Setting the background color of a composition

The default background color for the Composition window is black, but you can change the color at any time. When you add one composition to a second composition (nesting), the second composition's background color is preserved, and the first composition's background becomes transparent. If you want to preserve the first composition's solid background color, create a new, colored solid to use as a background layer in the first composition. (See "Creating a new solid layer" on page 113 and "Organizing a project using nesting" on page 668.)

You can also change the color of the pasteboard in the Composition window.

To set the background color of a composition:

1. Choose Composition > Background Color.
2. Click the color swatch to select a color, or click the eyedropper to sample a color from anywhere on the screen. Then click OK.

To set the pasteboard color of a composition:

1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Display (Windows) or After Effects > Preferences > Display (Mac OS).
2. Click the color swatch to select a color, or click the eyedropper to sample a color from anywhere on the screen. Then click OK.

Note: The pasteboard color you select will be used for all After Effects compositions.