To change the ColorDrop threshold in Procreate, drag your active color from the top-right dot onto the shape you want to fill, and keep your finger or Apple Pencil on the screen after the color floods in. A blue bar with a percentage appears along the top of the canvas. Slide left to lower the threshold and fill less, or right to raise it and fill more, then lift to commit. Procreate remembers the last value you used, so check it again before your next fill.

What the ColorDrop threshold actually does

ColorDrop works like a bucket fill. It spreads color outward from the point where you drop it and stops when it hits an edge, such as a line, a different color, or the canvas boundary. The threshold sets how tolerant that edge detection is.

• Low threshold: the fill stays tight to the nearest boundary. It is good for clean line art, but it can leave a halo of unfilled pixels around anti-aliased edges.
• High threshold: the fill pushes into the outline and can leak into neighboring areas, up to flooding the whole canvas.

Most problems with ColorDrop are really threshold problems. If the fill covers the whole canvas, the value is too high or your lines have a gap. If nothing visible happens, the value is probably too low for the softness of your edges.

Step-by-step: how to change the threshold

1. Select the color you want. ColorDrop uses your active color, shown in the dot at the top right of the interface.
2. Drag the color onto the canvas. Pull it from the dot into the closed shape you want to fill.
3. Do not lift yet. Keep contact with the screen while the color floods in.
4. Wait for the blue bar. A thin blue bar appears across the top of the canvas with a percentage reading. That is the threshold.
5. Slide left or right. Moving left reduces the threshold and moving right increases it. You can slide from anywhere on the screen, and you do not need to touch the bar itself.
6. Lift to commit. The fill is applied at the value you stopped on.

Swipe quickly for big jumps and slowly for fine adjustments. If you land between two values, you can slide back and forth without lifting until the fill looks right.

A common mistake: breaking contact

The adjustment only works while contact is continuous. If you lift, tap with a second finger, or use a finger on the screen while the Pencil holds the color, the bar may never activate. Use just one input, either a finger or the Pencil, and keep it down from the moment you drag the color until you are happy with the fill.

Set the threshold for the kind of artwork you're filling

There is no single correct value. It depends on how your edges were made.

• Hard-edged, aliased linework: a low value usually works, and it keeps fills precise.
• Soft or anti-aliased lines: a moderate value helps the fill reach into the semi-transparent edge pixels, so you don't get a light fringe between fill and line.
• Textured or sketchy lines: a higher value is tempting, but it increases the risk of leaks. It is often better to close the gaps first and then use a modest threshold.
• Flat color shapes next to each other: because ColorDrop treats a different color as a boundary, a low-to-moderate value generally works well for refills and color swaps.

A practical routine is to start low, then raise the value in small steps until the fill meets the line without crossing it. Then zoom in and check the edges.

Fix the most common ColorDrop problems

The color floods the whole canvas

Check these in order:

1. Look for gaps in your outline. Even a small break lets the fill escape. Zoom in on the shape and close any openings with a brush.
2. Lower the threshold. A value left high from a previous fill is a frequent cause, because Procreate remembers it.
3. Check for a Reference layer. If a layer is set as Reference, ColorDrop reads from it instead of from the layer you're filling. Open the Layers panel and turn Reference off on any layer you didn't mean to designate.
4. Confirm you're on the right layer. By default the shape you're filling must be on the same layer as the fill.

The bar won't move or stays stuck at 0% or 100%

• Re-do the gesture with one finger or Pencil and no interruption.
• Make sure you're using ColorDrop, not the Selection tool or the Recolor option in Adjustments. They look similar in effect but have different controls.
• Check available storage. Very low free space on the iPad can cause odd behavior in apps.
• Restart Procreate or the iPad, and update the app if you're behind. Threshold bugs have been reported after updates in the past, and they sometimes resolve on their own or in a later release.

Nothing fills, or it fills only a sliver

Your threshold is probably too low for the edge softness, or the area you dropped onto is a different color than you expect. Raise the value gradually, and check that you released the color inside the shape rather than on the line itself.

Fill on a separate layer with a Reference layer

For non-destructive work, keep your line art on its own layer and fill on another:

1. Open the Layers panel and tap the thumbnail of your line art layer.
2. Choose Reference from the options menu.
3. Select a blank layer beneath it and use ColorDrop as usual.

The fill now follows the shapes in the Reference layer while landing on the layer you're working on. The threshold gesture is the same. This setup is helpful if you want to recolor or delete fills without touching the lines. Just remember to turn Reference off on layers when you no longer need it, because a forgotten Reference layer is a classic cause of unexpected fills.

Why this matters for motion and VFX work

Procreate artwork is often brought into compositing or 3D pipelines. Designers sketch style frames, boards, character designs, matte elements, and texture passes on an iPad, then move them into other software. In that handoff, clean fills matter:

• Fringing shows up in motion. A light halo around a shape that looks fine as a still can flicker or glow once it's scaled, tracked, or composited over a dark background. Tuning the threshold to reach the anti-aliased edge reduces this.
• Layer discipline pays off later. Keeping line art and color on separate layers, using the Reference approach, makes it easier to rebuild or recolor elements later in your compositing software.
• Consistency across frames. If you're filling a sequence of drawings, a remembered threshold can quietly change the result between frames. Check the value at the start of each session.

Quick reference

Final tips

• Re-check the threshold at the start of each session, since Procreate keeps the last value.
• Zoom to 200% or more before judging edge quality.
• Close gaps before raising the threshold to compensate for them.
• Keep lines and fills on separate layers whenever the artwork is headed to a compositing pipeline.

With a steady hold, a sensible starting value, and closed linework, the threshold becomes a quick, predictable adjustment rather than a source of frustration.

To change the ColorDrop threshold in Procreate, drag your active color from the top-right dot onto the shape you want to fill, and keep your finger or Apple Pencil on the screen after the color floods in. A blue bar with a percentage appears along the top of the canvas. Slide left to lower the threshold and fill less, or right to raise it and fill more, then lift to commit. Procreate remembers the last value you used, so check it again before your next fill.

What the ColorDrop threshold actually does

ColorDrop works like a bucket fill. It spreads color outward from the point where you drop it and stops when it hits an edge, such as a line, a different color, or the canvas boundary. The threshold sets how tolerant that edge detection is.

• Low threshold: the fill stays tight to the nearest boundary. It is good for clean line art, but it can leave a halo of unfilled pixels around anti-aliased edges.
• High threshold: the fill pushes into the outline and can leak into neighboring areas, up to flooding the whole canvas.

Most problems with ColorDrop are really threshold problems. If the fill covers the whole canvas, the value is too high or your lines have a gap. If nothing visible happens, the value is probably too low for the softness of your edges.

Step-by-step: how to change the threshold

1. Select the color you want. ColorDrop uses your active color, shown in the dot at the top right of the interface.
2. Drag the color onto the canvas. Pull it from the dot into the closed shape you want to fill.
3. Do not lift yet. Keep contact with the screen while the color floods in.
4. Wait for the blue bar. A thin blue bar appears across the top of the canvas with a percentage reading. That is the threshold.
5. Slide left or right. Moving left reduces the threshold and moving right increases it. You can slide from anywhere on the screen, and you do not need to touch the bar itself.
6. Lift to commit. The fill is applied at the value you stopped on.

Swipe quickly for big jumps and slowly for fine adjustments. If you land between two values, you can slide back and forth without lifting until the fill looks right.

A common mistake: breaking contact

The adjustment only works while contact is continuous. If you lift, tap with a second finger, or use a finger on the screen while the Pencil holds the color, the bar may never activate. Use just one input, either a finger or the Pencil, and keep it down from the moment you drag the color until you are happy with the fill.

Set the threshold for the kind of artwork you're filling

There is no single correct value. It depends on how your edges were made.

• Hard-edged, aliased linework: a low value usually works, and it keeps fills precise.
• Soft or anti-aliased lines: a moderate value helps the fill reach into the semi-transparent edge pixels, so you don't get a light fringe between fill and line.
• Textured or sketchy lines: a higher value is tempting, but it increases the risk of leaks. It is often better to close the gaps first and then use a modest threshold.
• Flat color shapes next to each other: because ColorDrop treats a different color as a boundary, a low-to-moderate value generally works well for refills and color swaps.

A practical routine is to start low, then raise the value in small steps until the fill meets the line without crossing it. Then zoom in and check the edges.

Fix the most common ColorDrop problems

The color floods the whole canvas

Check these in order:

1. Look for gaps in your outline. Even a small break lets the fill escape. Zoom in on the shape and close any openings with a brush.
2. Lower the threshold. A value left high from a previous fill is a frequent cause, because Procreate remembers it.
3. Check for a Reference layer. If a layer is set as Reference, ColorDrop reads from it instead of from the layer you're filling. Open the Layers panel and turn Reference off on any layer you didn't mean to designate.
4. Confirm you're on the right layer. By default the shape you're filling must be on the same layer as the fill.

The bar won't move or stays stuck at 0% or 100%

• Re-do the gesture with one finger or Pencil and no interruption.
• Make sure you're using ColorDrop, not the Selection tool or the Recolor option in Adjustments. They look similar in effect but have different controls.
• Check available storage. Very low free space on the iPad can cause odd behavior in apps.
• Restart Procreate or the iPad, and update the app if you're behind. Threshold bugs have been reported after updates in the past, and they sometimes resolve on their own or in a later release.

Nothing fills, or it fills only a sliver

Your threshold is probably too low for the edge softness, or the area you dropped onto is a different color than you expect. Raise the value gradually, and check that you released the color inside the shape rather than on the line itself.

Fill on a separate layer with a Reference layer

For non-destructive work, keep your line art on its own layer and fill on another:

1. Open the Layers panel and tap the thumbnail of your line art layer.
2. Choose Reference from the options menu.
3. Select a blank layer beneath it and use ColorDrop as usual.

The fill now follows the shapes in the Reference layer while landing on the layer you're working on. The threshold gesture is the same. This setup is helpful if you want to recolor or delete fills without touching the lines. Just remember to turn Reference off on layers when you no longer need it, because a forgotten Reference layer is a classic cause of unexpected fills.

Why this matters for motion and VFX work

Procreate artwork is often brought into compositing or 3D pipelines. Designers sketch style frames, boards, character designs, matte elements, and texture passes on an iPad, then move them into other software. In that handoff, clean fills matter:

• Fringing shows up in motion. A light halo around a shape that looks fine as a still can flicker or glow once it's scaled, tracked, or composited over a dark background. Tuning the threshold to reach the anti-aliased edge reduces this.
• Layer discipline pays off later. Keeping line art and color on separate layers, using the Reference approach, makes it easier to rebuild or recolor elements later in your compositing software.
• Consistency across frames. If you're filling a sequence of drawings, a remembered threshold can quietly change the result between frames. Check the value at the start of each session.

Quick reference

Final tips

• Re-check the threshold at the start of each session, since Procreate keeps the last value.
• Zoom to 200% or more before judging edge quality.
• Close gaps before raising the threshold to compensate for them.
• Keep lines and fills on separate layers whenever the artwork is headed to a compositing pipeline.

With a steady hold, a sensible starting value, and closed linework, the threshold becomes a quick, predictable adjustment rather than a source of frustration.