Create or modify a solid-color layer or footage item



You can create layers of any solid color and any size (up to 30,000x30,000 pixels). Solid-color layers have solid-color footage items as their sources. Solids work just like any other footage item: You can add masks, modify transform properties, and apply effects to a layer that has a solid as its source footage item. Use solid layers to color a background, as the basis of a control layer for a compound effect, or to create simple graphic images.

Solid-color footage items are automatically stored in the Solids folder in the Project panel.

Jeff Almasol provides a script on his redefinery website with which you can rename the selected solid footage items in the Project panel. You can use this script to, for example, include the pixel dimensions, aspect ratio, and RGB color values in the name.

Create a solid-color layer or solid-color footage item

  • To create a solid footage item but not create a layer for it in a composition, choose File > Import > Solid.
  • To create a solid footage item and create a layer for it in the current composition, choose Layer > New > Solid or press Ctrl+Y (Windows) or Command+Y (Mac OS).

    To create a layer that fits the composition when you create a solid-color layer, choose Make Comp Size.

Modify settings for solid-color layers and solid-color footage items

 To modify settings for the selected solid-color layer or footage item, choose Layer > Solid Settings.

To apply the changes to all solid-color layers that use the footage item, select Affect All Layers That Use This Solid. If you don’t select this option, you create a new footage item, which becomes the source for the selected layer.