I'm very beginner so I have no clue where to even begin looking for the reason why.
I'm attempting to color fill using the live paint bucket tool, but Illustrator blocks it on every layer. Mousing over the layers, there's a little circle with a dash through it next to the paint tool by my cursor.
It looks like you've only got a path selected. The live paint tool works by filling areas bounded by paths. If there's no boundaries, there's nothing to fill.
It looks like you've only got a path selected. The live paint tool works by filling areas bounded by paths. If there's no boundaries, there's nothing to fill.
It might really help if you actually read the online help. That's just not how things in AI work. You simply select the object and change its fill color in the attributes or by directly clicking on a color swatch/ changing the color sliders. The Live Paint tools have a different meaning and would require the artwork to be converted to a Live paint group first.