Use color controls in Pixelmator Pro on Mac
Many tools in Pixelmator Pro include color controls to set the color of effects, paint, and other image attributes.
Choose a color in the color picker
Use the color picker to set a new color for tools that apply color to images.
In Pixelmator Pro on Mac, do either of the following:
Select a tool in the Tools sidebar, then click a color well in the tool’s adjustment pane.
Click
in the toolbar (the color of the circle will reflect the last selected color).
Note: The toolbar icon shows the currently selected color.
In the color picker, do any of the following:
Drag the hue control to select a hue, then click in the field above it to select a brightness and saturation level.
Click the Swatches pop-up menu, choose a collection (Basic, Cool, Subdued, and so on), then click a color swatch.
Enter a 6-character HEX code or RGB values in the number fields under the hue slider.
Click outside of the color picker to close it.
The color you selected appears in the tool’s color well, and in the toolbar color well.
Import, export, and manage color swatches and collections in the color picker
You can also use the color picker to modify swatches and swatch collections.
In Pixelmator Pro on Mac, click
in the toolbar.
In the color picker, do any of the following:
Manage swatch collections: Click
next to the Swatches pop-up menu, then choose an option to add, rename, or remove swatch collections.
Reset swatches and swatch collections: Option-Click
Save colors to use again: Click
in the swatches area to save the selected color to the swatch collection.
Redefine a color swatch: To change the color of a swatch to the color selected in the color picker, Control-click the swatch, then choose Redefine.
Remove a color swatch: Control-click a color swatch, then choose Remove.
Export a swatch collection: Click
A .colorpalette file is created.
Import a swatch collection: Click
Export all swatch collections: Option-Click
A .colorpalette file is created with all of the swatch collections.
Use the Color Picker tool
The Color Picker tool is a standalone tool that offers additional options for choosing and managing colors in Pixelmator Pro. When you select this tool, the Color Picker pane opens. There, you can set how colors in Pixelmator Pro are sampled. You can also select a color swatch, or click in the canvas to select a new color.
In Pixelmator Pro on Mac, choose Tools > Color Picker.
Customize the tool using options in the Color Picker pane:
Adjust the Color Picker tool’s sample size: “1 point sample” selects color from a single pixel in an image. You can also choose “3 by 3 average” or “5 by 5 average” to read the average color value of the surrounding 9 or 25 pixels.
Choose color values: Under Color Code, choose RGB or HEX to sample and display color values using RGB codes or web-safe HEX codes.
Display color names: Select the “Show closest color name” checkbox to show color names at the pointer position in the canvas.
To choose a color, click a swatch, click the color well and select a color; or click a color in the canvas.
Note: Pixelmator Pro remembers the settings you choose, the swatches you add, and the swatch collections you create, so you can work with the same settings and colors across multiple documents.
Use the Colors window
You can also use the MacOS Colors window in Pixelmator Pro, giving you access to the familiar color pickers such as the color wheel, sliders, or pencils.
The Colors window has four sections: the different color pickers at the top (color wheel, color sliders, color palettes, image palettes, and pencils); the active color picker in the middle; the large color swatch in the lower-left to show the currently selected color; the eyedropper for sampling colors; and the row of boxes to pick or save new color swatches.
In Pixelmator Pro on Mac, choose View > Show Colors.
In the Colors window, click a tab at the top to select a picker interface (color wheel, color sliders, and so on).
Use the available controls to pick a color, or click
and click a color anywhere on your computer screen.
To save a selected color for future use, drag the color from the color well in the lower-left corner of the Colors window to an empty swatch on the right. Colors saved to the color swatches library remain accessible across applications and restarts.
To delete a swatch, drag it from the Colors window to the Trash in the macOS Dock.