How to Fill a Shape in Procreate

Filling shapes in Procreate can be done in a variety of ways. In this tutorial, we'll go over how to fill shapes with solid colors, a gradient, or a pattern in Procreate.

If you would like to follow along, we will be using the Hello Summer PNG from The Huge SVG Bundle. There are tons of great Procreate brushes available on Design Bundles, and today we will be using a star glitter brush, a mystic stamp brush, and alphabet stamp brushes.

Fill Shapes With a Solid Color in Procreate

The easiest way to fill in a shape is simply by dragging and dropping colors. Color will spread out in all directions from where you drop it. It'll stop where there's a border or a different color.

Step 1 - Drag Color to Drawing

Pick a color. Tap and drag your pen from the active color button to the area you want to fill on your drawing. Keep your pen down on the canvas for the next step. Dragging and dropping colors can also be done from color swatches in a Procreate color palette instead of the active color (button).

Step 2 - Adjust ColorDrop Threshold

With your pen still down on the canvas, slide the pen left and right to change the ColorDrop Threshold percentage.

The ColorDrop Threshold affects how much color bleeds over the edges of the area you're filling in. See the following image for a better understanding.

Fill Shapes With a Gradient in Procreate

When it comes to filling shapes with a gradient, there area few different tools you can use. We'll only cover using alpha lock and the Lighten blend mode today.

Use Alpha Lock to Fill Shapes With a Gradient

Step 1 - Import PNG and Enable Alpha Lock

Import the Hello Summer PNG into Procreate, or draw your own design. Tap the image layer's thumbnail in the Layers panel, and choose Alpha Lock. If you want to learn more, make sure to check out our in-depth guide on alpha lock.

Step 2 - Create Gradient on Alpha Locked Layer

Follow one of the methods in our Procreate gradient tutorial to create a gradient directly onto the alpha locked layer.

Use the Lighten Blend Mode to Fill Shapes With a Gradient

Using the Lighten blend mode is a unique way to fill shapes that many don't think about. It compares the colors of the Lighten blend mode layer with the layer below it. The lighter color(s) between the two layers will remain when Lighten blend mode is selected. This can also be done with multiple solid colors, but we'll be using a gradient on the top layer today.

Step 1 - Create Layers

Using a mystic stamp brush, draw and fill in the shape(s) with black. It can be any other color besides black, but we'll be using black to ensure that we'll see as much of the gradient as possible when the layers blend together.

Step 2 - Create Gradient

Add a new layer directly above the shape layer. Create a gradient on the new layer.

Step 3 - Change Blend Mode

In the Layers panel, tap the letter(s) to the left of the checkbox on the gradient layer. Note: The letter is "N" by default. In the following image, the letters are "Li". Next, select Lighten. As you can see in the following image, the gradient shows in areas where the shapes were black.

Fill Shapes With a Pattern in Procreate

Use a Pattern Layer and a Clipping Mask to Fill Shapes

On the first layer, use the alphabet stamp brushes to create your word(s) or saying in the desired base color.

For the pattern layer on top, you have three options. You can import a pattern layer, follow our tutorial on how to make a seamless pattern in Procreate, or use a pattern brush to fill the entire layer. We went with the third option and used the star glitter brush to make our pattern layer.

From there, open the Layers panel. Tap the pattern layer's thumbnail, and choose Clipping Mask.

The result of clipping the pattern layer to the base layer is shown in the image below.

Use a Pattern Brush to Fill Shapes

When using a pattern brush, you can use either a clipping mask or the alpha lock tool. The image below was created using the alpha lock tool.

Combine the two methods or re use the methods to create more detailed designs like in the following image.

If you liked this tutorial make sure to check out our other Procreate tutorials such as how to draw smoother lines, how to make a paper cutout, and how to create neon text in Procreate.