---
title: "Creative Color Grading: Building a Look | colorgrade.video"
description: "Creative color grading step by step: build a look on a clean correction with teal and orange, film emulation, split toning and grain, then save it as a .cube."
url: https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/creative-looks
---

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3. Creative looks

Chapter 9 of 13 · Advanced · 8 min read

# Creative Color Grading: How to Build a Look

A look is the part of a grade that is a choice rather than a fix. Correction makes the picture accurate; the look makes it feel like something: a summer memory, a cold thriller, a faded photograph. The best looks are built from a handful of simple moves, each with a reason, applied to footage that has already been corrected.

This chapter takes the classic looks apart so you can build your own: [teal and orange](https://colorgrade.video/teal-and-orange), [film emulation](https://colorgrade.video/film-look), split toning, bleach bypass and black and white, plus the finishing touches and the restraint that separates a graded film from a filter. If you want a finished cinematic look in one click, the [cinematic colour grading page](https://colorgrade.video/cinematic-color-grading) has a library of them; this is about how they are made.

Video guide

## Build a Creative Color Grading Look: Teal, Film and Grain

Duration:  0:44 

Your browser can't play this video. [Download the MP4](https://colorgrade.video/media/videos/build-a-creative-color-grading-look/video.mp4) or read the[full transcript](https://colorgrade.video/videos/build-a-creative-color-grading-look).

Chapters

1. [ Play from  0:00 Correct first ](https://colorgrade.video/videos/build-a-creative-color-grading-look#t=0)
2. [ Play from  0:04 Build the look ](https://colorgrade.video/videos/build-a-creative-color-grading-look#t=4)
3. [ Play from  0:22 Texture and finish ](https://colorgrade.video/videos/build-a-creative-color-grading-look#t=22)
4. [ Play from  0:30 Restraint ](https://colorgrade.video/videos/build-a-creative-color-grading-look#t=30)
5. [ Play from  0:42 Try it yourself ](https://colorgrade.video/videos/build-a-creative-color-grading-look#t=42)

English captions [Watch page and full transcript ](https://colorgrade.video/videos/build-a-creative-color-grading-look) 

## Key takeaways

* Build looks on the **Look** layer, on top of a neutral **Correction**, so the same look behaves the same on every shot.
* Most looks are complementary contrast: warm against cool, with skin protected so faces stay believable.
* Film emulation is mostly contrast shape (a soft toe and shoulder) and subtle colour crossover; grain and **Halation** are the finishing texture.
* Restraint is a control: lower **Intensity** or the layer’s **Opacity**, then save the result with **Save as my look** or as a .cube.

## In this chapter

1. [ 1. Build the look on a correction ](#look-on-a-correction)
2. [ 2. Teal and orange: complementary contrast ](#teal-and-orange)
3. [ 3. Film emulation: toe, shoulder and crossover ](#film-emulation)
4. [ 4. Split toning and bleach bypass ](#split-toning-and-bleach-bypass)
5. [ 5. Black and white with a channel mix ](#black-and-white)
6. [ 6. Vignette, soft focus and restraint ](#finishing-and-restraint)
7. [ 7. Saving a look and exporting it as a .cube ](#save-and-export)
8. [ 8. Try it: build a look from scratch ](#try-it)

## Build the look on a correction

A look is a transformation, and a transformation gives predictable results only on predictable input. If one shot is too warm and another too cool, the same look turns the first orange and the second grey. So correct first: balance white, set the black and white points, check skin (see [colour correction](https://colorgrade.video/color-correct-video) and [contrast and tonal range](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/contrast-and-tonal-range)). Then build the look.

The studio keeps the two apart. In **Layers**, **Correction** sits above **Look**, and layers apply from top to bottom. **Auto colour** and **Adjust** write into **Correction** by default; looks from the library go on **Look**. To build a look by hand in **Pro**, select **Look** in **Layers** first, then use **Wheels**, **Curves** and **Creative**: the **Editing:** chip should read **Editing: Look**. Now you can change the correction shot by shot and keep the look identical, which is how a sequence stays consistent (see [shot matching](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/shot-matching)).

## Teal and orange: complementary contrast

Colours opposite each other on the colour wheel are complementary, and placing them side by side gives the strongest contrast of hue. Skin sits between red and yellow, and its opposite is a blue-green: teal. Push the surroundings towards teal and keep faces warm, and people separate from the background even when both are equally lit. Real scenes help: shadows outdoors are lit by blue sky, practical lights are warm.

1. On the **Look** layer, open **Wheels** and drag **Lift** slightly towards teal, around 190-200° on the wheel. Most of the look comes from cooling the shadows.
2. Drag **Gain** a little towards orange, around 30-40°. Keep it smaller than the teal push.
3. Or use **Split toning** in **Creative**: a teal **Shadow tint**, an orange **Highlight tint**, and **Balance** to move the point where one hands over to the other.
4. In **Looks**, raise **Protect skin tones**. Skin is already on the warm side, so the orange push moves it furthest, and any teal that reaches the midtones drains it.

[ ![Wheels panel in the studio with the Look layer selected: the Lift puck pushed towards teal and the Gain puck nudged towards orange, beside a golden-hour portrait whose shadows have turned teal.](https://colorgrade.video/guides/color-grading-tutorial/creative-looks/teal-orange-wheels.webp)  (enlarge image) ](https://colorgrade.video/guides/color-grading-tutorial/creative-looks/teal-orange-wheels.webp) 

On the **Look** layer: **Lift** towards teal, **Gain** slightly towards orange.

Watch the **Vectorscope** as you go: the background trace should lean towards cyan and blue, the skin cluster should stay on the skin tone line ([more on skin](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/skin-tones)). If foliage turns turquoise, pull the **Green** band’s **Hue** back towards yellow in **Curves**, **HSL**.

## Film emulation: toe, shoulder and crossover

What people recognise as a film look is mostly the shape of the contrast. Film negative and print stock respond to light in an S-shape: a toe where shadows roll gently into black rather than stopping dead, a straight middle, and a shoulder where highlights compress smoothly instead of clipping. Digital video, by contrast, is straight until it hits a hard ceiling.

* **Contrast shape.** In **Curves**, **Custom**, add a gentle S: pull a point at a quarter down a little and push a point at three quarters up. Lift the black end point slightly for a softer toe, and pull the white end point down a touch for a shoulder.
* **Colour crossover.** In film, the three dye layers don’t respond identically, so colour shifts with brightness: shadows a little cool or green, highlights a little warm. Recreate it with a small bend in the **Blue** curve, raised at the bottom and lowered at the top, so the channel curves cross.
* **Saturation roll-off.** Film rarely reproduces neon-pure colour. A negative **Colour boost** in **Wheels** calms only the most saturated colours.
* **Faded film** lifts the blacks into a matte, like a print that has aged or been printed light.

[ ![Custom curve in the Curves panel forming a gentle S, with the black end point lifted for a soft toe and the white end point pulled down for a shoulder.](https://colorgrade.video/guides/color-grading-tutorial/creative-looks/film-curve.webp)  (enlarge image) ](https://colorgrade.video/guides/color-grading-tutorial/creative-looks/film-curve.webp) 

A film-style curve: lifted toe, gentle S, rolled-off shoulder.

### Texture: grain and halation

**Grain** adds the moving texture of the silver crystals, with **Grain size** and **Grain roughness** to choose between fine 35mm and coarse 16mm; it changes 24 times a second, as film grain does. **Halation** is the red-orange glow film produces round bright light, when light passes through the emulsion, reflects off the back of the film and re-exposes the red-sensitive layer. A touch of it round a sunlit rim or a lamp is one of the most convincing film cues. **Bloom** is a softer, neutral glow. The [film look page](https://colorgrade.video/film-look) covers stocks and gauges in more detail; the **35mm Release Print** look is a good one to take apart.

## Split toning and bleach bypass

Split toning tints shadows and highlights separately. Complementary pairs, such as teal and amber, give energy and separation; neighbouring hues, such as gold highlights over brown shadows, give harmony and a nostalgic feel. Keep the amounts low: a split tone should be felt in whites and greys rather than seen on skin.

Bleach bypass comes from a lab process in which the bleach step is skipped, leaving silver in the film alongside the colour dyes. The result is a black and white image laid over a colour one: lower saturation, harder contrast, deep blacks and a metallic sheen in the highlights. To build it, lower **Saturation** by about 35-45, raise **Contrast** by 25-35, add a firm S-curve and a little **Grain**. Skin goes pale and hard, which is the point; it suits war, crime and industrial settings. The **Bleach Bypass** look in **All looks** is a starting point.

## Black and white with a channel mix

Turning saturation to zero gives a flat, lifeless monochrome, because colours that contrast strongly, such as a red jacket on green grass, often have similar luminance and turn the same grey. Black and white photographers solved this with coloured filters on the lens, and the **Black and white** section in **Creative** does the same with a **Red**, **Green** and **Blue** channel mix.

__Channel mix and its classic filter equivalents__
| Weight towards | Like a       | Effect                                                  |
| -------------- | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Red**        | Red filter   | Blue sky deepens, clouds pop, skin smooths and lightens |
| **Green**      | Green filter | Foliage lightens, skin gains texture and depth          |
| **Blue**       | Blue filter  | Haze and mood, skin blemishes stand out                 |

If the picture gets lighter or darker overall as you change the mix, rebalance the three so the total stays about the same. Add contrast and fine grain afterwards. The [black and white video page](https://colorgrade.video/black-and-white-video) has ready-made versions, including **Mono Red Filter**.

## Vignette, soft focus and restraint

**Vignette** in **Creative** darkens (negative **Amount**) or lightens the edges, with **Midpoint** setting how far in it reaches, **Roundness** its shape and **Feather** its softness. A good vignette is one nobody notices: it simply guides the eye towards the centre. If you can see the ring, halve it. For an off-centre subject, use an inverted window on a secondary layer instead ([secondary correction](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/secondary-color-correction)). **Soft focus** adds diffusion, the glow of a diffusion filter, that lowers local contrast round highlights; a little flatters faces, a lot looks like a dream sequence.

Then pull everything back. A look built at full strength while you stare at one frame for ten minutes nearly always ends up too strong. For a library look, lower **Intensity**; for one built by hand, lower the **Look** layer’s **Opacity** in **Layers**. Around 60-80% is common. Press **Bypass** after a break to see it fresh, and check skin on the **Vectorscope** one last time.

[ ![Golden-hour portrait with a teal and orange look and the Vectorscope beside it: the background trace leans towards cyan and blue while the skin cluster stays on the skin tone line.](https://colorgrade.video/guides/color-grading-tutorial/creative-looks/vectorscope-look-skin.webp)  (enlarge image) ](https://colorgrade.video/guides/color-grading-tutorial/creative-looks/vectorscope-look-skin.webp) 

The finished look on the **Vectorscope**: cool background, skin still on the line.

Try it in the studio

Build a look, then step **Opacity** on the **Look** layer from 100% down to 50% in steps of 10 while the clip plays. Note the lowest value at which you still feel the look. That is usually the right one.

## Saving a look and exporting it as a .cube

**Save as my look** (**Shift+S**) in **Looks** stores the look in this browser, under **My looks** in **All looks**, ready for the next clip. To carry a whole grade, correction included, to another clip in the same session, use **Copy grade** and **Paste grade** in **Match**.

To use the look in Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro or CapCut, open **Export**, choose **LUT (.cube)**, pick a **LUT size** of 33 or 65 and choose **Export .cube** (**Shift+L**). A LUT carries colour only, so the export warns if the grade includes grain, a vignette, glow, sharpening, masked layers or keyframes; recreate those in the other application. Apply the .cube there to footage corrected the same way, because like any creative LUT it expects balanced input ([how LUTs work](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/log-footage-and-luts)).

[ ![The Export dialog on the LUT (.cube) tab with LUT size set to 33 and a warning that grain and vignette in the grade cannot be included in a LUT.](https://colorgrade.video/guides/color-grading-tutorial/creative-looks/save-look-export-cube.webp)  (enlarge image) ](https://colorgrade.video/guides/color-grading-tutorial/creative-looks/save-look-export-cube.webp) 

**Export .cube** saves the colour of the look and warns about what a LUT can’t hold.

## Try it: build a look from scratch

Correct a clip, then build a teal and orange film look on the Look layer with wheels, a curve and grain, protect the skin, and pull it back with Opacity.

1. 1  
### Correct first
Open the clip, switch to **Pro** and press **Auto colour**. Check that greys are neutral on the **Parade**.
2. 2  
### Select the Look layer
In **Layers**, select **Look**. The **Editing:** chip now reads **Editing: Look**.
3. 3  
### Add complementary colour
In **Wheels**, drag **Lift** a little towards teal and **Gain** a little towards orange, then raise **Protect skin tones** in **Looks** to about 70%.
4. 4  
### Shape and texture
In **Curves**, **Custom**, add a gentle S with a lifted black point. In **Creative**, add some **Grain** and a touch of **Halation**.
5. 5  
### Hold back and save
Lower the **Look** layer’s **Opacity** to about 75%, compare with **Bypass**, then choose **Save as my look** or export it from **LUT (.cube)**.

## Creative looks: questions

### How do I create my own color grading look?

Correct the footage first, then build the look on a separate layer: a complementary colour split in the wheels, a contrast shape in the curves, and texture such as grain. Protect skin, lower the strength until it is just felt, and save it so you can reuse it.

### What is the difference between a look and a LUT?

A look is the creative result: colour, contrast and often texture. A LUT is one way to store the colour part of a look as a file. Texture, vignettes and masks cannot go into a LUT, so a LUT is often only part of a look.

### How do I make video look like film without a LUT?

Give it film’s contrast shape, with a soft toe and shoulder from an S-curve, a slight colour crossover between shadows and highlights, calmer saturation, a little lift in the blacks, and fine grain with a touch of halation.

### What is bleach bypass?

A film lab process that skips the bleach step, leaving silver in the image. It gives low saturation, strong contrast and a metallic sheen. Digitally, lower saturation, raise contrast and add a firm S-curve and grain.

### What is halation in film?

A red-orange glow round bright light sources and edges, caused by light reflecting off the back of the film and re-exposing the red-sensitive layer. Adding a little with **Halation** is one of the most convincing film cues.

### Can I export my look as a LUT for Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve?

Yes. Open **Export**, choose **LUT (.cube)**, pick a size and choose **Export .cube**. Both editors load .cube files. Grain, vignette, glow and masks are not included, so add those in the editor.

[ ← Previous: chapter 8 Log footage and LUTs ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/log-footage-and-luts) [ Next: chapter 10 → Shot matching ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/shot-matching) 

## Keep going

* [ Cinematic color grading online Film-style looks, moody palettes and the controls that make a grade feel like cinema. ](https://colorgrade.video/cinematic-color-grading)
* [ Teal and orange color grading Why the blockbuster palette works and how to stop it turning faces orange. ](https://colorgrade.video/teal-and-orange)
* [ Film filter for video Film stock colour, grain size, halation and bloom, and what each one imitates. ](https://colorgrade.video/film-look)
* [ Log footage and LUTs What a log curve and a wide gamut do, how colour management turns them into normal video, and what a 3D LUT can and cannot carry. ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/log-footage-and-luts)
* [ Skin tones Use the vectorscope skin tone line and the waveform to keep faces natural, fix colour casts on skin, and keep skin out of a creative look. ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/skin-tones)

All 13 chapters 
1. [ 1\. Video scopes ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/video-scopes)  · Basics
2. [ 2\. Contrast and tonal range ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/contrast-and-tonal-range)  · Basics
3. [ 3\. White balance ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/white-balance)  · Basics
4. [ 4\. Colour wheels ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/color-wheels)  · Intermediate
5. [ 5\. Curves ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/curves)  · Intermediate
6. [ 6\. Secondary correction ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/secondary-color-correction)  · Intermediate
7. [ 7\. Skin tones ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/skin-tones)  · Intermediate
8. [ 8\. Log footage and LUTs ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/log-footage-and-luts)  · Advanced
9. [ 9\. Creative looks ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/creative-looks)  · Advanced
10. [ 10\. Shot matching ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/shot-matching)  · Advanced
11. [ 11\. Delivery and export ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/delivery)  · Advanced
12. [ 12\. Grading workflow ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/workflow)  · Intermediate
13. [ 13\. Common mistakes ](https://colorgrade.video/color-grading-tutorial/mistakes)  · Basics