To color text in Procreate, tap the text layer, tap the text itself to enter edit mode, double-tap a word and choose Select All, then pick a color from the color circle in the top-right corner. If the text has already been rasterized, turn on Alpha Lock for that layer and fill it with Color Drop, or place a clipped layer above it. The most common reason color "won't change" is that the layer is selected but the text inside it is not.

Why Procreate text color seems to not work

Procreate treats a text layer as live, editable type until you rasterize it. Live text carries a small "A" icon in the Layers panel. While that icon is present, you can change the wording, font, and color. Once the layer is rasterized, it becomes ordinary pixels and the color has to be changed with painting tools.

Two behaviors cause most confusion:

• Choosing a color first only affects new text. If you pick a color and then create a new text layer, the new text uses that color. If you pick a color and then open an existing text layer, the color picker simply shows that text's current color. Nothing recolors until you select the text itself.
• Selecting a layer is not selecting text. Highlighting the layer in the Layers panel does not select the characters. You have to enter edit mode and highlight the characters you want to change.

Keep these in mind and most "stuck color" problems resolve in seconds.

Method 1: Change color on live, editable text

This is the fastest method and the one to use while you're still iterating on type.

1. Tap the wrench icon to open Actions, choose Add, then Add Text. A text box appears on the canvas.
2. Type your text. If the layer already exists, select it in the Layers panel.
3. Tap the text with your Pencil or finger to enter edit mode (or choose Edit Text from the layer's options menu).
4. Double-tap a word to select it, then choose Select All to highlight everything in the box.
5. Open the color circle in the top-right corner.
6. Choose a color from the Disc, Classic, Harmony, Value, or Palettes tab.

The highlighted characters update as you adjust the color. Because the layer is still live type, you can come back later, change the wording, or swap the font without redoing the color.

Color individual words or letters

Highlighting only part of the text before opening the color picker applies the color to that selection alone. This is useful for emphasizing a single word in a title, or for building a quick two-tone lockup. Double-tap a word for a whole-word selection.

Set the color before you type

If you know the color in advance, choose it from the color circle first, then add a new text layer. The new text will use the active color. This is a small time saver when you're producing several text layers in the same color.

Method 2: Recolor rasterized text

Rasterizing converts text to pixels. You'll often do this deliberately, for example to apply brush texture. After that, the text color is no longer a text property, so use one of these approaches.

Alpha Lock plus fill

Alpha Lock restricts painting to pixels that already exist on the layer, so color only lands on the letterforms.

1. Select the rasterized text layer.
2. Enable Alpha Lock for that layer.
3. Drag the color from the top-right circle and drop it onto the text (Color Drop), or paint over it with a brush.

For a clean, uniform fill, Color Drop works well. If the fill leaves fringe at the edges, hold your Pencil in place after dropping and slide to adjust the fill threshold before lifting.

Clipping mask for gradients and textures

A clipping mask gives you more flexibility and keeps the recolor non-destructive.

1. Add a new layer directly above the text layer.
2. Tap the new layer and choose Clipping Mask. It now displays only where the layer below has pixels.
3. Fill or paint on the clipped layer with a solid color, a gradient, a texture, or a pattern.

You can swap the clipped layer's contents or delete it without touching the original letterforms. This approach also works on live text layers, so you don't have to rasterize first.

Blend modes for finishing

Set the clipped layer (or the text layer itself) to a blend mode to shift hue and tone while keeping the underlying shading. Treat it as a quick way to explore color directions, then commit to a final palette.

Choosing between methods

That last habit is worth adopting: duplicate before you rasterize. Rasterizing is a one-way step, and a hidden live copy costs almost nothing.

Troubleshooting common problems

The color changes on new text but not existing text. You're likely selecting the layer, not the characters. Enter edit mode, highlight the text, then choose a color.

The color picker shows a color but nothing changes. Check that the text is highlighted. If it isn't, the picker only sets the active color for future actions.

The "A" icon is gone and I can't edit the text. The layer has been rasterized. Use Alpha Lock or a clipping mask. If you have a duplicate or an older version, revert to that.

Color fills leave a halo around edges. Use Alpha Lock rather than selecting and filling, or adjust the Color Drop threshold. A clipping mask avoids the issue entirely because it follows the layer's alpha.

Taking Procreate lettering into a motion pipeline

Many motion designers sketch type treatments, logos, and title cards in Procreate before they ever open a timeline. A few habits make that handoff cleaner.

• Export with transparency. Hide the background layer and export in a format that supports transparency so the letterforms arrive with alpha intact. Consider a layered export if you want to keep clipped color layers separate and rebuild them in your compositing app.
• Keep the live text version. Procreate's type is fine for lettering studies, but for kinetic typography you'll usually want real, editable type in After Effects, where you can animate the text and match fonts to the project. Treat the Procreate version as a color and style reference.
• Name your layers. If you export a layered file, descriptive layer names (base, color, texture, highlight) save time when you hand the file off.
• Record your palette. Save the colors you used as a Procreate palette, and note the hex values so they match in your compositing and grading tools.

Where Styleframe fits for lettering and title design

If you're developing stylized title cards or lettering looks, Procreate is good for deciding what the type should feel like. Getting that look to move is a separate problem, and that's where an AI video and motion tool built around artistic control can help without replacing your compositing setup.

One boundary to keep in mind: for final, legible, editable titles, build the type natively in After Effects or your compositor. Use Procreate and Styleframe for look development and stylized motion elements, then composite real type where accuracy and revision flexibility matter.

Quick reference

• Live text: tap text, double-tap a word, Select All, open the color circle, choose a color.
• Partial recolor: highlight only the characters you want, then change the color.
• New text in a set color: choose the color first, then add the text layer.
• Rasterized text: Alpha Lock plus Color Drop, or a clipping mask layer above.
• Gradients and textures: clipping mask with your fill, optionally with a blend mode.
• Before rasterizing: duplicate the layer and hide the live copy.

Once you know that Procreate separates selecting a layer from selecting its text, recoloring becomes predictable. Keep type live as long as possible, use clipping masks when you want flexibility, and export with transparency when the work moves into a motion project.

To color text in Procreate, tap the text layer, tap the text itself to enter edit mode, double-tap a word and choose Select All, then pick a color from the color circle in the top-right corner. If the text has already been rasterized, turn on Alpha Lock for that layer and fill it with Color Drop, or place a clipped layer above it. The most common reason color "won't change" is that the layer is selected but the text inside it is not.

Why Procreate text color seems to not work

Procreate treats a text layer as live, editable type until you rasterize it. Live text carries a small "A" icon in the Layers panel. While that icon is present, you can change the wording, font, and color. Once the layer is rasterized, it becomes ordinary pixels and the color has to be changed with painting tools.

Two behaviors cause most confusion:

• Choosing a color first only affects new text. If you pick a color and then create a new text layer, the new text uses that color. If you pick a color and then open an existing text layer, the color picker simply shows that text's current color. Nothing recolors until you select the text itself.
• Selecting a layer is not selecting text. Highlighting the layer in the Layers panel does not select the characters. You have to enter edit mode and highlight the characters you want to change.

Keep these in mind and most "stuck color" problems resolve in seconds.

Method 1: Change color on live, editable text

This is the fastest method and the one to use while you're still iterating on type.

1. Tap the wrench icon to open Actions, choose Add, then Add Text. A text box appears on the canvas.
2. Type your text. If the layer already exists, select it in the Layers panel.
3. Tap the text with your Pencil or finger to enter edit mode (or choose Edit Text from the layer's options menu).
4. Double-tap a word to select it, then choose Select All to highlight everything in the box.
5. Open the color circle in the top-right corner.
6. Choose a color from the Disc, Classic, Harmony, Value, or Palettes tab.

The highlighted characters update as you adjust the color. Because the layer is still live type, you can come back later, change the wording, or swap the font without redoing the color.

Color individual words or letters

Highlighting only part of the text before opening the color picker applies the color to that selection alone. This is useful for emphasizing a single word in a title, or for building a quick two-tone lockup. Double-tap a word for a whole-word selection.

Set the color before you type

If you know the color in advance, choose it from the color circle first, then add a new text layer. The new text will use the active color. This is a small time saver when you're producing several text layers in the same color.

Method 2: Recolor rasterized text

Rasterizing converts text to pixels. You'll often do this deliberately, for example to apply brush texture. After that, the text color is no longer a text property, so use one of these approaches.

Alpha Lock plus fill

Alpha Lock restricts painting to pixels that already exist on the layer, so color only lands on the letterforms.

1. Select the rasterized text layer.
2. Enable Alpha Lock for that layer.
3. Drag the color from the top-right circle and drop it onto the text (Color Drop), or paint over it with a brush.

For a clean, uniform fill, Color Drop works well. If the fill leaves fringe at the edges, hold your Pencil in place after dropping and slide to adjust the fill threshold before lifting.

Clipping mask for gradients and textures

A clipping mask gives you more flexibility and keeps the recolor non-destructive.

1. Add a new layer directly above the text layer.
2. Tap the new layer and choose Clipping Mask. It now displays only where the layer below has pixels.
3. Fill or paint on the clipped layer with a solid color, a gradient, a texture, or a pattern.

You can swap the clipped layer's contents or delete it without touching the original letterforms. This approach also works on live text layers, so you don't have to rasterize first.

Blend modes for finishing

Set the clipped layer (or the text layer itself) to a blend mode to shift hue and tone while keeping the underlying shading. Treat it as a quick way to explore color directions, then commit to a final palette.

Choosing between methods

That last habit is worth adopting: duplicate before you rasterize. Rasterizing is a one-way step, and a hidden live copy costs almost nothing.

Troubleshooting common problems

The color changes on new text but not existing text. You're likely selecting the layer, not the characters. Enter edit mode, highlight the text, then choose a color.

The color picker shows a color but nothing changes. Check that the text is highlighted. If it isn't, the picker only sets the active color for future actions.

The "A" icon is gone and I can't edit the text. The layer has been rasterized. Use Alpha Lock or a clipping mask. If you have a duplicate or an older version, revert to that.

Color fills leave a halo around edges. Use Alpha Lock rather than selecting and filling, or adjust the Color Drop threshold. A clipping mask avoids the issue entirely because it follows the layer's alpha.

Taking Procreate lettering into a motion pipeline

Many motion designers sketch type treatments, logos, and title cards in Procreate before they ever open a timeline. A few habits make that handoff cleaner.

• Export with transparency. Hide the background layer and export in a format that supports transparency so the letterforms arrive with alpha intact. Consider a layered export if you want to keep clipped color layers separate and rebuild them in your compositing app.
• Keep the live text version. Procreate's type is fine for lettering studies, but for kinetic typography you'll usually want real, editable type in After Effects, where you can animate the text and match fonts to the project. Treat the Procreate version as a color and style reference.
• Name your layers. If you export a layered file, descriptive layer names (base, color, texture, highlight) save time when you hand the file off.
• Record your palette. Save the colors you used as a Procreate palette, and note the hex values so they match in your compositing and grading tools.

Where Styleframe fits for lettering and title design

If you're developing stylized title cards or lettering looks, Procreate is good for deciding what the type should feel like. Getting that look to move is a separate problem, and that's where an AI video and motion tool built around artistic control can help without replacing your compositing setup.

One boundary to keep in mind: for final, legible, editable titles, build the type natively in After Effects or your compositor. Use Procreate and Styleframe for look development and stylized motion elements, then composite real type where accuracy and revision flexibility matter.

Quick reference

• Live text: tap text, double-tap a word, Select All, open the color circle, choose a color.
• Partial recolor: highlight only the characters you want, then change the color.
• New text in a set color: choose the color first, then add the text layer.
• Rasterized text: Alpha Lock plus Color Drop, or a clipping mask layer above.
• Gradients and textures: clipping mask with your fill, optionally with a blend mode.
• Before rasterizing: duplicate the layer and hide the live copy.

Once you know that Procreate separates selecting a layer from selecting its text, recoloring becomes predictable. Keep type live as long as possible, use clipping masks when you want flexibility, and export with transparency when the work moves into a motion project.