The fastest way to change your canvas background

Open the File menu, select Document Setup, and look for the Artboard tab. In that tab, you will see a box labeled Background Color with a white square next to it. Click that square to open the color picker, choose your color, and click OK. The canvas behind your artwork will change when ready.

This method changes the background of your artboard — the white or transparent area you see when you open a new document. It does not affect any objects you have already drawn; it only changes what sits behind them on the canvas itself.

If you want to change the color of a shape or object you have already created, that is a different process: select the object, then use the Fill color in the toolbar on the left side of your screen.

Key Takeaways

  • Go to File > Document Setup > Artboard tab to find the Background Color option.
  • Click the color square next to Background Color to open the color picker and choose a new color.
  • This changes only the artboard background, not any objects you have drawn on top of it.
  • If you want to change the color of a shape or text you created, select it and use the Fill color in the left toolbar instead.
  • You can set a different background color for each artboard if your document has multiple artboards.

Where to find Document Setup on different Illustrator versions

The location of Document Setup is the same in Illustrator CC (2023 and later) and Illustrator 2024: File menu at the top, then Document Setup. It appears as the second or third option in the dropdown.

In older versions of Illustrator (2022 and earlier), the same menu exists in the same place. If you cannot find it, check whether you are looking in the File menu or another menu — Document Setup is never in Edit, View, or Object.

On Mac, the menu bar appears at the very top of your screen. On Windows, it appears at the top of the Illustrator window itself. If you do not see a menu bar, press Alt (Windows) or Control (Mac) to make it visible.

Using the color picker to select your background color

When you click the color square in Document Setup, a window opens with several ways to choose a color. The simplest is to click anywhere in the large color gradient square on the left — the top-left corner is white, the bottom-left is black, and the right edge shows the full spectrum of hues. Click where you want, and the color preview updates in real time.

If you know the exact color you want, you can enter numbers instead. The RGB fields let you type red, green, and blue values from 0 to 255. The Hex field accepts six-character color codes like FF5733. The CMYK fields are for print colors and use percentages instead of numbers.

Once you have chosen your color, click OK to explore it. The background of your artboard changes when ready, and you can return to Document Setup at any time to change it again.

Changing background color for multiple artboards

If your Illustrator document has more than one artboard, each artboard can have its own background color. Open Document Setup, and you will see a list of all artboards on the left side of the Artboard tab. Click the artboard you want to change, then set its background color using the color square.

When you click a different artboard in the list, the background color field updates to show that artboard's current color. This lets you set each one individually without affecting the others.

If you want all artboards to have the same background color, you can change them one at a time, or you can select all artboards at once by clicking the first one, holding Shift, and clicking the last one. Then set the color once, and it applies to all selected artboards.

The difference between artboard background and canvas background

Illustrator has two different backgrounds that can confuse new users. The artboard background is what you change in Document Setup — it is the colored area that prints or exports with your artwork. The canvas background is the gray or dark area you see around the edges of the artboard, and it does not print or export.

If you want to change the gray area around your artboard (the canvas), that is a preference, not a document setting. Go to Edit (Windows) or Illustrator (Mac), then Preferences, then User Interface. Look for Canvas Color and choose a new color. This change affects all your documents, not just the current one.

Most users want to change the artboard background, which is what Document Setup controls. The canvas background is rarely changed unless you find the default gray distracting.

What happens when you export or print with a colored background

When you export your Illustrator file as a PDF or image file, the artboard background color is included in the export. If your artboard background is red, the exported file will have a red background unless you specifically remove it during export.

If you do not want the background color in your exported file, open the export dialog, look for Transparency or Background options (these vary by file format), and turn off the background. For PDF exports, check the Transparency section. For PNG or other image formats, look for an option to preserve transparency.

When you print your document, the artboard background color will print as well. If you want a white background for printing, set the artboard background to white in Document Setup before you print.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make the artboard background transparent instead of a solid color?

No — Illustrator artboards always have a background color, and you cannot set it to transparent in Document Setup. If you need a transparent background for export, create a new layer below your artwork, leave it empty, and export as PNG with transparency turned on. The empty layer will export as transparency.

Why does my background color look different on screen than when I export?

This usually happens because your monitor and your export settings use different color spaces. Illustrator displays colors in RGB on screen, but if you export as CMYK (for print), the colors shift. Check your document color mode under File > Document Color Mode and make sure it matches your export format.

How do I change the background color of just one object instead of the whole artboard?

Select the object with the selection tool, then look at the Fill color in the left toolbar (it looks like a small square). Click it to open the color picker and choose a new color. This changes only that object, not the artboard background.

Can I use a gradient or pattern as the artboard background?

The Document Setup background accepts only solid colors. If you want a gradient or pattern background, create a rectangle that covers your entire artboard, fill it with the gradient or pattern you want, and send it to the back using Object > Arrange > Send to Back.