How to Fill Color in Illustrator on PC or Mac

This wikiHow teaches you how to fill an object with color in Adobe Illustrator.

Steps

  1. Image titled Fill Color in Illustrator on PC or Mac Step 1
    1
    Open Adobe Illustrator for Windows or macOS. You’ll find it in the All Apps area of the Start menu on Windows, and on the Launchpad in macOS.
  2. Image titled Fill Color in Illustrator on PC or Mac Step 2
    2
    Open the file with the object you want to fill. To open a file, click the File menu at the top-left corner of the screen, select Open, then double-click the file.
  3. Image titled Fill Color in Illustrator on PC or Mac Step 3
    3
    Click the selection tool. It’s the first icon in the left toolbar. It looks like an outline of an arrow/cursor.
  4. Image titled Fill Color in Illustrator on PC or Mac Step 4
    4
    Select the object you want to fill. This shows the object’s path and displays additional options at the top of Illustrator.
    • If you don’t see a toolbar at the top of Illustrator, click the down-arrow to the left of the search bar at the top-right corner of the app, then select Painting.
  5. Image titled Fill Color in Illustrator on PC or Mac Step 5
    5
    Click the down-arrow next to the fill tool. It’s the square in the top toolbar, toward the left side of the menu. If there’s no color in the selected object, the square is white with a red slash through it. This opens a color palette.
    • The fill box may be on the right side of the app in some versions of Illustrator.
  6. Image titled Fill Color in Illustrator on PC or Mac Step 6
    6
    Select a fill color. As you browse through colors, the fill color of the object will change. Keep clicking colors until you find the right one.

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About This Article

Nicole Levine, MFA
Written by:
Nicole Levine, MFA
Tech Specialist
This article was written by Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions. This article has been viewed 10,068 times.
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Co-authors: 1
Updated: June 6, 2018
Views: 10,068
Categories: Adobe Illustrator
Article SummaryX

1. Open Illustrator.
2. Open a file with an object.
3. Click the selection tool.
4. Select the object.
5. Click the down-arrow next to the fill tool.
6. Click a color.

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