User Guide - AI Film Look and Preset Generator
Generate presets, synthesize film emulations, and create 3D LUTs with AI.
The preset generator in Color.io is an extension of your creative intent. It learns from the presets you've already curated — sampling and combining them into new, original looks that echo your style while opening up new directions. Behind the scenes, it uses Color.io’s analog-modeled color engine, inspired by the tonal response of film, to ensure that every result feels grounded, cinematic, and real.
Workspace Overview
Click the "Generate" button at the top right of the presets panel in Color.io. This will launch the Spectra AI control surface. Spectra AI generates 63 distinct looks in every generation pass, offering multiple creative choices for you to choose from at a glance.
The generated looks vary in color temperature and brightness. Colder temperatures tend to be located on the left, warmer temperatures on the right. Brighter variations are located at the top, darker at the bottom.
If none of the four options work for you, simply click "Re-Generate" and get four new looks. Repeat this as often as required. Dive deeper into any generated look by spawning infinite variations based on the generated preset you like most - simply click "Remix Current" and the model creates 63 new looks based on your current choice.
When you're ready, click "Apply" to close the workspace and open your generated preset in the main application for fine tuning, export and more. Hit ESCAPE or click "Cancel" to exit the workspace without applying a look.
Good to know: The looks generated by Color.io are not a black box. They are color managed and fully adjustable presets. This means that they can be adapted to any camera and working space and are fine-tuneable down to the pixel. You can save generated looks as custom presets or export them as 3D LUTs and Lightroom Profiles just like manually created looks.
Tuning the output
The quality of AI-generated presets in Color.io is directly influenced by the contents of your preset library. That’s by design. Your library acts as the creative pool from which the generator draws — an evolving reflection of your taste. To shape the output toward your style, start by curating your library: delete presets you don’t connect with, keep the ones you do, and create variations of your favorites.
Curate your library
Your library is the foundation for AI generation. To refine your results, start by curating it:
- Remove what you don’t love. Delete any presets that don’t align with your style.Even official preset packs are fully editable. You’re in full control.
- Keep and enhance what resonates. The more your library reflects your taste, the better the generator can interpret your preferences.
- Even official preset packs are fully editable. You’re in full control.
Remix for variation
To quickly expand your look library, you can generate dozens of intelligent variations from a single preset:
- Right-click (or long press on mobile) any preset and choose Remix.
- Each Remix pass generates 63 new variants, all derived from the original preset’s DNA.
- This is ideal for exploring subtle tonal shifts, creative contrast changes, or alternative film-like palettes—all while staying rooted in your original aesthetic.
Personalize Your Style Profile
Once you’ve curated your library, go deeper by shaping it around your workflows and use cases:
- Build dedicated folders for different genres (e.g., portraits, street, fashion, product).
- Develop a modular base set: clean looks, tonal variations, film emulations, bold experimentals—all with Remix paths to explore.
- Refine over time: Use feedback from projects, client work, or personal preference to evolve your library intentionally.
Remember: Your style profile isn’t just what you like — it's how you work. Structuring your library this way allows Color.io’s AI generator to serve relevant, thoughtful results for any context you throw at it.
With Color.io you can edit images and build 3D LUTs with a powerful online raw developer and analog film look designer for photographers and filmmakers. Craft stunning film color in record time that works for any camera, in any software and on any device, directly in your browser.
