To change hue in Procreate, select the layer you want to recolor, tap the Adjustments icon (the magic wand), choose Hue, Saturation, Brightness, and drag the Hue slider until the color looks right. Tap the Adjustments icon again to commit the change. You can apply it to the whole layer or switch to Pencil mode to shift hue only where you paint. If you need to rebuild a look across many frames or shots, a motion tool like Styleframe can help carry that color decision into motion.

Change Hue on a Whole Layer

Layer mode is the default and the fastest route. It shifts every pixel on the active layer, so it works best when each color element lives on its own layer.

1. Tap the layer you want to change in the Layers panel.
2. Tap the Adjustments icon (magic wand) in the top bar.
3. Select Hue, Saturation, Brightness.
4. Make sure Layer is selected.
5. Drag the Hue slider left or right. The slider is a full spectrum, so everything on the layer rotates around the color wheel together.
6. Tap the Adjustments icon again to commit and exit.

If you want to keep working inside the tool, tap the canvas to bring up Adjustment Actions, then tap Apply. That commits the change but leaves the sliders available for another pass.

Use Saturation and Brightness Alongside Hue

Hue rarely works alone. Rotating a skin tone or a shadow color often leaves it looking duller or lighter than the surrounding art. Adjust Saturation and Brightness in the same session so you don't commit several times and degrade the result. The Handbook describes Hue as the overall color tone, Saturation as strength from gray to vivid, and Brightness as overall lightness.

Change Hue on Only Part of a Layer

Layer mode affects everything on the layer. If you want a more targeted result, you have three options.

Pencil Mode

In the Hue, Saturation, Brightness screen, switch from Layer to Pencil. Nothing changes until you paint on the canvas. Whatever you paint, erase, or smudge picks up the current slider settings. This is useful for shifting one highlight or recoloring a single object that shares a layer with others. Choose a soft brush for gradual blends and a hard brush for crisp edges.

Make a Selection First

Use the Selection tool to isolate the area, then open Adjustments. The hue shift applies only inside the selection. Feather the selection edge if you want to avoid a visible seam.

Use Alpha Lock

Swipe right with two fingers on a layer to turn on Alpha Lock. Transparent areas are protected, so any recoloring stays inside the painted shapes. This pairs well with painting a new color directly over existing strokes.

Change Hue Without Altering Pixels

Adjustments are destructive once committed. If you want flexibility, use a layer-based approach instead.

1. Create a new layer directly above the one you want to recolor.
2. Tap the new layer and choose Clipping Mask.
3. Set its blend mode to Color.
4. Paint with the hue you want.

The Color blend mode lets you recolor the layer below without touching its pixels. You can delete, recolor, or lower the opacity of the clipped layer at any time. Other blend modes give different results, so try a few.

For a fast safety net, duplicate the layer before running Hue, Saturation, Brightness and hide the original.

Choose Hue Before You Paint

If you are picking a color rather than fixing one, open the Color Picker from the circle in the top-right corner. Several views are available:

• Disc: drag around the ring to choose a hue, then set saturation and brightness in the center.
• Classic: separate sliders for hue, saturation, and brightness.
• Harmony: complementary and other related schemes.
• Value: enter exact HSB, RGB, or hex values.
• Palettes: saved swatches for consistency.

To flood an area with a new color, drag the color circle into the shape (Color Drop). Hold and slide before releasing to set the fill threshold.

When Hue Alone Is Not Enough

A hue shift moves every color by the same amount. That can look wrong when you only want one color family to change. Two other Procreate tools help:

• Color Balance: push shadows, midtones, or highlights toward red, green, blue, or their opposites cyan, magenta, yellow. The Handbook recommends midtones for even adjustments.
• Curves: adjust color and tonal balance on a graph.

Use these when the hue slider produces a result that feels flat or muddy. Small corrections in Color Balance often do more for mood than a large rotation of hue.

Common Problems

• Nothing seems to change: check that the right layer is active and that you are not in Pencil mode without painting.
• Colors look dull after the shift: raise Saturation slightly, or adjust Brightness to compensate.
• Hue changed on the wrong elements: the elements share a layer. Separate them in advance, or use a selection or Pencil mode.
• You committed and want to undo: use Undo, or restore the duplicate you saved.

A good habit is to keep separate elements on separate layers so hue changes stay local.

Taking a Procreate Color Decision Into a Motion Pipeline

Some motion designers use Procreate for style frames, character art, and texture work, then move the files into compositing or 3D tools. Hue decisions made on a still often need to survive into animation, where you may need dozens of frames or several shots in the same palette.

Procreate's hue adjustment is a still-image tool, so the practical approach is to finalize colors on clean layers, export them, and do shot-level grading in your compositor. The same logic you used in Procreate applies there: rotate hue, then correct saturation and value.

Styleframe fits in when the still has to become motion, letting you carry a recolored Procreate frame forward as a reference. You keep your existing pipeline and use Styleframe for the generative step.

Quick Reference

Final Tips

• Separate elements onto their own layers before you start.
• Duplicate the layer before committing a destructive adjustment.
• Make Hue, Saturation, and Brightness changes in one pass.
• Use a clipped Color layer when the client might change their mind.
• Export clean layers so your compositor can regrade without redrawing.

Changing hue in Procreate takes a few taps, and the real skill is choosing the right scope: whole layer, painted region, or a non-destructive overlay. Pick the method that keeps your options open, then carry the palette forward into motion with the same level of control.

To change hue in Procreate, select the layer you want to recolor, tap the Adjustments icon (the magic wand), choose Hue, Saturation, Brightness, and drag the Hue slider until the color looks right. Tap the Adjustments icon again to commit the change. You can apply it to the whole layer or switch to Pencil mode to shift hue only where you paint. If you need to rebuild a look across many frames or shots, a motion tool like Styleframe can help carry that color decision into motion.

Change Hue on a Whole Layer

Layer mode is the default and the fastest route. It shifts every pixel on the active layer, so it works best when each color element lives on its own layer.

1. Tap the layer you want to change in the Layers panel.
2. Tap the Adjustments icon (magic wand) in the top bar.
3. Select Hue, Saturation, Brightness.
4. Make sure Layer is selected.
5. Drag the Hue slider left or right. The slider is a full spectrum, so everything on the layer rotates around the color wheel together.
6. Tap the Adjustments icon again to commit and exit.

If you want to keep working inside the tool, tap the canvas to bring up Adjustment Actions, then tap Apply. That commits the change but leaves the sliders available for another pass.

Use Saturation and Brightness Alongside Hue

Hue rarely works alone. Rotating a skin tone or a shadow color often leaves it looking duller or lighter than the surrounding art. Adjust Saturation and Brightness in the same session so you don't commit several times and degrade the result. The Handbook describes Hue as the overall color tone, Saturation as strength from gray to vivid, and Brightness as overall lightness.

Change Hue on Only Part of a Layer

Layer mode affects everything on the layer. If you want a more targeted result, you have three options.

Pencil Mode

In the Hue, Saturation, Brightness screen, switch from Layer to Pencil. Nothing changes until you paint on the canvas. Whatever you paint, erase, or smudge picks up the current slider settings. This is useful for shifting one highlight or recoloring a single object that shares a layer with others. Choose a soft brush for gradual blends and a hard brush for crisp edges.

Make a Selection First

Use the Selection tool to isolate the area, then open Adjustments. The hue shift applies only inside the selection. Feather the selection edge if you want to avoid a visible seam.

Use Alpha Lock

Swipe right with two fingers on a layer to turn on Alpha Lock. Transparent areas are protected, so any recoloring stays inside the painted shapes. This pairs well with painting a new color directly over existing strokes.

Change Hue Without Altering Pixels

Adjustments are destructive once committed. If you want flexibility, use a layer-based approach instead.

1. Create a new layer directly above the one you want to recolor.
2. Tap the new layer and choose Clipping Mask.
3. Set its blend mode to Color.
4. Paint with the hue you want.

The Color blend mode lets you recolor the layer below without touching its pixels. You can delete, recolor, or lower the opacity of the clipped layer at any time. Other blend modes give different results, so try a few.

For a fast safety net, duplicate the layer before running Hue, Saturation, Brightness and hide the original.

Choose Hue Before You Paint

If you are picking a color rather than fixing one, open the Color Picker from the circle in the top-right corner. Several views are available:

• Disc: drag around the ring to choose a hue, then set saturation and brightness in the center.
• Classic: separate sliders for hue, saturation, and brightness.
• Harmony: complementary and other related schemes.
• Value: enter exact HSB, RGB, or hex values.
• Palettes: saved swatches for consistency.

To flood an area with a new color, drag the color circle into the shape (Color Drop). Hold and slide before releasing to set the fill threshold.

When Hue Alone Is Not Enough

A hue shift moves every color by the same amount. That can look wrong when you only want one color family to change. Two other Procreate tools help:

• Color Balance: push shadows, midtones, or highlights toward red, green, blue, or their opposites cyan, magenta, yellow. The Handbook recommends midtones for even adjustments.
• Curves: adjust color and tonal balance on a graph.

Use these when the hue slider produces a result that feels flat or muddy. Small corrections in Color Balance often do more for mood than a large rotation of hue.

Common Problems

• Nothing seems to change: check that the right layer is active and that you are not in Pencil mode without painting.
• Colors look dull after the shift: raise Saturation slightly, or adjust Brightness to compensate.
• Hue changed on the wrong elements: the elements share a layer. Separate them in advance, or use a selection or Pencil mode.
• You committed and want to undo: use Undo, or restore the duplicate you saved.

A good habit is to keep separate elements on separate layers so hue changes stay local.

Taking a Procreate Color Decision Into a Motion Pipeline

Some motion designers use Procreate for style frames, character art, and texture work, then move the files into compositing or 3D tools. Hue decisions made on a still often need to survive into animation, where you may need dozens of frames or several shots in the same palette.

Procreate's hue adjustment is a still-image tool, so the practical approach is to finalize colors on clean layers, export them, and do shot-level grading in your compositor. The same logic you used in Procreate applies there: rotate hue, then correct saturation and value.

Styleframe fits in when the still has to become motion, letting you carry a recolored Procreate frame forward as a reference. You keep your existing pipeline and use Styleframe for the generative step.

Quick Reference

Final Tips

• Separate elements onto their own layers before you start.
• Duplicate the layer before committing a destructive adjustment.
• Make Hue, Saturation, and Brightness changes in one pass.
• Use a clipped Color layer when the client might change their mind.
• Export clean layers so your compositor can regrade without redrawing.

Changing hue in Procreate takes a few taps, and the real skill is choosing the right scope: whole layer, painted region, or a non-destructive overlay. Pick the method that keeps your options open, then carry the palette forward into motion with the same level of control.