How to Color Lineart in Procreate

2026-06-25

You've inked clean lineart — now bring it to life with color. Procreate has a few features that make coloring fast and tidy: ColorDrop, the Reference layer, and good layer order. This guide walks through coloring lineart in Procreate, from flatting base colors to shading, without color bleeding over your lines.

The golden rule: color under the lines

Always put color on a layer beneath your lineart. With the ink layer on top, you can color freely underneath and your lines stay crisp and visible. This one habit prevents most coloring headaches. New to layers? See Procreate layers explained.

1. Close any gaps in your lineart

ColorDrop floods an area until it hits a line. If your lineart has open gaps, the color escapes and floods everything. Zoom in and close gaps first — clean closed lineart is the foundation of easy coloring. (This is why tidy lineart matters.)

2. Use the Reference layer for fast flatting

Here's the key trick: tap your lineart layer and set it as Reference. Now make a new layer below it and ColorDrop there — Procreate reads the lines from the reference layer but lays the color on the layer below. You get clean fills under the lines without coloring on the lineart itself. This is the fastest way to flat a drawing.

3. Flat your base colors

Flatting means filling each area with its flat base color. Drag the color chip onto an enclosed area to ColorDrop it; adjust the ColorDrop threshold (slide left/right after dropping) so the fill reaches the edges without spilling. Put major elements on their own layers (skin, clothing, background) so you can adjust each separately.

4. Fix little white edges

If a thin halo of white shows between the color and the line, raise the ColorDrop threshold, or after filling use Select → the area and grow it slightly, or stroke the edge with the same color. Coloring a touch under the line edge hides gaps.

5. Shade and add light

Add shading on new layers above the flats, clipped to each base color (or using Alpha Lock) so it stays inside the shape. Use a soft brush for gradients or a hard brush for cel-style shadows. For painted shading techniques, see how to paint in Procreate.

6. Optional: color your lines

Flat black lineart can feel harsh. Lock the lineart layer (Alpha Lock) and tint the lines a dark version of the colors near them — warm browns in skin areas, deep blues in shadow. Subtle line tinting makes coloring feel integrated.

Brushes and next steps

Coloring needs only flat fills and a soft brush — grab them from the painting or free brushsets. Make sure your lines are crisp first with the inking workflow, or apply this to a coloring page.

Frequently Asked Questions

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How do you color lineart in Procreate?

Put color on a layer beneath your lineart, set the lineart layer as the Reference layer, then ColorDrop your flat colors on the layer below — Procreate reads the lines but fills underneath. Adjust the ColorDrop threshold so fills reach the edges, then shade on clipped layers above the flats.

What is the Reference layer in Procreate?

Setting a layer as Reference lets ColorDrop and fills read that layer's lines while applying color to a different layer below it. It's the key to fast flatting: you keep your lineart untouched on top and drop clean base colors underneath without coloring on the lines.

Why does ColorDrop flood my whole layer?

Because the lineart has an open gap, so the color escapes the area. Zoom in and close any gaps in your lines before coloring. Clean, fully closed lineart is what keeps ColorDrop contained to the area you want to fill.

How do I get rid of the white gap between color and lines?

Raise the ColorDrop threshold so the fill reaches under the line edge, or after filling, grow the selection slightly and refill. Coloring a touch under the lineart rather than exactly to its edge hides the thin white halo.