Colors and Swatches

Colors and Swatches

Learn how to use colors, swatches, and gradients in Adobe Illustrator along with learning how to recolor your artwork.

When to use

Use colors and gradients to bring any of your shapes, logos, or illustrations to the next level. Use the recolor option when you need to modify your color palette.

Instructions

Using The Color Picker

• Create a square on your artboard with the Rectangle Tool (M).
• Click on the fill color at the bottom of your toolbar to bring up the Color Picker and begin to click and drag around inside of the 'Select Color' area.
• Moving your cursor left or right will adjust the saturation of your color, and moving the slider up and down will adjust the brightness of the color.
• The vertical strip showing the full-color gamut is where you can adjust the hue of your color.
• These colors are represented by HSB values for Hue/Saturation/Brightness, and also by RGB, CMYK, and Hexidecimal values.
• Choose a starting color using these sliders.
• Create another square on your artboard and fill it with a different color.
• Select one of your two squares with the Selection Tool (V).
• Switch to the Eyedropper Tool (I) and click on the other square to inherit the color.
• You can either leave the color as is, or use the Color Panel to move your cursor around and pick a new color. 

Swatches and Preset Color Palettes

• Create a few more squares, and fill each one with a different color.
• Open the Swatches Panel found under the Window Menu.
• Click and drag around the squares and then click on the small folder icon inside of the Swatches Panel to save these colors as a group.
• Inside your Swatches Panel, click on the first color, then hold the Shift Key and select the last swatch just above your group folder, and then click the trash can to delete them.
• You can now click on the hamburger menu in the upper right of the panel and scroll down to the option that says 'Save Swatch Library as ASE' to save your colors.
• Save the ASE file on your desktop.
• Create a New File and go to the Swatches Panel.
• Click on the hamburger menu once again, and this time choose Open Swatch Library > Other Library.
• Navigate to your ASE file and click 'Open' and it will load up your preset.

Linear and Radial Gradients

• Create a square with the Rectangle Tool (M) and instead of filling the color with a solid, go to the bottom of your toolbar and click on the gradient swatch.
• Go to the Window Menu and open the Gradient Panel if you don't have it open already.
• By default, you should see a black-and-white Linear Gradient inside of your shape.
• Inside the Gradient Panel, you can toggle between the Linear Gradient, Radial Gradient, and the Freeform Gradient.
• With the Linear and Radial Gradient, you can move the white line going through the middle of the shape to change the size and direction of your gradient.
• You can double-click on the small swatch on the left side of the gradient strip at the bottom to change the starting color, and then do the same for the end color.
• To add more color, click anywhere along the color strip. 
• To remove a color, click and drag the color down, off of the color strip.
• Once you have the colors you want inside of your gradient strip, you can move the sliders closer together to have a more distinct transition, or further apart for a smoother transition between colors.
• In addition to changing the colors, you can also change the opacity of each of your colors.
• Reduce the opacity of one color to 0% and leave the other side at full opacity to create a color that fades to transparent.
• If you have a gradient that you're happy with, not only can you use it as a fill color, but you can also apply the gradient to a stroke.
• Any of your gradients can be saved in the Swatches Panel, just like your solid colors.

Freeform Gradient

• Create a square on your artboard, and then use the Gradient Panel to select the third type of gradient, which is the Freeform Gradient.
• With the Freeform Gradient, you can add or remove colors, and move each one around freely inside of the shape.
• Unlike the Linear and Radial Gradients, you can't save presets with the Freeform Gradient.

Recoloring Artwork

• Create a few squares on your artboard, and fill each one with a solid color.
• Use the Selection Tool (V) to click and drag around all of the squares.
• Go to the Window Menu and choose 'Color Guide' from the dropdown to open the panel.
• Click on the small icon at the bottom of the Color Guide Panel that says 'Edit or Apply Colors'.
• You will now see a dialog box where one column shows your Current Colors, and a second that shows the New Colors.
• Click and drag each of the Current Colors over to the New Color so that both sides match up.
• You can now select the New Color for each of them and change every instance of that color to something different.
• You can also use the sliders at the bottom of the panel to change the HSB values.
• The last option here is the button at the very bottom that says 'Generative Recolor'.
• Selecting the Generative Recolor option allows you to enter a prompt or select a preset to generate new palettes you can use in your artwork.
• Once you find a color palette you like, you can click on the 'New Color Group' folder at the bottom of the Generative Recolor panel, and make sure 'Save All Colors' is selected.
• Next, go to the 'Advanced Options' button.
• Now you can give your new color palette a name and click on the folder icon. 
• Click 'OK' and return to your Swatches Panel and you should now see a new group folder that contains your new color palette.

Hints & tips

• Saving solid colors and gradients can be a great way to save time.
• The only colors you can't save as presets are the Freeform Gradients.
• You can change the rotation, direction, opacity, and smoothness of each of the gradients.
• Using the Color Guide Panel to Edit and Apply Colors gives you the ability to manually recolor your artwork or use the Generative Recolor option which is a new feature in Adobe Illustrator.