are and how to use them is not that obvious.
Still, with a little guidance, you'll be able to use Procreate's color tools with confidence. And by using Procreate's color picker and fill tool together, you can speed up your coloring process.
How to Use Procreate's Color Picker
There are a variety of situations that call for Procreate's color picker. For instance, you could pull a color from an image you're using as a reference. You might also want to reuse a color that you've already used in your image.
To select a color to work with, follow these steps:
- Press and hold down with your finger where you want to pull the color from.
- You'll see a circle take on your color.
- Wait for the color to appear in the color selection tool in the top-right corner of the screen.
- You now have access to the selected color.
How to Create a Palette With Color Picker's Palette Menu
As a quicker alternative, you can also tap on color picker and access the palette tab at the bottom. From there, you have the option to change to one of the preset palettes as your new default. You can also tap the + sign at the top to create a new palette from there.
Once you have a new palette ready, just continue to use the color picker tool like normal to build your new palette. You can quickly acquire your palette colors and save them for future use.
From here, you can shift between the compact and card views to more easily identify colors for your palettes. If you want to copy any color swatches from Procreate's preset palettes, you can either hold down on the swatch with your finger or Apple Pencil and then drag them to your new palette.
Whether your goal is to create realistic soap bubbles in Procreate or build a custom comic color library, a custom palette can open up new doors.
How to Manually Create a Palette With Procreate's Color Picker
While color picker is useful on its own, there are creative applications. As an example, we'll go over how to create a color palette in Procreate. This way, you'll have quick access to your most-used colors without disrupting your workflow.
First, you should create a separate layer to house your palette colors for the Procreate color picker. Just follow these steps:
- Tap on the layers tool to the left of the color selection tool.
- Next, tap the + icon to create a new layer.
- Then tap on the new layer to bring up options.
- Select Rename.
- Rename your layer to Palette (or anything you want).
Once you have created your layer, it's time to lay out your colors. Using the color picker tool, follow the same steps as before to acquire the color. Then, draw a tiny color swatch for your palette.
Repeat the same steps until you have as many colors as needed for your palette. Once finished, you can simply delete the palette layer. If you run into any fludity with your pencil during this step, make sure to check out these tips for fixing your Apple Pencil glitching in Procreate.
How to Fill on Procreate via Paint Bucket
Once you have your color picked, it's time to figure out how to fill on Procreate. By using Procreate's paint bucket tool, you can fill in a shape with a color.
Remember the color selection tool in the top-right corner? Tap and hold down on that circle with your Apple Pencil, stylus, or finger. Then drag the color to the shape you want to fill in and release.
If you're filling a particularly small shape, it helps to zoom in or use the Apple Pencil for more precision. Also, remember that the paint bucket tool works with complete objects. If your lines aren't completely joined, you will find that the color fills the entire canvas.
Once you're comfortable with this option, you can also utilize these fundamental tips and tricks to expand your skills by learning how to create double exposure images using Procreate.
Use Procreate's Color Picker and Fill Tools
Procreate really shines on the iPad Pro, and you can use the Apple Pencil with the sixth generation 2018 iPad. It makes the app far more accessible and affordable for people who don't want to buy a new tablet.
Procreate also allows for a versatile range of ways to manage your color. Whether you're a classical artist or the most experienced digital artist, you can set up your color options to your preferred workflow. By taking a few measures, you can get the most of Procreate's color picker.