How to Fill in Illustrator

In the following tutorial, you will learn everything you need to know about the Illustrator fill tools.

Once you learn how to fill with color in Illustrator, you can head over to Envato Elements, where you can get unlimited downloads of stock videos, music, graphics, photos, fonts, and more.

What You'll Learn in This Tutorial

How to fill with color in Illustrator
How to fill a shape in Illustrator

1. How to Fill in Illustrator

Select (V) the shape that you wish to fill with a color and focus on the color settings from your Toolbar. Select the fill color box and then double-click it to open the Color Picker window. Just set the color that you need, and then click OK or press Enter to fill your selected shape.

2. How to Fill a Shape in Illustrator Using Panels

Several panels can be used to fill a shape in Illustrator.

Step 1

First, you have the Control panel (Window > Control). Click the Fill color box to open the Swatches fly-out panel or hold down the Shift key as you click the Fill color box to open the Color fly-out panel.

Step 2

Go to Window > Color and Window > Swatches whenever you wish to open these standalone panels and use them to change the fill color in Illustrator.

Step 3

Next, there's the Appearance panel (Window > Appearance) which is similar to the Control panel. Click the Fill color box to open the Swatches fly-out panel or hold down the Shift key as you click the Fill color box to open the Color fly-out panel.

Step 4

Finally, you have the Properties panel (Window > Properties). Click the Fill color box and use the top buttons to easily toggle between the Color and the Swatches panels.

Congratulations! You're Done!

Now that you've learned how to fill a color in Illustrator, feel free to use these techniques in your future projects.

You can find some great sources of inspiration at Envato Elements, with interesting solutions to improve your design portfolio.

Want to Learn More?

We have loads of tutorials on Envato Tuts+, from beginner to intermediate level. Take a look!

Note: This tutorial was written with the aid of an artificial intelligence tool. It has been thoroughly edited and checked for accuracy by the Envato Tuts+ editorial team.