The paint bucket tool is an incredibly useful feature in Procreate for quickly filling enclosed areas with color. With just a tap, you can instantly color in large sections of your canvas. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about mastering the paint bucket in Procreate.
Selecting the Paint Bucket Tool
The paint bucket tool is located in the top toolbar in Procreate. To select it, simply tap on the icon that looks like a bucket pouring out paint.
This will equip the paint bucket as your active tool.
Choosing a Paint Color
Before using the paint bucket, you’ll need to choose a color to fill with. The default color will be whatever your current brush color is set to.
To change the color, tap on the color selection circle to open the color picker. Here you can use the hue slider, color wheel, or color swatches to pick your desired color.
The color you select will now be set as the paint bucket color.
Setting Tolerance
An important setting to adjust on the paint bucket tool is the Tolerance. This controls how similar in color a pixel needs to be to the tapped point in order to be filled.
Lower tolerance = only pixels very close to tapped point’s color will fill
Higher tolerance = more variance allowed in color to fill
To change tolerance, go to the Procreate tool settings menu and adjust the Tolerance slider. For most uses, a tolerance between 10-20% works well. Test on your image to get the right setting.
Filling Enclosed Shapes
The most basic way to use the paint bucket is to fill enclosed shapes with color. Simply tap anywhere inside an enclosed area and it will automatically fill with the selected paint bucket color.
This is useful for quickly coloring line art, filling backgrounds, blocking in color zones, and more. It saves the hassle of manually painting inside the lines.
A few tips when filling shapes:
– If you have gaps in your line art, increase the Tolerance so the paint flows through small gaps.
– Lower the Tolerance if it’s filling too far outside your lines.
– Use different Layer Modes like Multiply to fill non-destructively.
Replacing Colors
The paint bucket in Procreate has a very handy feature – the ability to replace existing colors. This makes it easy to quickly change colors in your artwork.
To use this, enable the “Replace” option in the tool settings menu.
Now when you tap with the paint bucket on a color, it will replace all adjacent pixels of that same color with the new paint bucket color.
This is extremely useful for changing clothes, skin tones, or any other colored regions in your art.
Tips for Better Control
Here are some tips to help you gain more control and precision when using the paint bucket:
– Use layers – Fill on separate layers above your line art to avoid accidentally spilling over lines
– Lower the Tolerance – This makes the paint fill less areas. You can also temporarily lower it just for tricky spots.
– Use Layer Modes – Multiply mode lets you fill non-destructively and edit later if needed.
– Undo – Don’t be afraid to use undo (shake device) and redo (two finger tap) to fix any accidental fills.
– Zoom in – Zooming in helps you tap precisely inside the desired areas you want to fill.
Common Issues
Here are some common issues people run into with the paint bucket and how to fix them:
Problem: It’s not filling anything when I tap
- Make sure Tolerance is not set to 0% – try increasing it
- Check that the area is fully enclosed – any gaps in lines will stop the fill
- Tap precisely inside the shape – tapping outside won’t trigger the fill
Problem: It’s filling outside the lines
- Lower the Tolerance so it fills less freely
- Use a layer above the line art and fill on that
- Check for gaps in the lines that allow the paint to escape
Problem: It fills the entire layer or canvas
- Lower the Tolerance a lot (try 1-5%)
- Make sure you’re tapping inside an enclosed shape
- Use a new layer above your line art to contain the fill
Filling with Patterns
You can also fill shapes with patterns using the paint bucket tool. This automatically tiles a pattern to fill the shape with a repeating design.
To do this:
1. Select a patterned brush like the Textures, Hatching, or Paintbrush brushes.
2. Choose the color you want the pattern to be.
3. Enable the Pattern Fill option in the tool settings.
4. Tap inside a shape to fill it with the patterned brush.
This creates some really interesting artistic effects!
Conclusion
The paint bucket tool is an indispensable time-saving feature in Procreate. With a tap, you can instantly fill shapes, swap colors, and apply patterns. Mastering its Tolerance setting gives you precise control over the fill effect. Use layers, zooming, and undo to maintain accuracy. With a bit of practice, you’ll be able to leverage the paint bucket to speed up your Procreate artwork!
| Advantage | Disadvantage |
|---|---|
| Quickly fills large areas | Can accidentally spill outside lines |
| Replaces colors easily | May not work well with complex shapes |
| Saves time on filling backgrounds | Lower control than manual painting |