Colour scripts

A colour script is a sequence of small paintings that maps the colour and light of a whole story, one panel per scene or beat. StudioBinder calls it "a visual roadmap of a film's story, told through the strategic use of color", made as "a sequence of miniatures or digital paintings that mirror the film's key scenes" (StudioBinder: What is a Color Script? Definition and…). Read left to right, the strip shows how the palette rises and falls with the emotional arc.

A single colour key plans one moment (see colour for environments). A colour script plans the relationship between moments: which scene is the warmest, where the darkest point falls, and how the palette resets after a climax.

#Where it comes from

The technique comes from feature animation. StudioBinder notes that it "originated from the animation industry" and that Pixar is "often credited for pioneering this practice" (StudioBinder: What is a Color Script? Definition and…). Pixar's scripts have been collected in the book The Art of Pixar: The Complete Colorscripts from 25 Years of Feature Films (Pixar).

Pixar artist Lou Romano describes the colour script as "part inspiration and part continuity" (Thunderchunky: Pixar, colour and tent poles with Lou Romano). On Up, he watched the film on story reels and drew "long tableaux", "almost like mini murals that describe a whole sequence", then scanned them and mapped "the color progressions" (Thunderchunky: Pixar, colour and tent poles with Lou Romano). He anchors each script on a few "tent-pole images. Themes at their purest form", on which "all the individual scenes & shots must hang" (Thunderchunky: Pixar, colour and tent poles with Lou Romano).

#Colour scripts in games

Games use the same tool, usually per chapter or per level rather than per shot, because the player controls the camera.

#Making one for a level or game

StudioBinder's four steps adapt well to games (StudioBinder: What is a Color Script? Definition and…):

1. Conceptualise: list the beats of the level or campaign and the feeling of each.
2. Sketch: "rough sketches of key scenes, paying attention to lighting, composition, and potential color schemes."
3. Choose colours: "colors that align with the mood and tone of each scene."
4. Revise: "Review your color script with your team, gather feedback, and refine."

For environment art, add a fifth step: put the strip next to the level map in your art bibles and style guides, so lighting artists and level designers can check each area against its panel. Start from value thumbnails so the light and dark rhythm is right before you choose hues.

#Related pages

colour for environments · value · notan and value thumbnails · light and shadow · colour grading and LUTs · time of day · art bibles and style guides · environmental storytelling

#Further reading and watching