In Adobe Illustrator, a Swatch is a saved color, pattern, or gradient that can be reused throughout a document. Swatches can be created from solid colors, gradients, patterns, or process colors and are stored in the Swatches panel.

Swatches in Adobe Illustrator act as a palette of colors and values that can be used throughout a document. They are created from solid colors, gradients, patterns, or process colors and are stored in the Swatches panel.

It allows you to create global colors that you can use throughout the document. A Global Color in Illustrator that allows you to easily change the color of all objects with the same color. You can link it to a swatch in Illustrator’s Swatches panel so that all objects using that color are updated if you modify the swatch.

Save time by using your Global Color in illustrator. Set a global color, and then use that same swatch to change all other colors of the same type. The less time you spend on color-setting, the more time you have for creative work.

Reason for Swatches Not Showing in illustrator

Swatches may not be shown in your document for one of two reasons.

Reason 1: (Not Enabled from the windows menu)

Enable swatches from the windows menu. To make it appear in the current document, Go to Windows > Swatches. From the Swatches Library menu in the bottom left corner, you can import colors for different purposes; there are options for New Swathes, where you can import many color swatches.

Reason 2: (Opened image as the source file)

You already have swatches, but there are no colors in the swatches panel. You will face this condition when you open images as a source file. Click on the Swatches Library menu in the bottom left corner, Multiple options will be available for selection.

In the event of indecision, it is recommended to opt for the default swatches. Conversely, if the purpose of your artwork has been established, Select the purpose of your artwork, and here you have the colors, select all colors and drag them to the Swatches menu.

This (Reason 2*) problem can be avoided if you import your image into a new Illustrator file. You will run into this issue if you import the image into Illustrator as separate files.

Creating a New Swatch in illustrator

In Adobe Illustrator, to create a new swatch, select an object with the desired color, then go to “Window” > “Swatches” and click on the “New Swatch” button in the Swatches panel. You can also drag and drop colors, gradients, and patterns directly into the Swatches panel to create a new swatch.

You can create an existing color by dragging and dropping a color from your Swatches palette, or you can insert a new swatch by clicking on the New Swatch button at the bottom of the panel. A pattern can also be created from existing colors by dragging and dropping multiple colors onto an empty swatch area.

Once you’ve created a new swatch by dragging from another document or from within Illustrator itself, you can save or name it directly from within this pane if you feel ready to store it for future use.