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Color Balance

Node icon
Color

Shifts colors independently in shadows, midtones, and highlights, similar to film color grading.

The Color Balance node applied to a source image: original (left) and result (right).
Side-by-side comparison: the original image on the left and the same image after the Color Balance node on the right.

Color Balance adjusts the color cast in three tonal zones: Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights. Pick a zone on the Tones row, then move its three sliders: Cyan - Red, Magenta - Green, and Yellow - Blue. Each zone keeps its own settings, so you can warm the highlights while cooling the shadows, or tint only the midtones.

Preserve Luminance (on by default) keeps overall brightness stable as colors shift.

Texture sets

Section titled “Texture sets”

On a texture set or a library, a Map row at the top of the panel picks the one map Color Balance edits, such as the Roughness, and every other map passes through untouched. On a one-channel map it works on the map’s gray value. See Changing one map.

Parameters

Section titled “Parameters”

Pins

ImagePixels or Texture
InputRequired
MaskMask
InputOptional
ImagePixels or Texture
Output

Color

MapChoice
Default: Base Color
Texture set or library wired

Which map of the texture set this node edits. Every other map passes through unchanged. Shown while a texture set or a library is wired

  • Base ColorWork on the set's Base Color. The first map for the color and tone nodes.
  • NormalWork on the set's Normal. Offered on Normal Map (rescale its intensity) and the nodes that read a map into a selection; a color node never edits a direction.
  • RoughnessWork on the set's Roughness, a linear 0 to 1 map with one channel.
  • MetallicWork on the set's Metallic, a linear 0 to 1 map with one channel.
  • Ambient OcclusionWork on the set's Ambient Occlusion, a linear 0 to 1 map with one channel.
  • HeightWork on the set's Height, a linear map that can pass 0 and 1.
  • OpacityNever offered: the Opacity is the set's cutout, which Mask Apply edits.
  • EmissiveWork on the set's Emissive color.
ZoneChoice
Default: Midtones

Select tonal range to adjust

  • ShadowsAdjust colors in the darkest areas of the image.
  • MidtonesAdjust colors in the middle brightness range, affecting most of the image.
  • HighlightsAdjust colors in the brightest areas of the image.
Shadows Cyan - RedNumber
Default: 0 Range: -100–100

Shadows: cyan/red bias

Shadows Magenta - GreenNumber
Default: 0 Range: -100–100

Shadows: magenta/green bias

Shadows Yellow - BlueNumber
Default: 0 Range: -100–100

Shadows: yellow/blue bias

Midtones Cyan - RedNumber
Default: 0 Range: -100–100

Midtones: cyan/red bias

Midtones Magenta - GreenNumber
Default: 0 Range: -100–100

Midtones: magenta/green bias

Midtones Yellow - BlueNumber
Default: 0 Range: -100–100

Midtones: yellow/blue bias

Highlights Cyan - RedNumber
Default: 0 Range: -100–100

Highlights: cyan/red bias

Highlights Magenta - GreenNumber
Default: 0 Range: -100–100

Highlights: magenta/green bias

Highlights Yellow - BlueNumber
Default: 0 Range: -100–100

Highlights: yellow/blue bias

Preserve LuminanceToggle
Default: true

Restore original luminance after color shifts.

Keeps the image from getting brighter or darker.

Mask

Mask FromChoice
Default: Luminance
Color image connected to the mask input

How the connected color image is read as a mask

  • LuminanceRead the image's brightness as the mask. The default.
  • AlphaRead the image's transparency as the mask.
  • RedUse the red channel as the mask.
  • GreenUse the green channel as the mask.
  • BlueUse the blue channel as the mask.
Mask FitChoice
Default: None (native size)
Mask connected

How the mask is sized when it doesn't match the image

  • None (native size)Center the mask at its native size, with no resizing. Unmasked regions are unaffected.
  • StretchStretch the mask to exactly match the image dimensions. May distort the mask shape.
  • Fit (letterbox)Scale the mask to fit inside the image, preserving aspect ratio. Letterboxes where needed.
  • Fill (crop)Scale the mask to fill the image, preserving aspect ratio. Crops edges if aspect ratios differ.

Usage Tips

Section titled “Usage Tips”
  • Warm highlights plus cool shadows is a classic cinematic grade.
  • Shift midtones toward teal and highlights toward orange for the “teal and orange” look.
  • Connect a mask to grade only part of the image.
Section titled “Related Nodes”