# Changing Color Over Time

You attach elements whose colors you want to change over time to Color Transform elements. Then, you change the properties of the Color Transform elements at selected keyframes. Toon Boom Studio calculates the color values of each image in an element at each frame for you. You can transform any visual element - drawing, image, or media.

You can add/subtract values from the color channels or you can multiply the current color values by a value.

To change colors in elements over time:

1. Select Element > Add > Color Transform Effect. A new element layer appears in the Timeline window.

2. Drag the elements you want to change on top of the Color Transform Effect element. The elements appear indented below the Color Transform element.

3. If needed, change the start time and duration of the Color Transform element.

- Drag the entire trackbar of the element to a new start frame.
- Drag the end of the trackbar to a new end frame.

4. Select the Color Transform element and use the red frame slider at the top of the Timeline window to select the keyframe at which you want the color change to end. Notice that the Color Transform tab opens in the Properties window.

5. In the Properties tab, make your selections for the color transformation. Drag the slider or enter a value in a field. You can see the results of your changes immediately in the Camera View window.

If you nest color transformations in multiple Color Transform elements, the real value is used to calculate the combined effect.

| When a color transform is applied on an image element or a vector element with a bitmap fill, what you see in the Camera View window will not be the same as the final rendered movie. To evaluate color transforms applied to bitmaps, you must playback the rendered animation.

See Also
Adding/Removing Keyframes from a Color Transform
Additive and Multiplicative Color Changes
Additive and Multiplicative Color Changes
Combining Multiple Color Transforms
Real-Time Playback