Everything You Need to Know About Color Palettes in Procreate

Do you ever struggle with choosing colors for your drawings or forget which color it was that you wanted to use? If so, color palettes in Procreate can really help you! In this tutorial, we will go over what you can do with color palettes and color swatches, the different ways to create a color palette from an image, and lastly, how to import and share a color palette.

We will be using a Procreate skin tone color palette which is available on Design Bundles.

In the Procreate color panel, there are five color modes/interfaces (Disc, Classic, Harmony, Value, Palettes). Each interface works a little differently for picking and adjusting colors. We will only be focusing on the Palettes interface in this tutorial.

Where Are Your Procreate Color Palettes?

To open the list of palettes, tap the circle color button in the upper-right corner to open the color panel. Then tap the last tab (Palettes) at the bottom of the color panel.

How to Set a Color Palette as the Default Palette

You can set a color palette as the default palette by tapping the Set Default button. The default color palette is the active palette, and it will appear at the bottom of the other color interfaces.

How to Rename Procreate Color Palettes

New empty color palettes will have Untitled as the name by default. Color palettes created from image files and photos will have the name Palette from image, and color palettes created with the camera will have the name Color palette. As there are only three different default names, you should rename color palettes for better organization and ease of use.

To rename a color palette, tap the word(s) located at the top left of a color palette. Tap the blue done button, or tap outside of the keyboard area to commit the changes.

How to Rearrange the List of Color Palettes

Tap and hold a color palette until it pops out from its place. Drag it up or down to rearrange the list. Drop the color palette in its new location.

How to Delete a Color Palette

Swipe the whole color palette left and tap Delete.

What is a Procreate Color Palette Swatch?

A color swatch is an individual square of color in a color palette. A color palette can hold up to thirty color swatches. Color swatches can be added, changed, deleted, or rearranged.

How to Add a Color Swatch to an Empty Spot

Step 1 - Set Default Palette

Pick a color palette that has empty spots, and set it as the default palette. See earlier instructions for how to set a color palette as the default palette.

Step 2 - Pick Color to Save

Switch to another color interface and pick a color. The current color is shown in the color button in the upper-right corner. Tap an empty spot in the color palette to save the current color as a swatch.

How to Change the Color of an Existing Swatch

Pick a color. Then tap and hold an existing color swatch. Next, tap Set current color. If the color swatch is the same as the current color, Set current color option will not appear. See the following image for a better understanding.

How to Delete a Color Swatch

If you accidentally save a duplicate color swatch or you no longer want to keep a color swatch, you can delete it. Tap and hold the color swatch you want to delete. Tap Delete swatch. See the previous image.

How to Rearrange Color Swatches

To move a color swatch, simply tap and drag the swatch. When moving a color swatch, look for a light grey box to guide where the color swatch will be placed. Drop the color swatch in the new location.

How to Create a Color Palette from a Photo

Being able to create a color palette from a photo can be very useful. Procreate will pull colors from images to create a color palette for you. Tap the + icon in the upper-right corner of the Palettes interface to create a color palette using your camera, from an image file, or from a photo on your iPad.

How to Create a Color Palette from Camera

Step 1 - Create Palette With New From Camera Option

Tap the + icon and select New from camera. On the right side, you will see the Cancel button, round shutter button, and Visual/Indexed button.

Step 2 - Select Visual or Indexed Color Palettes

The colors in the color palette will change as the colors in the camera view change. The Visual/Indexed button affects how Procreate picks colors for the palette. In the Visual mode, Procreate will pick colors that are right in front of the color palette area. In the Indexed mode, Procreate will pick colors from the entire screen giving you a wider range of colors. Tap the shutter button to save the color palette. See the following image for a comparison between Visual and Indexed modes.

How to Create a Color Palette from a File

Step 1 - Select Image File

Tap the + icon and select New from file. Locate and tap a JPG or PNG file.

Step 2 - Color Palette Created

The new palette created from the image file can be found at the top of the color palette list. The color palette in the following image was created using a photo from the Plus Membership.

How to Create a Color Palette from a Photo on the iPad

Tap the + icon and select New from photos. Pick a photo from the list of photos on your iPad. The new palette created from the photo can be found at the top of the color palette list.

How to Import and Share/Export Color Palettes

For convenience, you can import ready-to-use color palettes created by others. On the flip side, you can export your created color palettes to share with others. Color palette files are of the .swatches file type.

How to Import Color Palettes

Open the Files app alongside Procreate. Locate the .swatches file in the Files app. Drag and drop the .swatches file into the color palette list in Procreate.

How to Share/Export Color Palettes

Open the Files app alongside Procreate. In the Files app, decide where you want to save the .swatches file. Tap and hold the color palette between the palette name and the Set Default button. Drag and drop the color palette onto the Files app. In the following image, we exported the .swatches file to a folder called Procreate Color Palettes.

You have now mastered everything you need to know about using color palettes in Procreate! Next up, learn how create drop shadow lettering, align objects in Procreate, and how to fill in a shape.