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# Make a Procreate Color Palette from a Photo or File
- URL: https://theprocreate.com/learn/procreate-palette-from-photo/
- Published: 2026-10-30T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T14:59:59.000Z
- Description: Create swatches from a photo or JPG/PNG file, rename the palette, set it active and save a shareable copy before deleting it.
- Author: Nathan Reed
- Tags: learn, #topic-color, #section-color-choose-a-palette-or-profile

To build a color palette from an existing image in Procreate, [tap **Active Color** at the top right to open the Color Panel](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/colors/colors-interface?ref=theprocreate.com), select **Palettes**, tap **+**, and choose **New from Photos** or **New from File**. [Photos captures colors from a selected photo; Files accepts JPG or PNG images](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/colors/colors-palettes?ref=theprocreate.com) for this route. Give the new palette a meaningful name and inspect the swatches on your artwork before committing to them; automatic sampling gives you candidates, not a finished color plan.

## Choose the source you actually have

If the image is in the Photos app, choose **New from Photos** and select it. Procreate creates a customized palette from colors captured within that photo. If the image is saved in Files, choose **New from File**, locate the JPG or PNG, and select it. The generated palette starts with the name [**Palette from image**](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/colors/colors-palettes?ref=theprocreate.com). Tap its title to rename it. This workflow turns an image into swatches. It doesn't import an existing `.swatches` palette file.

![New from photos uses a stored photo; New from file uses a JPG or PNG image, followed by Palette from image.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/87/95/8795a9f5-73f0-42fe-8d7c-6a02022d8b40/content/images/2026/10/procreate-palette-from-photo-body1-redo-v2.webp)

Choose the route for the image you have, then rename Palette from image. These steps sample an image rather than import a .swatches palette.

Choose a source with colors that serve your drawing. A reference photo may contain a bright highlight, a dark shadow, and colors introduced by lighting or camera processing. Compare the sampled swatches with the source image and decide which belong in the intended illustration. A photo alone doesn't guarantee an exact printed match. The [color-profile handoff guide](https://theprocreate.com/export-print/procreate-color-profile-handoff/) covers the separate receiving-file decision.

## Make the palette usable

The Color Panel's **Palettes** tab is where you can keep multiple palettes. The [**active palette** supplies the swatches shown across the Color Panel](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/colors/colors-palettes?ref=theprocreate.com). On smaller iPads, the [History/Palette menu can switch that area between the active palette and Color History](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/colors/colors-interface?ref=theprocreate.com). To change which palette is active, use the **•••** menu beside its name and choose **Set as active**. If you switch to another palette later, check the active state before painting.

Before experimenting with adjustments, I'd duplicate the palette from its **•••** menu. That keeps the source-derived set intact while you adjust a working copy. The Handbook says the duplicate appears at the bottom of the Palettes tab. Find it there, open its **•••** menu and explicitly choose **Set as active** before editing swatches.

1. Switch to the **Disc** tab at the bottom of the Color Panel and [drag the color-wheel reticle to choose your working color](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/colors/colors-interface?ref=theprocreate.com). An ochre accent is the chosen example below; your captured photo does not have to supply that exact color.
2. To keep the existing colors and add this one, [tap an empty slot in the active palette at the bottom of the Color Panel](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/colors/colors-palettes?ref=theprocreate.com). This saves the current color as a new swatch. Make sure that area shows your working duplicate, rather than Color History or another palette.
3. To change an occupied slot instead, [press and hold that swatch, then tap **Set**](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/colors/colors-palettes?ref=theprocreate.com). It is replaced with the current color. This route also works when there are no empty spaces; choose the swatch you intend to replace.
4. [Tap the saved swatch to select it as your current color](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/colors/colors-palettes?ref=theprocreate.com). Check that the new or replaced color is in the working duplicate and that the source-derived palette still contains the original set.

![The current ochre color is added to an empty working-palette slot or replaces a held swatch with Set.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/87/95/8795a9f5-73f0-42fe-8d7c-6a02022d8b40/content/images/2026/10/procreate-palette-from-photo-body2-redo-v2.webp)

Choose the current color first. Tap an empty slot to add it, or hold an existing swatch and tap Set to replace it; keep a duplicate before changing the source palette.

A [deleted palette **cannot be restored**](https://help.procreate.com/procreate/handbook/colors/colors-palettes?ref=theprocreate.com). Before deleting a palette you need, open its **••• > Share** menu to use the iPad sharing interface and choose a storage destination. Alternatively, drag the palette into a compatible Files location to export a `.swatches` file. Confirm the saved file is present before deleting the palette.

## Check the colors in context

Create a small swatch strip on a separate layer beside the actual artwork. Put the lightest and darkest sampled colors next to the intended background, then add one accent. What matters is whether the colors work together at the drawing's scale. A successful sampling step doesn't answer that. If a swatch looks wrong, I'd choose another color from the image or adjust the working palette rather than blame a device, export, or app bug.

![Light foam, dark slate and ochre accent swatches sit beside a coastal study on the same ivory background.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/87/95/8795a9f5-73f0-42fe-8d7c-6a02022d8b40/content/images/2026/10/procreate-palette-from-photo-body3-redo-v1.webp)

Check the lightest, darkest and accent colors beside the drawing. Adjust the working palette when a sampled color does not serve the image.

The Handbook also describes **New from Camera**, which samples a live camera view in Visual or Indexed mode. That path differs from choosing a stored photo or file. It can produce a different selection because the two camera modes use different areas of the view. When the palette has to come from a specific existing photo, I'd stay with the stored-image route above.