How to color an SKSpriteNode using colorBlendFactor

Written by Paul Hudson    @twostraws

One powerful and under-used feature of SpriteKit is its ability to recolor SKSpriteNodes dynamically. This has almost zero performance impact, which makes it perfect for having multiple-colored enemies or players. It can also be animated, meaning that you could for example make your player flash white briefly when they've been hit by an enemy.

To tint a sprite cyan, use this code:

firework.color = UIColor.cyan
firework.colorBlendFactor = 1

If you want to animate the sprite coloring, you'd use this:

let action = SKAction.colorize(with: UIColor.red, colorBlendFactor: 1, duration: 1)

Available from iOS 7.0 – see Hacking with Swift tutorial 20

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