color management and ACES
Hello Blender Development Team,
I would like to raise a technical concern regarding Blender’s current color management and ACES implementation.
At the moment, Blender does not provide a true, production-ready ACEScg pipeline comparable to industry-standard workflows used in tools like Arnold, Maya, Nuke, or RenderMan. The current ACES/Filmic view transforms feel more like approximations rather than a full ACES reference implementation with correct RRT/ODT behavior.
This becomes especially noticeable in character rendering, where:
Skin tones appear desaturated or gray
Reds clip unnaturally
Overall color response lacks cinematic contrast
ACES results differ significantly from established film pipelines
Many artists rely on Blender for high-end character work, and the lack of a proper ACEScg workflow creates inconsistencies when matching renders with other DCCs and compositing tools.
I would strongly encourage the Blender team to consider:
A full ACEScg color pipeline (not only a view transform)
Proper RRT and ODT implementations
Clear separation between linear working space and display transforms
Production-grade color management comparable to industry standards
Blender is an incredible tool, and improving its color management would significantly enhance its adoption in professional film and VFX pipelines.
Thank you for your time and continued development of Blender.
Best regards
4 Comments
"A full ACEScg color pipeline (not only a view transform)" It's actually part of Blender 5.0. Besides the view transform, you can now open the Working space panel, where you can change from linear rec.709 to ACEScg
faded colors and an illusory improvement the render colors still need adjustment and are not on par with other render engines like arnold vray or even marmoset
When you refer to the differences in ACES implementation, do you have any comparative examples? Images comparing Blender and another DDC would be helpful; it would be better to define where the differences originate to determine if they are truly different. Blender, in version 5.0, completed a more comprehensive implementation of ACES and the HDR display system. The way you mention flat colors makes me think you might be comparing ACES 2.0 View Transform with 1.3, so it would be better if you had a reference comparison.
faded colors and an illusory improvement the render colors still need adjustment and are not on par with other render engines like arnold vray or even marmoset