Fill with color, and add strokes and shadows.
In the right panel, set an object’s color under Fills, its border under Strokes, and its shadow under Effects. To change a color, click the color square in its row. To add a row, click the + button.
Click the object you want to style to select it. Lower in the right panel, the panel for its type (the Rectangle panel for a rectangle) has Fills, Strokes, and Effects sections. If you don’t see them, scroll down over that panel. Images and videos have no Fills section, only Strokes and Effects. For text color, see Add text.
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Change the fill color
Click the color square at the left of the row under Fills. The Colors window opens. Pick a hue from the vertical rainbow bar, then pick how light and how vivid it is in the large square on the left. The object takes on that color right away. For a scene’s background color, see Work with scenes.
With the circle selected, clicking the color square under Fills opens the Colors window, where pink is chosen. Video: An object is selected, the fill color in the right panel is clicked, and a bright pink is picked from the hue bar and the color area. -
Type a color value and opacity
If you have a specific color in mind, type its value, such as FF6A00, in the color value field at the bottom of the Colors window, and press ↩. The 100 in the next field is this fill’s opacity (%). Lower the number, and the fill becomes see-through. Colors you’ve used collect under Recent: click one to apply it again.
Typing FF6A00 in the color value field turns the fill orange, and then the opacity is lowered. Video: Typing FF6A00 in the color value field of the Colors window and pressing Enter turns the rectangle orange. Lowering the opacity in the next field to 50 makes it see-through. -
Add a border
Click the + button next to Strokes and choose Color. A black 1px stroke appears, and the Colors window opens. Pick a color, then drag the width number in the middle of the row left or right to set the thickness. Double-click the number to type a value. To make the stroke dashed or change its position, see Stroke styles.
The + next to Strokes adds a black stroke, and dragging the width number to the right thickens it. Video: Clicking the + button next to Strokes and choosing Color gives the rectangle a black 1px border. Dragging the row’s width number to the right thickens the border to 8px. -
Add a shadow
Click the + button next to Effects. When the Effects window lists the effect types, click Drop Shadow. A faint shadow appears toward the bottom right, and its settings open right away. Raise Blur to soften the shadow, and raise Y to move it down.
Drop Shadow is chosen from the + next to Effects, and then Blur and Y go up. Video: Clicking the + button next to Effects and choosing Drop Shadow in the Effects window adds a faint shadow at the bottom right of the rectangle. Raising Blur to 30 and Y to 16 makes the shadow softer and lower.
The + button adds a new row instead of changing the color
Click the + next to Fills and choose Color, and a white fill is added as a new row that covers the original color. That’s because rows lower in the list are painted on top. To change only the color, click the color square of the existing row. To remove a row you added by mistake, click the − button at the end of the row. The eye button hides a row temporarily without deleting it.
Colors from the screen, transparency, and copying styles
To use a color from the screen. In the Colors window, click the eyedropper button to the left of the color value field. Click a color on the canvas, and it goes into the fill you’re editing. Press esc to cancel.
To make a whole object see-through. Set Opacity under Transform in the Object panel to a value between 0 and 100. At 50 the object is half see-through, and its fill, stroke, and shadow all fade together.
To copy a look to other objects. Select the styled object, right-click, and choose Copy Styles. Select the objects you want to change, right-click, and choose Paste Styles. Their fills, strokes, and effects now match. See Reuse styles for more.
Shortcuts on this page
| Add a solid fill (a white fill on a new row) | ⌘⇧C |
|---|---|
| Cancel the eyedropper | esc |
Updated 10/15/2026 · The videos on this page were recorded in the current editor.