by Théo Miranda·Workflow
Images © Théo Miranda. Used for product review; image policy.
ColorFlow earns a place in the toolfarm library for bundling color application, label selection, palette import, and expression-based color linking into one After Effects script.
ColorFlow is an After Effects script for applying color across a composition. It can apply source colors or Fill effects to text, shapes, solids, footage, compositions, and the comp background. Clicking a color with Ctrl/Cmd selects every layer using it, Shift+Click applies the color to a stroke on text or shapes, and right-clicking adds a fill effect with that color.
Label controls follow the same logic: Ctrl+Click a label to select all layers carrying it, Shift+Click to toggle shy mode on selected layers, and right-click to select everything except the clicked label. Palettes can be pasted from Adobe Colors, Coolors.co, or CSS, JSON, and text files, and ColorFlow extracts and cleans hex codes—even from a client text message—removing duplicates before adding them to the current or a new palette. It also generates Complementary, Triadic, Analogous, and Tetradic harmonies.
Live Color Link connects layer colors with Alt+Left Click through a generated ColorFlow Master Null controlled by expressions, and Alt+Right Click unlinks and bakes colors back to static values. In After Effects 2024 and later, palette colors can be applied to native 3D models and parametric meshes through their Base Color and Material Assignment properties.
ColorFlow is best for after Effects artists managing color across many layers—applying colors and fills, importing palettes, building harmonies, and linking colors through a master controller.
ColorFlow is completely free to download and use.
ColorFlow lists support for After Effects 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and CC 2019, so it covers a wide span of releases still in active use. That range means the script should run across the versions many artists currently keep installed, from recent builds back to CC 2019. Some features, such as coloring native 3D models, depend on After Effects 2024 or later. If you are on a build outside the listed range, check the developer's page for the latest compatibility details before installing.
ColorFlow supports coloring native 3D models and parametric meshes, such as imported .glb files and Cube or Sphere meshes, in After Effects 2024 and later. Rather than adding a 2D Fill effect, it applies palette colors directly to the Base Color through the layer's Material Assignment properties. On earlier After Effects versions this 3D coloring feature is not available, since native 3D model support was introduced in the 2024 release.
ColorFlow can paste colors from Adobe Colors, Coolors.co, and CSS, JSON, or text files. It also extracts and cleans hex codes from less structured input, including a client text message containing hex values. Duplicate colors are removed automatically, and the imported colors are added to your current palette or a new one, so you can pull swatches from a range of formats without cleaning them up by hand first.
ColorFlow's Live Color Link dynamically connects layer colors using Alt+Left Click. It generates a "ColorFlow Master" Null object that controls color parameters through expressions, and includes Smart Overwrite Prevention to update existing links without creating duplicates plus a Global Master Override to update all linked colors at once. Alt+Right Click unlinks and bakes colors to static properties, removing the expressions and deleting the Master Null.
ColorFlow is listed as free in this catalog. Licensing terms can change over time, so for the current terms and any usage conditions, check the developer's page directly before you download. That page is also the best place to confirm the latest version and full compatibility, since this listing reflects only the details available at the time it was written. If anything here looks out of date, treat the developer's own page as the authoritative source.
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