After
inserting a SmartArt
graphic in your slide, you can
change the color for the entire SmartArt graphic -- this applies new colors to the entire SmartArt graphic including the
various shapes it contains. However there may be times when you want one of the shapes to be colored differently -- in this
tutorial we'll explore the fill, line, and effect options which can be applied to individual shapes within a SmartArt graphic
in PowerPoint 2013:
- Select any individual shape within your existing SmartArt graphic, as shown in Figure 1. As you can see,
one of the gear shapes has been selected in this case. This will activate two contextual SmartArt Tools tabs on the
Ribbon: these are the SmartArt Tools Design
and the SmartArt Tools Format tabs (highlighted in red within
Figure 1). Activate the SmartArt Tools Format tab by clicking on it.

Figure 1: SmartArt Tools Format tab selected
- Within the SmartArt Tools Format tab, locate the Shape Styles group as
shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Shape Styles group
Here you'll find the Shape Fill, Shape Outline, and Shape Effect options for
individual SmartArt shapes. All of these options are explained below, as marked in Figure 2, above:
- Shape Fill: Select this option to view the Shape Fill drop-down gallery that you can see
in Figure 3. Learn more about shape fills in our
Add Solid Fills to Shapes in
PowerPoint 2013 tutorial.

Figure 3: Shape Fill drop-down gallery
- Shape Outline: Select this option to view the Shape Outline drop-down gallery that you
can see in Figure 4. Learn more about shape outline in our
Formatting Lines (and
Shape Outlines) in PowerPoint 2013 tutorial.

Figure 4: Shape Outline drop-down gallery
- Shape Effects: Click to open the Shape Effects drop-down gallery, as shown in
Figure 5. Learn more about shape effects in our
Shape Effects in PowerPoint 2013
tutorial.

Figure 5: Shape Effects drop-downn gallery
- Shape Styles: Click the down-arrow (highlighted in red within
Figure 2, shown earlier on this page) to bring up the Shape Styles drop-down gallery that you
can see in Figure 6. Learn more about shape styles in our
Shape Styles in PowerPoint 2013 tutorial.

Figure 6: Shape Styles drop-down gallery
- Figure 7 shows different fills, outlines, and effects applied to individual shapes of the Gear SmartArt
graphic variant.

Figure 7: Different fills, outlines, and effects applied to individual shapes within a SmartArt graphic
See Also:
Changing Fill, Line, and
Effects for Shapes within SmartArt in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows
Changing Fill, Line, and Effects for Shapes within SmartArt in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac
Changing
Fill, Line, and Effects for Shapes within SmartArt in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows