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After Effects
ColorFlow
Easily manage colors and labels in After Effects
With ColorFlow, you can create custom palettes, quickly apply colors to any layer type, organize labels efficiently, and streamline your workflow with intuitive shortcuts.
NEW: Extract colors from Image and Video and NewLive Color Link feature.
Stop Wasting Time Managing Colors in After Effects.
If you’ve ever copied hex codes, applied Fill effects manually, or fought messy comps—ColorFlow was built for you. Create palettes, apply colors in one click, generate harmonies, and control labels fast. Trusted by more than 300 motion designers worldwide.
One-Click Color Apply (No Manual Fill Work)
Apply colors instantly to text, shapes, solids, footage, comps—and even the comp background.
Build Your Own Palettes
Create, edit, reorder and name palettes so every project starts organized.
Extract Colors (Even from Images and Videos)
Turn comps, images, or footage into clean palettes in seconds—no guessing, no hunting.
Import From Anywhere
Paste from Adobe Color, Coolors, CSS/JSON, or any text—ColorFlow extracts, cleans, and removes duplicates.
Label Control for Large Comps
Select, solo, invert, and organize layers by label—fast navigation when timelines get heavy.
Color Harmonies (Make It Look Right, Faster)
Generate complementary, triadic, analogous, tetradic schemes—and instant light/dark shades.
From Manual Work to Instant Control
Instant Color Changes (Before / After)
ColorFlow turns repetitive color work into a one-click workflow—so you spend time designing, not clicking.
- Before: copy/paste hex, add Fill effects manually, adjust stroke separately, and re-check every layer.
- After: apply source colors or Fill instantly across text, shapes, solids, footage, compositions—and the comp background.
Smart Shortcuts for Speed
- Ctrl/Cmd + Click color: Select all layers using that color.
- Shift + Click color: Apply color to stroke (text or shapes).
- Right-click on a color: Quick actions (including Fill workflows).
- Ctrl + Click on a label: Select all layers with that label.
- Shift + Click on a label: Toggle shy mode on selected layers.
- Right-click a label: Select all others, except the one clicked.
Seamless Palette Import (No Formatting Headaches)
Bring colors from anywhere and get a clean, usable palette instantly:
- Paste from Adobe Color, Coolors.co, CSS/JSON, or plain text.
- Even messy client messages with random hex codes work—ColorFlow extracts and cleans automatically.
- Duplicates are removed and colors can be added to the current or a new palette.
Advanced Color Harmonies (Design Faster)
Generate professional color schemes in seconds:
- Complementary, Triadic, Analogous, and Tetradic harmonies.
- Instant light/dark variations (shades) for any selected color.
- Build consistent color systems without trial-and-error.
Advanced Label Management (Stay Organized Under Deadline)
A dedicated label workflow built for real projects:
- Select all layers with the same label.
- Solo selected labels, auto-organize, or invert selections.
- Keep large comps clean, readable, and controllable.
Try ColorFlow Right Here
Test the base functions with the live ColorFlow demo.
Watch It In Action
Discussions
Want to talk about it?
Head over to r/aescripts to chat with fellow users about this product.
Need Support?
Please open a support ticket to be connected directly with the author of this product
Version History
1.6 -
May 11, 2026
1.5.5.2 -
Apr 28, 2026
try { thisComp.layer("ColorFlow Master").effect("Flow #54BAAB")("1") } catch(e) { value }
instead of
try { thisComp.layer("ColorFlow Master").effect("Flow #54BAAB")("Color") } catch(e) { value }
1.5.5 -
Apr 15, 2026
Live Color Link feature enhances the Master Controller workflow by allowing
users to dynamically link layer colors with Alt + Left Click. It generates a
"ColorFlow Master" Null object to control color parameters through
expressions. Key features include:
. Smart Overwrite Prevention: Updates existing linked colors without
creating duplicates.
. Global Master Override: Instantly updates all linked colors by clicking a
color in the ColorFlow grid.
. Unlink & Bake Colors: Quickly detaches and converts linked colors to static
properties with Alt + Right Click, removing expressions and deleting the
Master Null.
1.5.4.2 -
Apr 1, 2026
Fixed "Last Selected Palette" Memory Issue: Resolved a critical bug where ColorFlow would fail to remember the last used palette upon restarting After Effects. Due to an occasional limitation in the JSON reader in certain After Effects environments, the preferences file would fail to load properly and overwrite the saved settings, forcing the script to always reset back to the "Default" palette.
Code Improvements: Implemented a double-layer fallback and protection system. The script now automatically cleans up any invisible configuration characters (BOM - Byte Order Mark), checks for the native JSON variable, and if the core After Effects system fails to parse it, falls back to a safe extraction method using Regex and eval. This guarantees your saved settings will never get accidentally wiped again!
1.5.4.1 -
Mar 11, 2026
Release notes for ColorFlow.
New Features & Improvements
• Added support for native 3D models and parametric meshes in After Effects 2024+.
• You can apply colors from your palette directly to the "Base Color" property of
imported 3D files (e.g., .glb) and native parametric meshes (e.g., Cube Mesh, Sphere
Mesh) by instantly coloring their "Material Assignment" properties.
Bug Fixes
• Fixed "Layer does not support effects" error when applying color to a native 3D
model.
• ColorFlow now detects 3D Model Layers (which do not support the ADBE Effect
Parade) and applies the color directly to the material instead of trying to add a 2D Fill
Effect as a fallback.
1.5.4 -
Mar 3, 2026
Added Support for Native 3D Models & Parametric Meshes: The script now fully supports coloring native 3D layers in After Effects 2024+. You can now apply colors from your palette directly to the "Base Color" property of imported 3D files (e.g., .glb) and native parametric meshes (e.g., Cube Mesh, Sphere Mesh) by instantly coloring their "Material Assignment" properties.
? Bug Fixes:
Fixed "Layer does not support effects" error: Addressed a critical bug that occurred when attempting to apply a color to a native 3D model. The script is now smart enough to detect 3D Model Layers (which do not support the ADBE Effect Parade) and applies the color directly to the material instead of trying to add a 2D Fill Effect as a fallback.
1.5.3 -
Dec 15, 2025
1.5.2 -
Oct 22, 2025
1.5.1 -
Sep 11, 2025
1.5 -
Sep 11, 2025
========================
ColorFlow – V1.5 Changelog
Quick Summary
* New: Extract colors from a paused video frame (+ button when video is stopped)
* Improved: Image/video extraction finds off-center colors more reliably
* Behavior: "Force Extraction" in Settings enables deep sampling; default is fast & conservative
What’s New (User-Facing)
* Paused Video Frame Sampling: Pause video → click + → adds dominant colors to palette
* Smarter Image Sampling: With Force Extraction, uses multiple/random points until unique colors are found
* Configurable Depth: Default \~25 samples. Change via config.videoSampleCount. Presets: 9 / 25 / 49
* Duplicate-Aware Retries: If many samples are identical, retries up to safe caps
How to Use
1. Pause video at the frame you want
2. Select the layer (video/image)
3. Click the + button
4. For deeper search: Settings → enable Force Extraction
Technical / Notes
* Uses hidden nulls with temporary color controls
* Safety caps:
* Up to 20 samples per extraction (dynamic mode)
* Up to 200 random attempts for unique colors
* Deduplication avoids near-identical colors
Troubleshooting
* Few/no colors?
* Ensure comp is paused at correct frame
* Try Force Extraction
* Increase sample count (videoSampleCount)
* Lag?
* Disable Force Extraction to lower sample count
1.4.3 -
Sep 8, 2025
========================
Force Extraction settings implemented. Check your settings and decide when you want to extract colors from everywhere
1. Extract Colors from Expressions
----------------------------------
- Extractor now finds color literals inside expressions:
- #RGB / #RRGGBB
- rgb(255,128,0)
- Arrays like [0.5,0.1,0.2] or [255,128,0]
- Colors are normalized and added to the active palette
- Duplicates are avoided
2. Extract Colors from Effects
------------------------------
- When Force Extraction is enabled, the script scans a layer’s Effect Parade
- Pulls color values from:
- Color Control
- Fill
- Other similar color properties
- Supports nested effect structures:
- Example: color stops inside "4-Color Gradient" are extracted
1.4.2 -
Sep 6, 2025
========================
1. Extract Colors from Expressions
----------------------------------
- Extractor now finds color literals inside expressions:
- #RGB / #RRGGBB
- rgb(255,128,0)
- Arrays like [0.5,0.1,0.2] or [255,128,0]
- Colors are normalized and added to the active palette
- Duplicates are avoided
2. Extract Colors from Effects
------------------------------
- When Force Extraction is enabled, the script scans a layer’s Effect Parade
- Pulls color values from:
- Color Control
- Fill
- Other similar color properties
- Supports nested effect structures:
- Example: color stops inside "4-Color Gradient" are extracted
1.4.1 -
Jul 21, 2025
1.4 -
Jul 11, 2025
Image Color Extraction
Now you can extract colors directly from any image.
→ Just select an image and click the + button to pull all dominant colors
into your palette.
Import Palette to Composition
* Add your palette directly into the comp as:
→ A set of color swatches
→ A null object with Color Controls for each swatch
Perfect for expression setups and centralized color management.
Right-Click to Exclude Label Color
In Label Flow, right-click a label color to exclude it from the current
selection.
→ Ideal for quick isolation and organizing large timelines.
→ Fixed: Minor bug fixes with saving and editing the palette and performance improvements.
1.3 -
Jul 1, 2025
* New: "Label Flow" is now organized into groups for a better overview.
* Improved: The "Label Flow" UI has been updated for a better experience.
* Improved: Help tips are more detailed so users won't miss any functions.
* Fixed: Minor bug fixes and performance improvements.
1.2 -
Jun 30, 2025
* Improved: The structure of color harmony results is now cleaner and better organized.
* Fixed: Addressed minor bugs in the color calculation engine for more accurate palettes.
1.1 -
Jun 26, 2025
* Added: Label Flow compatibility with macOS.
Compatibility
After Effects
2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, CC 2019
EULA
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