10 Color, Stroke, and Shadow Combinations to Make Subtitles and Titles Beautiful and Readable

When creating subtitles or title clips in Kdenlive, the choice of font may vary from person to person, but readability is largely determined by the combination of color, stroke, shadow, and background rectangle. Below is a list of combinations I frequently use, each with a nickname and ready‑to‑apply values.

Image of video editing work

Reference: 1080p (Full HD). Titles should be larger and bolder, while subtitles can be slightly thinner for a natural look.

Quick Kdenlive Tips (Short and Practical)

  • Stroke thickness
  • Subtitles (small text): 2~4px
  • Titles (large text): 4~10px
  • Shadow
  • Usually offset 2~6px, blur 6~18px, opacity 40~70% works well.
  • Background rectangle
  • When the video is complex, a semi‑transparent box is more reliable than a shadow.
  • Commonly black (#000000) 35~60% + rounded corners.
  • Color selection principle
  • Contrast (lightness difference) with the background comes first, not just “pretty colors”.
  • In practice, bright text + dark stroke has the lowest failure rate.

10 Recommended Combinations (Nickname + Settings)

The values below are starting points. Tweaking the thickness (px) and opacity (%) slightly based on the video’s brightness can significantly improve the result.

Alias Use / Feel Main Text Stroke (color/thickness) Shadow (color/offset/blur/opacity) Background Box (alternative) Preview
Noir Pop Most common YouTube subtitle #FFFFFF #111111 / 3px #000000 / (3,3) / 12 / 55% None Noir Pop
Cinema Gold Movie trailers / highlights #F5C542 #1A1A1A / 5px #000000 / (4,4) / 16 / 60% Black 35% Cinema Gold
Mint Tech IT / tutorial tone #38E8C6 #0B2B2A / 4px #000000 / (3,3) / 14 / 50% Black 30% Mint Tech
Coral Punch Shorts / reactions / variety #FF5A6E #2A0B10 / 4px #000000 / (3,3) / 12 / 55% Black 35% Coral Punch
Sky Clean Bright vlogs #EAF6FF #0B1B2B / 3px #000000 / (2,2) / 10 / 45% Black 25% Sky Clean
Lavender Calm Emotional / review / ASMR #CDB7FF #1C1630 / 3px #000000 / (2,3) / 14 / 45% Black 30% Lavender Calm
Neon Night Games / cyber / night scenes #00F5FF #0B0F14 / 5px #000000 / (4,4) / 18 / 65% None (use thicker stroke) Neon Night
Paper Caption Documentary / education / news #F2F0E6 #2B2B2B / 2px #000000 / (2,2) / 8 / 40% #000000 45% (recommended) Paper Caption
Sports Banner Highlight subtitles / keywords #FFFFFF #0B0B0B / 6px #000000 / (4,4) / 14 / 60% Solid box (team color 55%) Sports!
Minimal Graybox Safe for any video #FFFFFF None or #000000 / 1~2px Light: #000 / (2,2) / 8 / 35% #000000 50% + rounded Minimal Graybox

Five Design Secrets for “Good Design”

  1. Highlight only keywords with color * Instead of coloring the entire sentence, using a point color like Mint Tech or Coral Punch for key words gives a more sophisticated look.

  2. A 1px increase in stroke feels significant * To boost subtitle impact, the quickest fix is usually adding 1px to the stroke.

  3. For complex backgrounds, a box beats a shadow * In detailed scenes such as forests, cityscapes, or game UIs, Minimal Graybox tends to win.

  4. Different settings for top titles vs bottom subtitles * Top titles: thick stroke (4~8px), strong shadow. * Bottom subtitles: stroke 2~4px, box 40~55% opacity.

  5. Don’t insist on white only * Warm indoor lighting or vlogs benefit from Paper Caption (off‑white) to reduce eye strain.

Quick Selection Guide

  • If you’re new: Noir Pop or Minimal Graybox
  • IT/tech vibe: Mint Tech
  • Emotional / review: Lavender Calm
  • Highlight / variety: Coral Punch, Sports Banner
  • Games / neon: Neon Night
  • Doc / education: Paper Caption