Chroma

Chroma colors objects in the viewport and Outliner, and manages your palettes.

Open Chroma

In the weSkel shelf, click the Chroma icon.
Its tooltip reads Open Chroma.

From Python

from weSkel.src.ui import chroma

chroma.show_dockable(floating=True)  # Floating by default; dock where you prefer.
# chroma.show()                     # Alternative: standalone floating window.

Maya may restore the saved docking state when reopening the tool.

Overview

weSkel Chroma · interface overview, Poseidon theme.

Reference	Purpose
1 · Targets	Viewport changes display colors; Outliner changes name colors in the Outliner. Both can be enabled.
2 · Picker	Choose hue and saturation in the wheel, then adjust brightness with the slider.
3 · Current color	Displays the current color. Click it to open Advanced Color Picker.
4 · Palettes	Switch between Picker and palettes. Manage… opens the palette manager.
5 · Actions	Apply Color applies, Get Color reads the selection, and Reset restores default colors.
6 · Status	Reports the selection and action result, including skipped or blocked targets.

Apply a color

Step	Action
1 · Selection	Select the objects to color in Maya.
2 · Targets	Enable Viewport, Outliner, or both.
3 · Color	Choose a color in the picker or click a palette swatch.
4 · Apply	Click Apply Color. Double-clicking a swatch also applies its color.

A single color click prepares your choice; it does not edit the scene. Check the status message after applying.

Picker

Advanced Color Picker is the color picker shared by weSkel tools: wheel, brightness and HEX / RGB / HSV input.

Advanced Color Picker · precise color values.

Reference	Purpose
1 · Hue / saturation	Choose the color in the wheel.
2 · Brightness	Adjust value, from black to the chosen color.
3 · Values	HEX, RGB, and HSV stay synchronized. Click the RGB label to switch between 0–255 and 0–1 ranges.
4 · Confirm	Apply confirms the color; Cancel discards the edit.

Opened from Color, Apply updates Chroma’s current color. Then click Apply Color to edit the scene. Opened from the manager, it confirms the palette color.

Built-in palettes

The Palette list provides six palettes. A swatch is one color sample; a palette groups several swatches.

A swatch click changes the current color without editing the scene.

Palette	Colors
Grayscale	Shades of gray.
Maya Basics	Maya’s basic colors.
Pastel	Soft tones.
Rigging	Left, center, and right cues, with complementary colors.
Warm	Warm tones.
Cool	Cool tones.

Grayscale

Maya Basics

Pastel

Rigging

Warm

Cool

Single-click to select a color; double-click to apply it to the selection and enabled operations. Built-in palettes are read-only: make a copy to customize them.

Custom palettes

Click Manage… to open Manage Chroma Palettes.

Manage Chroma Palettes · library and custom “Studio Controls” palette.

Reference	Purpose
1 · Library	Select a palette. ＋ New Palette: create a palette. Reload: read the files again.
2 · Name and actions	Rename renames the custom palette. Delete removes its palette after confirmation.
3 · Colors	Click ＋ to add a color, or a swatch to edit it. Drag swatches to reorder them.

Create a palette

Click ＋ New Palette.

New Chroma Palette · start from an existing palette.

Reference	Purpose
1 · Name	Give your palette a name.
2 · Start from	Choose From scratch for an empty palette, or an existing palette to copy it.
3 · Create	Creates the palette and opens it in the manager.

Add or edit a color

In a custom palette, click ＋, choose a color in Advanced Color Picker, then click Apply. To edit a swatch, click it; its picker also offers Delete.

Add a color, then move its swatch within the palette.

Changes are saved automatically in user_data/chroma/palettes. They are kept separately from weSkel’s code and are not part of the scene’s Undo history.

Selection and limits

Maya selection	Viewport	Outliner
Transform	Its direct child curve or mesh shapes.	The selected transform.
Joint	Its compatible shapes, or the joint if it has none.	The selected joint.
Shape or components	The whole shape.	Its immediate parent.

Nested groups are not traversed; intermediate shapes are ignored. The status message reports incompatible or blocked targets.

Read a color

Get Color reads the selection for the enabled targets (Viewport, Outliner), without editing the scene. If one color is found, it becomes Chroma’s current color.

Message	Meaning
mixed colors	The selection contains several colors.
Viewport / Outliner conflict	Viewport and Outliner return different colors.
empty	No usable color.

Reset colors

Reset restores the selection’s default colors, only for the enabled targets (Viewport, Outliner).

Undo / redo

Each color application or reset can be undone or redone as one Maya operation. Palette edits are saved separately and are not part of the scene’s Undo history.