About foreground, background, and layer colors

The foreground color is the color that fills the currently selected object layer, and is used to fill any newly created objects; the background color fills the background, or canvas, against which the object appears. The layer color is the color of the currently selected object layer. You can specify a color for the foreground, background, or layer with the Color palette or the eyedropper tool.

The current foreground color and background color are the colors that are used in any composition until you choose different ones. The current foreground color appears in the top color selection box. The background color appears in the lower box in both the toolbox and the Color palette. The default foreground color is black, and the default background color is white. Any color changes you make in the composition are reflected in the color selection boxes. Because changing the color of a selected layer also changes the foreground color, and vice versa, you can change them simultaneously.


Color palette color selection box A. Foreground color B. Background color

To change the foreground, background, or layer color:

1. Choose the foreground, background, or layer:
• Click the foreground color box, or select an object and layer you want to color. Deselect any selected objects to change the foreground color without applying it to any object. Then make sure the foreground color box is selected in the toolbox or Color palette.
• Click the background color box. This action selects the background and deselects any object currently selected.
• Select the object and layer to apply the color directly to a layer.
2. Choose a color, gradient, or texture to apply to the foreground, layer, or background:
• Sample a color.
• Make a gradient, see Creating gradients.
• Choose a texture, see Applying textures to layers.