Color swatches in After Effects

Update: Synthetic Aperture has since updated their software a few times, and AEScripts.com has a color swatch panel now.

An AE-List thread today explored options for color swatches in After Effects. Currently there's no filter for CS5 for this. The old Buena filter SwatchBuckler is gone, and the UI-heavy Synthetic Aperture Test Gear (pictured) isn't quite ready for 64-bit CS5.

Todd Kopriva and others had several suggestions, including several options for using Kuler, all listed in Select a color or edit a gradient in AE Help:

• Adobe provides the "Swatch You Want" script in a package of scripts for After Effects on After Effects Exchange. The Swatch You Want script imports and converts Adobe Swatch Exchange (.ase) files.

• Mathias Möhl provides a script, Chameleon – Adobe Kuler Color Theme Browser, at AE Scripts. He also provides a tutorial on AEtuts that demonstrates how to use Kuler with After Effects.

• Jorrit Schulte also provides a tutorial on the AEtuts that demonstrates how to make an animation preset for importing and working with Kuler color swatches.

• Jerzy Drozda, Jr. (Maltaannon) provides a video tutorial (and example project), Kuler Workflow, that shows how to copy and paste from the Adobe Kuler desktop application to bring color swatches into AE.

• The Mac system color picker plug-in Mondrianum let's you access Kuler swatches.

It seems like this may also be a job for Pixel Bender some day.

Update: colorLibrary from AEScripts.com helps you create, manage, and share color swatches with their UI script panel.