Static editor · Adjustments · 2 min read

Balance colors by tone

Warm the highlights and cool the shadows with three sliders. Color balance tints each tone range of your mockup on its own.

By Ruslan Latypov · Updated Oct 20, 2026

Open Color balance

With your mockup open in Static, click Color balance in the right panel. It opens with three tabs, Shadows, Midtones and Highlights, and three sliders: Cyan – Red, Magenta – Green and Yellow – Blue. All start at 0.

The Color balance section with the Midtones tab selected and all three sliders at 0 — Three tabs, three sliders, all at 0.

Cool the shadows

Click the Shadows tab. Click the number next to Yellow – Blue, type 50 and press Enter. The dark areas turn bluer. The light areas stay as they were.

The Shadows tab with Yellow – Blue at 50 and the dark green ring on the pouch turned blue — Only the dark tones shift toward blue.

Warm the highlights

Click the Highlights tab. Set Cyan – Red to 30 and Yellow – Blue to −40. The light areas turn warm and creamy. Each tab keeps its own values.

The Highlights tab with Cyan – Red at 30 and Yellow – Blue at −40 and the white pouch turned cream — Highlights lean toward red and yellow.

Check the whole picture

Look at the full canvas. The shadows read cooler and the highlights warmer. A reset icon now sits next to the Color balance title if you want to start over.

The full editor with the toned mockup and the Color balance panel on the Highlights tab — Warm highlights over cool shadows.

Questions

What do the Color balance tabs do?

Shadows, Midtones and Highlights each tint their own tone range. Each tab keeps its own values.

Which sliders are there?

Cyan – Red, Magenta – Green and Yellow – Blue. All start at 0.

How do I cool the shadows?

Click the Shadows tab, click the number next to Yellow – Blue, type 50 and press Enter. The dark areas turn bluer and the light areas stay as they were.

Does Color balance change brightness?

The Preserve luminosity switch under the sliders is on by default.

How do I start over?

A reset icon appears next to the Color balance title once you change a value. Click it to start over.