Invert

Inverts image colors per-channel with controllable intensity.

Category: Color Menu path: Color > Invert

Ports

Port	Type	Direction	Description
in	imageRgba16f	input	Input image
out	imageRgba16f	output	Inverted result

Parameters

Param	Type	Default	Description
amount	scalar	1.0	Inversion intensity. 0 = no effect, 1 = fully inverted. Keyframeable.
channels	enum	RGB	Which channels to invert. Options: RGB, R, G, B, A, RGBA.
space	enum	Perceptual	Which space the inversion happens in. Perceptual inverts in display (sRGB) space so the result is the visual complement (255 − value). Linear inverts the scene-linear value directly.

Expose Channels

When enabled (E button on node header), adds input ports that override params via edge connections:

Port	Type	Overrides
amount_in	scalar	amount

How It Works

For each selected channel, the shader computes the complement of the value and blends the result with the original based on the amount parameter.

The space parameter controls which space the complement is computed in:

• Perceptual (default): the value is converted to display (sRGB) space, complemented (1 - value), then converted back. The visible result is the sRGB complement — a mid-gray stays mid-gray. This is almost always what you want.
• Linear: the scene-linear value is complemented directly (1 - value). This is the physically "true" inverse, but because the engine works in linear light, it perceptually brightens midtones (linear 0.5 reads as sRGB ~0.74). Use this for physically-based compositing where you specifically want the linear complement.

When channels is set to RGB, only the color channels are inverted and alpha is preserved. Use RGBA to also invert the alpha channel, or select individual channels (R, G, B, A) for targeted inversions. Alpha is always complemented linearly (it carries no gamma), so space only affects the color channels.

Usage Examples

Basic: Negative image

1. Add an Invert node after your image source
2. Leave amount at 1.0 and channels at RGB
3. The result is a photographic negative

Creative: Partial inversion for color grading

1. Set amount to 0.3 for a subtle color shift that pushes tones toward their complement
2. Animate amount from 0 to 1 for a smooth negative-to-positive transition

Advanced: Invert alpha for mask manipulation

1. Set channels to A to flip the transparency of an image
2. Useful for turning cutout masks inside-out before feeding into a Matte node

Tips

• Inverting in RGB mode preserves alpha, which is what you want in most compositing scenarios
• Use amount values between 0 and 1 to create solarization-like effects
• Connect a Time node to the amount_in expose channel to animate the inversion over time

Related Nodes

• Levels -- remap brightness ranges without full inversion
• Curves -- arbitrary per-channel tone mapping
• ColorCorrect -- broader color grading controls