AFTER EFFECTS 2022+ · CHANGE ONE, CHANGE ALL
Recolour the whole comp by changing one swatch.
Swatches collects the colours your comp uses into a palette. Change a swatch and every fill, stroke, text, solid, effect and layer style that used it follows, so a late colour change takes a minute instead of an afternoon.
01 / THE CHORE
The client wants a different red. It's everywhere.
A brand colour lives in shape fills, strokes, text, solids, effects and layer styles, often several groups deep and sometimes on keyframes. Changing it by hand means twirling open every layer, finding each Color property, pasting the new hex, and hoping you didn't miss one. Then the client picks another shade.
// what you do today, per colour // twirl open each layer's contents // find every Fill > Color and // Stroke > Color, groups included // check effects and layer styles // retype text fill and stroke // Layer > Solid Settings, per solid // step through colour keyframes // scrub: did you miss one? // Swatches finds every place the // colour is used and changes it // in one step, with one undo.
02 / HOW IT WORKS
Collect, pick, change.
Collect from Comp
One click adds every distinct colour in the active comp: fills, strokes, text, solids, effects and layer styles, however deeply nested, keyframes included.
YOU GET
The whole palette of the comp in one panel.
01
Pick a swatch
Click a swatch, or select a layer in the comp and its colour is picked for you. Dots show every colour the selection uses.
YOU GET
No hunting through nested comps for where a colour lives.
02
Choose the new colour
Use the built-in colour picker, or paste a hex code and press Enter.
YOU GET
Every place that used the old colour changes at once, in one undo step.
03
Keep the palette
Colour sets stay in the panel for the next client revision, and expression-driven colours are left alone.
YOU GET
A late colour change takes a minute, not an afternoon.
04
03 / USE CASES
One comp or a whole brand.
A late colour change
The client swaps the brand red for a deeper shade. Pick the red swatch, paste the new hex, and the fills, text, tints and layer styles that used it all update. Only the keyframes that held the old red change; the rest of the animation stays as it was.
Palettes you keep
Sort swatches into named sets, one per client or project. Sets are saved on your computer, not in the project, so they stay with you from project to project. Rename or delete swatches and sets as you go.
Undo puts every changed colour back.
In the test suite, one change recolours a shape fill, a text fill and one keyframe of an animated tint, leaves a blue stroke, a green keyframe and an expression-driven fill untouched, and records a single undo step. One undo restores all three values.
04 / DETAIL
Built for real projects.
Coverage
Every place a colour lives
Shape fills and strokes at any depth, text fill and stroke, solids, effect colours, layer styles and light colour are all found and changed.
Keyframes
Only the matching keys
On an animated colour, only the keyframes that use the old colour change. Keyframes in other colours are left exactly as they were.
Undo
One undo per change
Each colour change is one undo step, named after both colours, and one undo puts every changed value back.
Expressions
Expressions left alone
A colour driven by an expression isn't overwritten. The panel lists each one it skipped, so you know where to look.
Selection
Follows your selection
Select a layer and its swatch is picked, fill first, then stroke. If its colour isn't in the set yet, the panel offers to add it.
Hex
Exact hex matching
Colours are matched by their hex code, the same form the swatch stores, so a saved swatch still finds its colour in the comp.
05 / WHAT YOU GET
Everything in one download.
The STRAT Swatches panel, as a .zxp installer
A personal licence key for one computer
Free updates for every 1.x version
Direct support: reply to your receipt email
REQUIREMENTS
Does it change gradients?
No. Gradient colours aren't touched. Solid fills and strokes, text, solids, effects and layer styles are.
What about precomps inside my comp?
Swatches works on the comp you have open. Precomps inside it are edited on their own: open the precomp and change the colour there.
Why did a colour change in another comp?
A solid's colour belongs to the solid itself, so changing it changes it in every comp that uses that solid. The panel tells you when this happens.
Can I edit a swatch without recolouring the comp?
Yes. Turn off "Editing also recolours the active comp" and edits only change the swatch in your set.
Is it a subscription?
No. You pay once, and every 1.x update is free.
How do I install it?
Install the free ZXP Installer from aescripts, drag in the .zxp file, restart After Effects, and open Window › Extensions › STRAT Swatches. Paste your licence key and click Activate. Moving to a new computer later? While online, click Deactivate this computer in the panel on the old one.
What if something doesn't work?
One undo puts every colour back as it was. Then reply to your receipt email and tell us what happened.
Swatches
Change a colour once, everywhere.
Change a colour once, everywhere in the comp, and one undo if you change your mind.
Get Swatches
$13.99
One-time payment · 1 computer · free 1.x updates · local taxes added at checkout