Quick Start for Artists

Most users will likely want to use the OpenColorIO that comes precompiled with their applications. See the Compatible Software for further details on each application.

Note that OCIO configurations are required to do any ‘real’ work, and are available separately on the Downloads section of this site. Example images are also available. For assistance customizing .ocio configurations, contact ocio-user or the #configs channel on Slack

If your application supports OCIO 2.2 or later, you may take advantage of the configurations built into OCIO itself. For example, by setting the config path to: ocio://default.

  • Step 1: set the $OCIO environment-variable to /path/to/your/config.ocio

  • Step 2: Launch supported application.

If you are on a platform that is not envvar friendly, most applications also provide a menu option to select a different OCIO configuration after launch.

Please be sure to select a configuration that matches your color workflow (VFX work sometimes requires a different profile than animated features). If you need assistance picking a profile, email ocio-user.