How to Pick Color on Procreate: The 5-Mode Panel & Eyedropper

To pick a color on Procreate, you primarily use the Color Panel or the Eyedropper tool. The Color Panel, opened by tapping the Active Color button in the top right corner, lets you choose from five selection modes, while the Eyedropper lets you sample any color directly from your canvas or imported images.

How to pick color on Procreate: the complete guide

Mastering color selection is essential for any digital artist, and Procreate provides two fast, primary methods to get the exact color you need. Whether you are shading a portrait or building a palette for a new illustration, these techniques will speed up your coloring, shading and rendering in Procreate.

Method 1: The Color Panel and its five modes

Tap the Active Color button, the colored circle in the top right corner of the interface, to open the Color Panel. This panel contains five main modes for selecting color.

Disc mode

The Color Disc mode features an outer Hue ring and an inner zoomable Saturation disc. Spin the outer ring to choose a hue, then drag your finger inside the disc to adjust saturation and brightness with precision.

Classic mode

Classic mode provides a traditional square color picker alongside Hue, Saturation, and Brightness sliders. This layout is familiar to many artists and gives you direct control over each color component.

Harmony mode

Harmony mode suggests color schemes based on color theory, including Complementary, Split Complementary, Analogous, Triadic, and Tetradic. Use this to quickly build visually cohesive palettes without guessing.

Value mode

Value mode allows exact color input using numerical values. You can enter Hue/Saturation/Brightness, Red/Green/Blue, or Hexadecimal codes for precise color matching.

Palettes tab

The Palettes tab lets you store, create, import, and organize collections of color swatches. This is where you save custom palettes for recurring projects or themes.

Method 2: The Eyedropper tool and gestures

The Eyedropper samples any color from your canvas or imported images. There are two main gestures to invoke it, plus an access point from the Color Panel.

Tap and hold on the canvas. Press and hold your finger or stylus anywhere on the canvas to activate the Eyedropper. The sampled color appears in the Active Color button.
Use the Modify button. Hold the Modify button on the sidebar and tap anywhere on the canvas. This gesture also activates the Eyedropper instantly.
Access from the Color Panel. When in Disc, Classic, Harmony, or Value modes, tap the Eyedropper icon at the top left of the Color Panel to enable sampling.

How to sample colors from an image or camera

Procreate can automatically generate a new palette from any photo, file, or live camera feed. Open the Palettes tab in the Color Panel, tap the "+" symbol, and choose from these options:

New from Photos, Select an image from your photo library to extract a palette.
New from File, Import an image file from your device to create a palette.
New from Camera, Use your iPad’s live camera input to capture colors from a physical object or scene.

Applying colors: ColorDrop and Recolor

ColorDrop

ColorDrop lets you flood-fill areas of your artwork by dragging the Active Color button onto the canvas. Simply drag the colored circle from the top right onto a closed shape or area to fill it instantly.

Recolor

The Recolor feature, accessible via QuickMenu, enables live preview color replacement on a layer. Activate it, then drag crosshairs over the color you want to change. Adjust the Flood slider to control how much of that color range is replaced, giving you precise control for tasks like changing the hue of a character’s clothing.

Managing your colors: history and companion

Color History

Procreate keeps a History section showing the last ten colors you used. This section appears in the Disc, Classic, Harmony, and Value tabs of the Color Panel. It is supported on all iPad Pro models except the iPad Pro 9.7". Quickly tap a recent color to reuse it without re-selecting.

Color Companion

The Color Companion allows the Color Panel to be detached and moved freely around the canvas as a smaller, simplified version. This is especially useful when you need quick access to colors while working on a full-screen canvas, and it improves your workflow for tasks like managing Procreate tools, layers and file management.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I change color on Procreate?

To change the active color, tap the Active Color button in the top right to open the Color Panel, then select a new color using any of the five modes. You can also sample a color from the canvas with the Eyedropper gesture.

How do I fill in a shape in Procreate?

To fill a shape, use the ColorDrop feature: drag the Active Color button from the top right corner onto the closed area of your canvas. The shape will flood-fill with the current color.

Can I save custom color palettes for later?

Yes. In the Palettes tab of the Color Panel, tap the "+" symbol to create a new palette. You can add colors manually or generate a palette from a photo, file, or camera input. Saved palettes remain available in your Palettes tab for any project.

What is the difference between ColorDrop and Recolor?

ColorDrop fills a single closed area with a solid color by dragging the Active Color onto the canvas. Recolor replaces a range of similar colors across a whole layer, using a Flood slider to control how much of the color range is affected, and offers a live preview.