In GIMP, the Paint Bucket tool fills areas with the currently selected foreground color. To change the "paint bucket color," you simply need to change the foreground color in GIMP's toolbox. Additionally, there's a specific technique you can use with the Paint Bucket and other tools to efficiently change existing colors within an image.
Setting the Foreground Color for the Paint Bucket
The most direct way to change the color that the Paint Bucket will use is by changing the active foreground color swatch in the GIMP toolbox.
- Locate the Foreground and Background Color swatches, usually found near the bottom of the main Toolbox window. The top swatch is the foreground color.
- Click directly on the Foreground Color swatch.
- The Change Foreground Color dialog window will open.
- Use the various methods provided (color models like RGB, HSV, CMYK, or visually with the color wheel and sliders) to select your desired color. You can also enter a specific HTML notation (like
#RRGGBB). - Click OK to confirm your selection.
The foreground color swatch in the toolbox will update to your new color. The Paint Bucket tool, along with other painting tools, will now use this new color.
Changing Specific Colors in an Image Using the Paint Bucket and Selection
Sometimes, you don't want to fill an empty area, but rather change all instances of a specific color within your image. The provided reference describes an effective method for doing this using the Color Picker tool (often referred to as a "color selector tool" in this context) and the Paint Bucket.
This technique leverages the ability of selection tools to target pixels based on color, then uses the Paint Bucket to fill that selection.
Here's the process based on the reference:
- Set your desired color: First, decide what color you want to change the existing pixels to. Set this as your foreground color following the steps described above. This is "setting your paint bucket foreground color to what you want".
- Select the color you want to change: Switch to the Color Picker Tool (the eyedropper icon, often found in the toolbox).
- Adjust Tolerance: In the Color Picker's Tool Options, find the Threshold or Tolerance slider. This determines how similar a color must be to the clicked pixel to be included in the selection. Adjust this as needed.
- Click the color: Click on a pixel in your image that has the specific color you wish to change. The color picker tool will select all pixels of that color within its tolerance range. GIMP might automatically switch to a selection tool or you might need to switch to one like 'By Color Select Tool' after picking the color, depending on GIMP version and configuration. The goal is to get a selection based on the clicked color.
- Switch to the Paint Bucket Tool: Select the Paint Bucket Tool (Fill Tool - looks like a tilting bucket).
- Set Fill Mode to Selection: In the Paint Bucket's Tool Options, ensure the "Affect" or "Fill Mode" setting is set to "Selection". This tells the Paint Bucket to only fill areas within the currently active selection, rather than filling contiguous areas of color or the whole image.
- Click inside the selection: With one click, click anywhere within the selected area (the area now outlined by marching ants).
The selected areas of the old color will now be filled with the new foreground color you set earlier. For example, following the reference's example, "with one click the white is maroon" after selecting white areas and setting maroon as the foreground color with the bucket set to fill the selection.
Summary Table: Key Tools & Steps
| Step | Tool Used | Key Action | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set New Color | Color Swatch | Click & Choose Color | Define the color the bucket will use. |
| Select Color to Change | Color Picker Tool | Click on color in image | Identify and select pixels of the target color. |
| Define Selection Boundary | (Implicit/Tool Options) | Adjust Tolerance/Threshold | Control how much variation in color is selected. |
| Prepare for Filling | Paint Bucket Tool | Select Tool & Set Options | Activate the tool and define its behavior. |
| Apply New Color to Selection | Paint Bucket Tool | Click inside the selected area (marching ants) | Fill the selected pixels with the foreground color. |
This combination of tools offers a powerful way to change colors selectively within your image based on their current hue and tolerance, allowing for efficient edits beyond simple area fills.
