How to Make a Palette in Procreate
Learning how to make a palette in Procreate can speed up your workflow and improve color consistency across illustrations, lettering, portraits, and design projects.
The process is simple, but the real value comes from knowing how to build palettes that match your style and save time on future work.
What a Procreate Palette Is
A Procreate palette is a saved group of colors you can reuse inside the app.
Instead of rebuilding color choices for every canvas, you can keep swatches organized by project, brand, season, or subject matter.
Procreate supports palettes in the Colors panel, where you can switch between disc, classic, harmony, value, and palettes views.
A custom palette is especially useful if you often work with the same skin tones, background colors, brand colors, or lighting references.
How to Make a Palette in Procreate
To create a new palette, open your canvas and tap the color circle in the top-right corner.
Then tap Palettes in the color picker.
- Tap the + icon in the upper-right area of the Palettes panel.
- Select Create New Palette.
- A blank palette appears with a default name.
- Tap the palette name to rename it if needed.
Once the palette exists, you can begin adding colors manually.
Choose a color in the color wheel, then tap an empty square in the palette to save it.
Repeat this for every color you want in the set.
Three Ways to Add Colors to a Procreate Palette
Procreate gives you several ways to build a palette, and each one works best for different situations.
Add colors manually
This method gives you the most control.
Pick each color from the wheel, then save it to the palette.
Manual creation works well when you are designing a brand palette, building a character color set, or selecting tones by eye.
Create a palette from an image
If you already have a reference photo, you can generate a palette from it.
Open the image in Procreate or import it onto your canvas, then use the palette options to create colors from the image.
This is useful for landscape studies, fashion palettes, interior inspiration, and seasonal color groups.
Copy colors from existing artwork
You can sample colors from previous illustrations and save them into a new palette.
This helps when you want to reuse a proven color system from an earlier project without rebuilding it from scratch.
Where to Store and View Palettes
Procreate lets you keep palettes either in the device’s default collection or inside specific palettes groups depending on how you create and manage them.
Your saved palettes remain available across canvases, so you can move between projects without losing consistent color choices.
To find a palette later, open the color picker and go to Palettes.
Scroll through your saved sets and tap the one you want to activate.
How to Organize Procreate Palettes for Faster Workflow
A well-made palette is only useful if it is easy to find.
Good organization reduces decision fatigue and keeps your color workflow efficient.
- Name palettes clearly: Use project names, client names, seasonal labels, or subject-based names such as “Portrait Skin Tones” or “Autumn Muted.”
- Group by purpose: Keep separate palettes for brands, illustrations, brushes, or recurring commissions.
- Limit unnecessary colors: A smaller palette is often more usable than a crowded one.
- Include light, mid, and dark tones: Balanced value ranges make shading and highlighting easier.
- Review palettes regularly: Remove colors you no longer use so your library stays clean.
Best Practices for Building Useful Color Palettes
Knowing how to make a palette in Procreate is only the first step.
The real goal is to create a palette that supports the way you draw.
Start with a clear purpose.
A palette for children’s illustration usually needs brighter, friendlier hues, while a palette for editorial art may benefit from muted, sophisticated tones.
If you work on portraits, include believable skin tones, blush tones, shadows, and warm and cool variations.
Try to include enough contrast between colors so your artwork does not become flat.
A balanced palette usually has:
- one or two base neutrals
- several midtones for main shapes
- darker shades for depth and shadow
- lighter values for highlights and accents
You can also test a palette directly on a drawing.
Fill a small study with the colors and see whether the combination feels cohesive before using it on a larger illustration.
How to Edit or Delete a Palette in Procreate
Palettes are easy to adjust after creation.
Open the Palettes tab, then tap the palette you want to edit.
You can remove colors one by one, replace colors, or delete the entire palette if it is no longer needed.
If you are refining a brand palette or a recurring art style, update the set as your visual identity evolves.
Small adjustments often make a palette more practical than starting over from zero.
How to Export a Procreate Palette
Exporting a palette is useful when you want to share colors between devices or send them to another designer.
In the Palettes panel, tap the palette and look for the share or export option.
Procreate typically allows you to export palettes as .swatches files.
Once exported, you can save the file to Files, AirDrop it, or share it through cloud storage.
This is especially helpful for collaborative work, client approval, or backup purposes.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Many artists create palettes that look attractive but are difficult to use in practice.
Avoid these common problems:
- Too many similar colors: Duplicates make a palette harder to scan quickly.
- No value range: Without dark and light options, shading becomes limited.
- Unclear naming: Generic names like “Palette 1” slow down future use.
- Overly large palettes: Too many swatches can make selection slower, not faster.
- Ignoring the artwork context: A palette should match the subject, mood, and medium of the project.
When to Make Multiple Palettes
One palette does not need to serve every purpose.
Many Procreate users keep separate sets for different workflows, such as:
- character design
- portraits
- landscapes
- branding
- seasonal art
- comic panels
- monochrome studies
Creating multiple palettes helps you work faster because each set is tailored to a specific type of art.
This is particularly useful if you frequently switch between client projects and personal work.
Why Custom Palettes Improve Digital Art Workflow
Custom Procreate palettes reduce repetition, improve color consistency, and help you stay focused on composition and storytelling instead of constantly searching for the right hue.
They are also valuable for developing a recognizable style, since repeated color decisions create visual continuity across your work.
If you often revisit the same subjects or design systems, palette creation becomes one of the simplest ways to make your Procreate workflow more efficient and more professional.
