How to Easily Fill Designs with Random Swatches in Illustrator

Coloring in Illustrator

When you need to color your design in Illustrator, there are many different ways to do it, from selecting each element individually to using Generative Color. However, if you want to randomly color your designs—which is especially useful when making patterns—you typically have to fill each element individually or you can use an automated method to do it quickly and effortlessly. Today, I will show you how to apply a selected color palette to any artwork in a matter of seconds by using scripts, saving you time and enhancing your creative workflow. A method that is perfect for experimenting with different palettes and achieving unique, vibrant results.

Step 1

Download the "RandomSwatchesFill" free Illustrator script from Github: Download

Step 2

Before opening Illustrator, Install the script.

• If you are a Mac user, copy the script file to Applications/Adobe Illustrator [version]/Presets/en_US [or your language]/Scripts
• If you are a Windows user, copy the script file to Program Files/Adobe/Adobe Illustrator [version]/Presets/en_US [or your language]/Scripts

Step 3

Open your design in Illustrator.

Step 4

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), make 4 rectangles at any size you want.

Step 5

Give each rectangle a different color. In this case i will be using:

• #ffab25
• #313b4d
• #d2bba8
• #85898e

Step 6

Select the four rectangles and go to Window > Swatches.

Step 7

Click on the "New Color Group" icon. Give your Color Group a name, be sure to check the "Convert Process to Global" option and click OK.

Step 8

Select your entire design.

Step 9

With your entire design selected, click on the color group folder you just created.

Step 10

Lastly, go to File > Scripts > RandomSwatchesFill.

Some Final Notes:

You can now apply the script again if you do not like the random color combination by simply selecting your artwork, choosing the color group, and running the script again. Additionally, you can change the Global Colors to any other color you want without having to run the script again like in the following examples.