Look and color
look-and-color · by Paraplex
Grade last; one accent; contrast for type over media; which lighting rig and environment for which mood; materials and appearances by feel; film overlays and when they help. Load when styling a scene or picking a look.
Look and color
The look is decided last and applied everywhere at once: a grade, one environment, one rig, one accent. Styling layer by layer produces a collage; styling the scene produces a piece.
Order of work
- Layout and motion in plain gray materials on a neutral background. If it does not read in gray it will not read in color.
- The environment and the rig (mood).
- Materials and appearances (what things are made of).
- The accent (one color that means "look here").
- The grade — exposure, contrast, saturation, bloom, grain — last, over the whole frame (
set_scene_look, the Filters section).
One accent
Pick one accent color and give it to one thing per beat: the CTA, the number, the highlighted card. Everything else is neutral — grays, the brand's dark or light, the material's own color. A second accent needs a reason (two products, two states). A brand palette of six colors is a palette to choose from, not to use.
Contrast for type over media
Type over a picture or a busy panel needs a device: a darker gradient behind it (set_gradient on a panel behind the text, top transparent to 60% black), a blur of the media (set_image_effects or the backdrop blur), a solid pill, or simply a plainer part of the picture. Aim for a contrast ratio near 4.5:1 for captions and 3:1 for large display type — and check while the text is moving, when it is fainter.
Environments and rigs, by mood
| Mood | Environment | Rig / key light |
|---|---|---|
| Clean product, tech | studio-soft | a broad key from the upper left, soft fill, a thin rim |
| Dramatic, premium | studio-contrast | one hard key, a rim behind, little fill |
| Editorial, calm | softbox-duo | two soft boxes, low contrast |
| Neutral, documentary | neutral-room | even; let materials do the work |
| Night, cinematic | night | a cool key, a warm practical (an emitting panel) |
| Brand-colored | gradient (linked to the background) | the environment takes the brand's own wash |
| Outdoor, fresh, lifestyle | sky-midday | the rig's key is the high sun: crisp short shadows, a blue sky fill |
| Warm, nostalgic, product-in-the-world | sky-afternoon or sky-sunset | a low warm sun raking across; long shadows; agx tone mapping keeps the glow |
Glass and chrome need something to reflect: a studio environment, or a bright panel placed off frame. Matte materials need a key with a shadow or they go flat.
Materials and appearances by feel
- Trust, calm, institutional: paper, plaster, porcelain, brushed steel; matte and satin; cool neutrals.
- Warm, crafted, human: oak, walnut, terracotta, leather, cardboard; warm neutrals; softer light.
- Premium, tech: glass, frosted, chrome, liquid glass; dark backgrounds; one hard light.
- Playful: rubber, velvet, gold, saturated fills; springs in the motion to match.
Use set_appearance for the whole look in one step (oak, terracotta, brushed-steel, velvet, crystal, liquid-glass…), then set_material or set_texture to refine. A texture's albedo multiplies the fill: wood on white is wood, on red it is red wood.
The grade
Exposure ±0.3 at most; contrast up a little for punch, down for calm; saturation down 10–20% for premium, up for playful; bloom only where there are emitters or highlights, and never on type; grain fine and still for a photographic feel, animated for film. A vignette, subtly, draws the eye in.
Film overlays
Light leaks, scratches, dust, a burn (set_film_overlay, the effect library) say "memory", "analog", "handmade". They help a piece about nostalgia, craft, music; they hurt a piece about precision, software, finance. Use one preset, at half its default amount, and keep the type clean of it if it must be read.
What to avoid
- Gradients on everything.
- Two accents.
- Type in a mid-tone on a mid-tone.
- Bloom on white type.
- Every panel a different material.
Paraplex recipes
Clean tech hero: set_scene_look environment "studio-soft", exposure 1, grain 4; set_appearance on the cards "porcelain" or "frosted"; one accent on the CTA via set_property fillColor; add_light type "spot" behind the hero for a rim.
Warm crafted: environment "softbox-duo"; set_appearance "oak" on the base, "paper" on the cards; a warm key (add_light color "#ffd9a8"); saturation −10.
Cinematic night: environment "night"; one emitting panel as a practical (set_property emit); add_effect "vignette" strength 0.5; grain 12 animated; set_film_overlay "dust" at half.
Type over a busy picture: add_panel behind the text with set_gradient from transparent to 60% black, or set_material "frosted-glass" on a pane behind the caption.