Node-ordered look dev · OFX · Resolve · Fusion · Nuke
OpenDRT — free & open-source →Look Dev Tools is my six-in-one look development suite: the tools I actually grade with, named in the order you build a look. The number is the node order, the letter is the order you work them. Chain them down your node graph, or drop in just the one you need. Not a LUT pack. A real look-development pipeline.
Sample looks as starting points. Your footage and your own node chain will land differently. Previews use a live color sim until real exports drop in.
Why node order matters
Great looks aren't one slider, they're a sequence. You place your hues first, then dial saturation, add density so rich colors read rich instead of neon, set your contrast, lay in a split-tone, and finally render the whole thing to a display transform. Do it out of order and every stage fights the last one.
Look Dev Tools bakes two orders into the names. The number is the node order: where each tool sits in your graph, 1 at the top down to 6 at the display. The letter is the order you work them, A through F, as you dial the look in. Chain them down the node tree, or reach for any single tool on its own.
Rotate your hues into place.
Expand your chroma, per hue.
Build rich colors, not neon.
Funnel it through a contrast curve.
Tint shadows and highlights independently.
Render the look to a calibrated screen.
The pipeline · 1F → 6A
Each tool is a GPU node: Metal on macOS, CUDA on Windows and Linux, identical math on both. Chain them in order, or use any one standalone.
Dual-engine, per-hue remap and shift. The foundational hue-shaping node.
Remap and shift hues with precise per-hue targeting, with four engines to choose from: Tetrahedral, Chen Spherical, Oklab and Gravity. Work in ACEScct, DaVinci Intermediate or LogC3, grouped into Hues, Masters, Guards and Setup.
Hue is the foundation of a look. Place it first so everything downstream targets the right colors.
Per-hue saturation with Upper/Lower Luma band targeting.
Limit saturation changes to a luminance range, and invert the band. Two engines, Tetrahedral and Norm Spherical, with a per-hue toggle and the same Masters / Hues / Guards / Setup grouping.
Pull saturation from just the highlights, or just the shadows, without a separate qualifier.
Per-hue density: the perceptual thickness of a color.
Density is the perceptual richness of a color, distinct from saturation. Add the "denser dye" feel to specific hues without just cranking chroma. Engines: Tetrahedral and Norm Spherical.
Density is the move that makes saturated color read as rich, not garish.
Clean contrast with a pivot, in your working space.
A filmic tone curve, not a crush. Two curve models, Reinhard and Kumaraswamy, plus a live Diagnostic Overlay (Off, Curve, Ramp, or Curve plus Ramp) so you can see the curve you're applying.
Reshape tonality globally after the color work, with a real filmic curve instead of a crush.
Independent shadow and highlight tinting, two models.
Two models: the original SplitToneX and a film-like Simple Split with a bipolar pinch puck, across Hue, RGB and hybrid engines. Comes with a dedicated editor panel and a full preset system (factory plus your own).
The finishing tint on a look that's already shaped and contrasted, classic or subtractive and filmic.
A full display rendering transform. Free & open-source (GPL-3.0).
Our port of Jed Smith's open-source OpenDRT. Pick from 16 input gamuts, drive the look with Look + Tonescale presets, then optionally unlock creative modules (High/Low Contrast, Purity, Brilliance, Hue Shift RGB + CMY, Hue Contrast, and beta filmic / projector simulation), each with a persistent-value lock so changing presets won't wipe your manual work.
This is where your look meets a calibrated display: a modern, neutral, filmic DRT with deep per-hue control, and it costs nothing.
Chain them in order, or use just one. Drop 1F → 6A onto serial nodes to build a look from hue to display transform, or reach for any single tool on its own. Each node stands alone.
These are the tools I actually reach for on real grades, the same look dev moves I've trusted for years, now wired straight into your node graph. The hue tools carry multiple per-hue engines so you can pick the math that behaves best on a given image. Everything runs in the working space your timeline already lives in (ACEScct, DaVinci Intermediate or ARRI LogC3) and renders on Metal (macOS) or CUDA (Windows/Linux) with verified-identical results across platforms.
Multiple math models per hue tool: Tetrahedral, Chen Spherical, Oklab, Gravity, Norm Spherical. Pick the one that holds up on the shot.
ACEScct, DaVinci Intermediate or LogC3. Work where your timeline already is, with no forced round-trips.
Metal and CUDA, verified identical. A grade built on one machine lands the same on every other, cross-platform-safe.
Free & open-source
6A. OpenDRT ships inside the suite and as a standalone, fully free and open-source (GPL-3.0): our port of Jed Smith's OpenDRT, with the full preset UI and GPU parity on all three platforms. Take it on its own, no subscription required. The rest of the Look Dev Tools suite is the paid pro kit.
Ported from Jed Smith's OpenDRT. Licensed under GPL-3.0.
The premium tools
Look Dev Tools comes with the whole Tool Box. Become a Happy Little Noder and get every premium tool on the channel (PhotoChemist, Technicolor DRT, Look Dev Tools and more), plus every update and new release. One low annual fee that will never be raised.
6A. OpenDRT is free and open-source on its own. A whole set of the Tool Box is free too: grab the Tool Box Manager and start playing today. The premium kit unlocks with a single purchase whenever you're ready.
Everything you see on YouTube, plus every update, for less than a single film stock LUT pack.
Getting started
The easiest way in is the Tool Box Manager: it installs Look Dev Tools, keeps it organized, and updates it for you. Works on macOS, Windows and Linux; Resolve, Fusion and Nuke.
Grab the latest release from GitHub and open it. It's your home base for every Dec. 18 tool.
Browse the catalog inside the Manager and select Look Dev Tools. The six nodes appear in Resolve's OFX list under Look Dev Tools - Dec. 18 Studios.
The Manager drops the OFX bundle into the right place for you, no digging through system folders.
Relaunch Resolve, Fusion or Nuke so it picks up the new plugin, and make sure OFX is enabled. On macOS you may first need to choose Allow Anyway in Privacy & Security.
Drop 1F → 6A onto serial nodes to build a look, or just the one you need. Set each tool's Working Space to match your timeline.