Razer Chroma Studio is the lightning module inside of the Synapse software. Chroma is used to create custom lighting effects for connected Razer devices.
The chroma module should be active in Razer Synapse by default. If chroma is missing, it can be installed through the “Modules” tab at the top of the software.
Preview and Workspace
When you first open the chroma studio, you will see all of your connected devices on the workspace preview. Towards the bottom left of the preview is a zoom menu. Typically you will want it set to “Fit all”, however during the creation process you may want to get closer to the preview.
As you make changes the preview will automatically change. However, the effect won’t be updated on your devices until the save button is pressed.
Chroma Effects and What They Do
There are 11 effects that you can use to create your lighting profile. Each effect has its own series of customisable settings, and can be assigned to specified keys and devices.
Ambient Awareness: The ambient awareness effect requires you to select a region on your screen. It will then use the colors on your screen as a reference, and change your lighting accordingly. The colors that show when using ambient awareness tend to be dull when compared to other effects. When setting up ambient awareness you will need to choose a region to source the colors from. The region can only be set on your primary monitor. This causes issues if you have a multiple monitor setup.
Audio Meter: Audiometer uses the sound from your computer to change the lighting color. The color changes based on the set pattern. The pattern is a gradient from low to high. Colors on the left will be shown when low sounds are played. High colors show when louder, bassy sounds are played.
Breathing: The breathing effect slowly ramps the lighting up then back down. The color of the light can be selected through the settings. You can set two colors for the breathing to cycle between. Alternatively, you can choose to use random colors for the breathing effect.
Fire: Fire uses two colors to create a fading burn-like effect. The colors vary with a mix of shades, with varying brightness levels.
Reactive: Reactive allows lighting to change when a key or button is activated. The color will change, or light up. A single color can be selected, or the color theme can be set to random. This will choose a color at random to use when a button or key is pressed.
Ripple: The ripple effect spreads a color pattern outwards in all directions when a button is activated. The ripple originates from the pressed key or device. You can select a single color, or colored pattern for the ripple. When using a pattern the leftmost color will be what is seen on the pressed key. The surrounding keys and devices will then light up spreading outwards, following the chosen color pattern.
Spectrum Cycling: With the spectrum cycling effect enabled, selected lights will gradually cycle through the color pattern. You can choose from one of the preset patterns, or create your own.
Starlight: Starlight randomly selects a light region and fades in and out a color. The chosen color can be set to static, random, or to follow a pattern.
Static: Static allows you to set a light region to a single color. You can select any color and vary the brightness accordingly.
Wave: Typically when you think of an RGB keyboard the wave effect comes to mind. Wave will move a color pattern from one side to the other before restarting seamlessly.
Wheel: The wheel effect rotates a color pattern around a center point in a circular motion. You can place the center point anywhere on the chroma plane and doesn’t need to be located on a device.
Effect Layers Explained
Chroma Studio uses layers to organise the effects. Layers operate by giving preference to the uppermost layer. This system is common in graphic editor programs, like photoshop.
When an effect is placed on top of another, the bottom effect will no longer be visible. Some effects are only temporarily active. Temporary effects will only overwrite their underlying layer when active. This allows you to place temporary or reactive effects above a constant color pattern.
Every layer can be customized to affect different light regions or keys. This allows you to create multiple layers of the same effect, and have them applied to different keys.
Next to every layer is an eye icon. This icon indicates whether or not a layer is visible. You can toggle on and off a layer’s visibility by pressing the eye. Toggling visibility is a quick way to make temporary adjustments without deleting any settings.
Organizing Layers
Groups can be created in Chroma Studio to help keep the workspace organized. The folder icon below the effect layers panel will create an empty group. The new group will automatically be placed at the top of the layers list.
Both layers and effects can be renamed by right clicking on them in the effects panel. Renaming layers is a great way to keep track of what each layer does.
Layers and groups can also be duplicated or deleted by right-clicking or using the icons below the effect layers.
Selecting Controlled Regions
Before settings are adjusted you need to select the light regions, or keys, for the effect to control. There are numerous methods that can be used to select regions.
At the top of the Chroma Studio, you will see a short toolbar. The cursor, pen and bucket tools are all options for selecting light regions.
The cursor, or default tool, allows you to select one light at a time. Holding the Ctrl key on your keyboard will allow you to select multiple keys at once.
If drawing is more your speed, then you can use the pen tool. The pen tool allows you to draw onto the LEDs you want to be selected.
Finally, the bucket tool allows you to quickly select a region. When you hover your cursor over a LED the affected area will be highlighted. Clicking will confirm and select the area.
The Quick Selection drop menu is also a useful tool for selecting the LED zones. Opening the menu with an effect layer selected will show you all the different zones available for your connected devices. This is the fastest way to select specific types of keys on your Razer keyboard.
Using the Quick Selections you can also choose to select all LEDs on an individual device or everything across all devices. Selecting everything will allow you to synchronize one effect across all of your Razer peripherals.
If the Quick Selections menu isn’t available to you, then ensure you have the effect layer selected, and the default cursor tool is active.
Effect Settings
Settings tend to vary across all the available effects in Chroma Studio. However, there are several settings that often overlap.
Color
Although the color setting is available across all of the effects, there are several iterations. The drop menu version will allow you to select any given color from the RGB plane. Below the standard color palette is a brightness scale. Moving this down will allow you to select darker colors from the palette.
The second color setting you will come across is the pattern gradient. With the gradient option, you can create a pattern using any color sequence. When you open the color menu there is example presets that can be used.
Patterns are created using points or “stops”. Each stop can be set to a different color to make up the pattern gradient. Stops are shown on the color bar as a white rectangle. The currently selected stop will have a small downwards arrow above it.
You can use the plus and trash icon to create and delete any given stop respectfully. When a new stop is created it will automatically become selected. Alternatively, you can click on an existing stop to select it and change its color. Stops can be moved side to side to create an evenly spaced gradient.
Properties
The properties consist of the general settings for the effect. You can control the speed of the effect by moving the slider, or by changing the speed input.
Adjusting the width changes the overall size of the effect. Depending on the effect, changing the width can increase or decrease the speed of movement. Increasing width results in colors expanding over more LEDs for a more seamless appearance.
The angle and direction properties allow you to control which way the effect moves across the Chroma plane. Changing angles give you the opportunity to create unique styles with multiple layers.
Playback
Playback options control how an effect is activated, and how they end. You can also set the number of times the effect plays. Typically the default playback settings will be fine, however, you may want to adjust them on temporary effects.
Exporting and Importing Custom Lighting Effects
Razer Chroma Studio allows you to export and import your custom lighting effects. Allowing you to save and transfer your effects to another computer. You can also share your created chroma effects with friends.
Exporting and importing can both be done using the three dots above the preview. When exporting a menu window will open, allowing you to select multiple effects for exportation.
Creating New Effects
A new chroma effect can be created by choosing the “Add” option when clicking on the three dots icon. The new effect profile will be created, without any verification process. Your new lighting effect will automatically become the current focus. Before creating a new effect be sure to save your existing effect if necessary.
Effects can also be duplicated. Duplicating an effect will create a new lighting profile with all the same attributes as the one that is currently selected.
Creating a duplicate allows you to transfer device-specific effects to a new profile, or safely change an existing effect. Because the original effect remains separate, you can freely make adjustments on the duplicate without worry.
Renaming Chroma Effects
Chroma effects will always be created with a default name. The three-dot options menu can be used to rename your lighting effect. The name above the preview will become selected, allowing you to type in a new name for the effect.
Switching Between Chroma Effects
The effect name above the preview will become a drop menu once two or more chroma effects have been created. The drop menu can be used to quickly change between chroma effects. Make sure to save your effect before changing to another.
Final Thoughts
Razer’s Chroma Studio adds advanced control over the RGB lighting in their peripherals. The creative workspace allows you to recreate the real-life positioning inside the software. Once you’re comfortable with how Chroma’s layers work, styling the perfect light effect becomes easy.
