how to change color after image trace

Mastering Adobe Illustrator: Changing Colors After Image Trace

By Melissa MooreFebruary 10, 2026

Ever found yourself loving an image's design but not its color scheme? Adobe Illustrator's Image Trace tool allows you to convert raster images into editable vector graphics, which is great for manipulating and adjusting features. But what if you want to change the color after image trace? Let's delve into how you can achieve this.

First off, remember that Image Traceffectively disassembles an image into its basic components and reassembles them as vectors. This process, while powerful, doesn't preserve color information. So, understanding how to change the color after image trace is crucial for retaining the visual appeal of your original image while benefiting from the editability of vector graphics.

Understanding Your Image Trace Results

After tracing, you might notice that your original colors aren't directly accessible. That's because Image Trace focuses on retaining the image's shape and structure, not its exact colors. However, don't worry - you can still apply your desired color scheme.

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Reconverting to Color Mode

By default, Image Trace converts images to Grayscale. To regain color control, you need to reconvert your traced image back to Color mode. Here's how:

Select your traced image.
Click on the "Window" menu, then "Image Trace".
In the Image Trace panel, click on the "Advanced" button.
Change the "Mode" dropdown to "Color".
Click "Trace" to apply the changes.

Applying New Colors

Now that you're back in Color mode, you can apply new colors to your traced image. Here's how you can do that:

Select the Vector graphics tool (black arrow) in your toolbar.
Click on the part of your image you want to recolor.
In the "Edit" menu, select "Edit Colors" (or use the keyboard shortcut Shift+Ctrl+C).
Choose the color you want from the color picker, or use the sliders to create a custom color.
Click "OK" to apply your new color.

Preserving Colors When Tracing

If you want to preserve as much of your original colors as possible, you can use the High Fidelitydefault tracing settings. Here's how to do this:

Before tracing, select your image and click on the "Image Trace" button in the toolbar. Then, in the Image Trace panel, ensure that the dropdown is set to "Automatic" and that the slider is set to the far right for High Fidelity tracing. Click "Trace" to apply these settings.

Manually Adjusting Color Using the Eyedropper Tool

If you want to maintain specific colors from your original image, you can use the Eyedropper tool to sample those colors. Here's how:

Select the Eyedropper tool from the toolbar.
Click on the color in your original image that you want to preserve.
Then, click on the corresponding area in your traced image where you want to apply that color.

Remember, your goal is to create a visually appealing and functional vector graphic. Don't be afraid to experiment with different colors and settings to achieve the look you want. Now, go ahead and start recoloring your traced images - the world's your oyster!