This tutorial shows you to how to add color fills and outlines to objects in your drawing.

You can change the appearance of any object using a fill and you can apply a fill to both open and closed objects.

The most common fill is a uniform fill. There are many ways you can apply uniform fills including using the Color Palette or the Uniform Fill dialog box. You can also leave objects unfilled, or transparent. As well, you can copy fills from one object to another, eliminating the need to recreate complex fills.

Select a topic:

Applying fills

Copying fills

Applying tints

Defining outlines

Color styles

Fills add color or texture to any object. You have access to many uniform, texture, pattern and fountain fills. You can fill open or closed objects, however, by default the program is set to fill closed objects only.

Select an option:

Apply a uniform fill

Apply a texture fill

Apply a PostScript fill

Apply a pattern fill

Apply a fountain fill

Tip

To set the program to fill open curves click Tools menu, Options. Double-click Document and click General. Enable the Fill Open Curves check box.

Uniform fills add a solid color inside open or closed objects.

This procedure shows you how to use the Color Palette to fill an object.

Click here to open a sample file.


  1. Select an object with the Pick tool.
  2. Click a color on the Color Palette. If the color you want is not visible, click the Color Palette's scroll arrows to view additional colors.

Tips

You can also drag a color from the Color Palette to an object. As the cursor moves over the object, it changes shape to show where the color will be applied.

To remove a fill, select the object with the Pick tool and click the No Color swatch on the on-screen Color Palette.

Right-clicking the color palette scroll bars takes you to the first or last color on the color palette.

There are more than 300 pregenerated textures, each of which has a set of controls that you can change to create millions of variations.

Texture fills are fills that look like clouds, water, gravel, minerals, and dozens of other substances.

The Interactive Fill tool lets you apply a texture fill quickly and easily.

Click here to open a sample file.


  1. Select an object with the Pick tool, then click the Interactive Fill tool.
  2. Choose Texture Fill from the Fill Type list box on the Property Bar.
  3. Choose a library from the Texture Library list box on the Property Bar.
  4. Choose a texture from the First Fill Picker list box on the Property Bar.

Tip

To remove a texture fill select the object with the Pick tool and click the No Color swatch on the on-screen Color Palette.

A PostScript fill is a special type of fill designed using PostScript language.

Click here to open a sample file.


CorelDRAW represents PostScript fills on screen with the letters "PS" (unless you are in Enhanced view).

  1. Select an object with the Pick tool, then click the Interactive Fill tool.
  2. Choose PostScript Fill from the Fill Type list box on the Property Bar.
  3. Choose a texture name from the PostScript Fill Textures list box on the Property Bar.

Note

Click the Edit Fill button to adjust other options as required.

Pattern fills are pregenerated, symmetrical images that are repeated over and over.

There are three kinds of pattern fills: two-color, bitmap, and full-color.

Select an option:

Apply a two-color pattern fill

Apply a bitmap pattern fill

Apply a full-color pattern fill

A two-color pattern fill is a very simple tiling image made up of only two colors. You can choose a two-color pattern fill from a variety of existing patterns.

You can use the Interactive Fill tool to apply a two-color pattern fill quickly and easily.

Click here to open a sample file.


  1. Select an object with the Pick tool, then click the Interactive Fill tool.
  2. Choose Pattern Fill from theFill Type list box on the Property Bar.
  3. Click the Two-Color Bitmap Pattern Fill button on the Property Bar.
  4. Click the First Fill Picker, then choose a pattern.
  5. Click the Front Color box and click a color.
  6. Click the Back Color box and choose a color.

Note

To remove a pattern fill, select the object with the Pick tool and click the No Color swatch on the on-screen Color Palette.

Back to page one

A bitmap is a regular color picture (like you might get with an electronic photograph). A bitmap pattern fill is a complex, often photo-realistic tiling image.

The Interactive Fill tool lets you apply a bitmap pattern fill quickly and easily.

Click here to open a sample file.


  1. Select an object with the Pick tool then click the Interactive Fill tool.
  2. Choose Pattern Fill from the Fill Type list box that appears on the Property Bar
  3. Click the Bitmap Pattern Fill button on the Property Bar.
  4. Click the First Fill Picker, then choose a pattern.

Back to page one

A full-color, or vector, pattern is a picture composed of lines and fills. You can choose a full-color pattern from a variety of pregenerated patterns. Unlike two-color and bitmap patterns, there is no limit to the number of colors that can be included in a full-color pattern.

The Interactive Fill tool lets you apply a full-color pattern fill quickly and easily.

Click here to open a sample file.


  1. Select an object with the Pick tool then click the Interactive Fill tool.
  2. Choose Pattern Fill from the Fill Type list box on the Property Bar.
  3. Click the Full-Color Pattern Fill button on the Property Bar.
  4. Click the First Fill Picker, then choose a pattern.

Back to page one

A fountain fill, also known as a gradient fill or a ramp fill, is a progression of colors that follow a path. This procedure shows you how to apply a fountain fill to your objects, add an intermediate color, and more.

Select an option:

Apply a fountain fill

Customize a fountain fill

Apply a preset fountain fill

A fountain fill is a fill that flows colors smoothly from one color to another. The fill can flow in a straight line across the object (linear), in concentric circles from the center of the object (radial), in rays from the center of the object (conical), or in concentric squares from the center of the object (square).

The Interactive Fill tool lets you apply fountain fills using the mouse.

Click here to open a sample file.


  1. Select an object with the Pick tool.
  2. Click the Interactive Fill tool.
  3. Choose Fountain Fill from the Fill Type list box on the Property Bar.
  4. Enable the button that corresponds to the type of fountain fill you want: linear, radial, conical, or square
  5. Click the object where you want the fill to start, then drag to where you want the fill to end.

Tip

To remove the fountain fill, select the object with the Pick tool and click the No Color swatch on the on-screen Color Palette.

Back to page one

You can customize your fountain fills by using the Interactive Fill tool to add intermediate colors.

The quickest and easiest way is by using the mouse and the on-screen Color Palette.

Click here to open a sample file.


  1. Select an object with the Pick tool.
  2. Click the Interactive Fill tool.
  3. Choose Fountain Fill from the Fill Type list box on the Property Bar.
  4. Drag a color from the Color Palette to any spot along the line that appears inside the object.

Note

As the cursor moves over the line, a plus sign appears, indicating a new color step will be added.

Back to page one

There are a number of preset fountain fills that you can use to simulate the appearance of a variety of real-life objects such as neon tubes and metal cylinders.

Click here to open a sample file.


  1. Select an object with the Pick tool.
  2. Click the Interactive Fill tool.
  3. Choose Fountain Fill from the Fill Type list box on the Property Bar.
  4. Click the Edit Fill button on the Property Bar.
  5. In the Fountain Fill dialog box choose a preset fountain fill from the Presets list box.

Back to page one

Once you apply a fill to an object, you can quickly apply the same fill to another object.

Click here to open a sample file.


  1. Apply a fill to an object by selecting it with the Pick tool then clicking a color on the Color Palette.
  2. Click the Pick tool.
  3. Using the right mouse button, drag the filled object until it is on top of an unfilled object.
  4. Release the mouse button, and click Copy Fill Here to copy the fill attributes to the second object.


You can easily add tints to objects.

Click here to open a sample file.


  1. Click one of the objects with the Pick tool.
  2. Hold CTRL and click a color on the color palette (choose a different color than the object's fill.)
  3. Repeat the steps to increase the tint.

Tip

To access different tints for colors, click and hold on the color on the color palette. A tint flyout appears from which you can choose the tint you want.

You can change the appearance of any object using an outline. This procedure shows you how to apply an outline color, add arrowheads, and more.

Select an option:

Apply an outline

Copy an outline

Customize your outlines

You can quickly apply an outline to an object using the on-screen Color Palette.

Click here to open a sample file.


  1. Select an object with the Pick tool.
  2. Click the Color Palette's scroll arrows until the color you want is visible.
  3. Right-click the color.

Note

You can also drag a color from the Color Palette to any object. Release the mouse when the cursor changes to .

Tip

To remove an object's outline using the Color Palette, select the object with the Pick tool and right-click the No Color swatch on the on-screen Color Palette.

Once you apply a outline to an object, you can quickly apply the same outline to another object.

Click here to open a sample file.


  1. Apply an outline to an object by selecting it with the Pick tool then right-clicking a color on the Color Palette.
  2. Using the right mouse button, drag the object until it is on top of another object.
  3. Release the mouse button, and click Copy Outline Here to copy the outline attributes.


The Outline Pen dialog box lets you change the width, style, corner shape, and line-cap shape of your outline.

Click here to open a sample file.


  1. Select an object with the Pick tool.
  2. Open the Outline tool flyout, and click Outline Pen Dialog.
  3. Type 15 in the Width box.
  4. Click the Line Style selector, then choose the style you want.
  5. Enable one of the Corner Style buttons in the Corners section.
  6. Enable one of the Line Caps Style buttons in the Line Caps section.

Color styles allow you to recolor illustrations quickly and easily. When you create a color style, all the colors in that style are linked. So when you change the main (parent) color all the subordinate (child) colors change too. You can create color styles that you can apply to objects, or you can create color styles automatically from an existing illustration.

Select an option:

Create color styles and apply them to objects.

Create color styles automatically from an illustration.

You can create color styles before, during, or after creating your illustration.

This procedure shows you how to create color styles while working with an illustration.

When creating color styles, you can link colors together in a "parent-child" relationship. A parent color determines the hue of its linked child colors. Child colors are shades of their parent.

Click here to open a sample file.


  1. Click Layout menu, Color Styles.
  2. Click the New Color Style button.
  3. Click a color in the large color box in the New Color Style dialog box.
  4. Type "My color style" in the Style box, then click OK.
  5. Click "My color style" in the Colors Docker window. "My color style" is the Parent color.
  6. Click the New Child Color button in the Colors Docker window.
  7. Click a shade in the large color box in the bottom left corner to choose a child color then click OK. (Pick bright colors for the best test results)
  8. Click the Create Shades button in the Colors Docker window.
  9. Type 4 in the Create box.
  10. Enable the button that corresponds to the type of shade you want: Lighter Shades, Darker Shades, or Lighter And Darker Shades.
  11. Adjust the similarity of the shades using the Shade Similarity slider, then click OK.
  12. Fill the objects by dragging the parent color and some child colors onto them.
  13. Click "My color style" in the Colors Docker window.
  14. Click the Edit Color Style button in the Colors Docker window.
  15. Click a color on the thin color bar in the Edit Color Style dialog box.
  16. Click OK.

Note

The colors in your drawing change to match the new parent and child colors.

You can create color styles before, during, or after creating your illustration.

This procedure shows you how to create color styles from an existing illustration.

To create color styles automatically, you must first select all or part of an illustration.

Click here to open a sample file.


  1. Click Layout menu, Color Styles.
  2. Click Edit menu, Select All, Objects.
  3. Click the Auto Create Color Styles button in the Colors Docker window.
  4. Move the Parent Creation Index slider a full tick to the right, then click OK.
  5. Double-click the filename in the Colors Docker window then click Style2.
  6. Click the Edit Color Style button in the Colors Docker window.
  7. In the thin color bar, click a color which is very different from the color in the Reference Color box.
  8. Click OK.

Notes

The colors in the drawing change to reflect the different child color and its associated shades.

The fewer parents you choose, using the Parent Creation Index slider, the more your drawing may change color when you automatically create color styles. Parent colors are created by a type of "averaging" of the colors in a drawing and choosing colors on the spectrum which lie equal distances between the drawing colors. The fewer parents, the fewer "average" colors.