CanvasRenderingContext2D.fillStyle

The CanvasRenderingContext2D.fillStyle property of the Canvas 2D API specifies the color or style to use inside shapes. The default is #000 (black).

See also the chapter Applying styles and color in the Canvas Tutorial.

Syntax

ctx.fillStyle = color;
ctx.fillStyle = gradient;
ctx.fillStyle = pattern;

Options

color

A DOMString parsed as CSS <color> value.

gradient

A CanvasGradient object (a linear or radial gradient).

pattern

A CanvasPattern object (a repetitive image).

Examples

Using the fillStyle property to set a different color

This is just a simple code snippet using the fillStyle property to set a different color.

HTML

<canvas id="canvas"></canvas>

JavaScript

var canvas = document.getElementById('canvas');
var ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');

ctx.fillStyle = 'blue';
ctx.fillRect(10, 10, 100, 100);

Edit the code below and see your changes update live in the canvas:

A fillStyle example with for loops

In this example, we use two for loops to draw a grid of rectangles, each in a different color. The resulting image should look something like the screenshot. There is nothing too spectacular happening here. We use the two variables i and j to generate a unique RGB color for each square, and only modify the red and green values. The blue channel has a fixed value. By modifying the channels, you can generate all kinds of palettes. By increasing the steps, you can achieve something that looks like the color palettes Photoshop uses.

var ctx = document.getElementById('canvas').getContext('2d');
for (var i = 0; i < 6; i++){
  for (var j = 0; j < 6; j++){
    ctx.fillStyle = 'rgb(' + Math.floor(255 - 42.5 * i) + ',' +
                     Math.floor(255 - 42.5 * j) + ',0)';
    ctx.fillRect(j * 25, i * 25, 25, 25);
  }
}

The result looks like this:

Screenshot	Live sample

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
WHATWG HTML Living Standard The definition of 'CanvasRenderingContext2D.fillStyle' in that specification.	Living Standard

Browser compatibility

WebKit/Blink-specific notes

• In WebKit- and Blink-based browsers, a non-standard and deprecated method ctx.setFillColor() is implemented besides this property.

  setFillColor(color, optional alpha);
  setFillColor(grayLevel, optional alpha);
  setFillColor(r, g, b, a);
  setFillColor(c, m, y, k, a);
  

See also

• The interface defining it, CanvasRenderingContext2D
• CanvasGradient
• CanvasPattern