By default, Abaqus/CAE represents contour values using the Rainbow color spectrum from red (for the maximum value) to blue (for the minimum value). You can select alternative color spectrums or create new color spectrums to use. See “Creating a new color spectrum,” Section 44.5.11 for more information about creating a new color spectrum.
If your results include cyclic data in which positive and negative extreme values are equivalent, select the Wraparound color spectrum. This spectrum, with green at both extremes, correctly displays results such as the phase angle of a complex number, where 180° and –180° are the same.
For non-tick mark contour plots you can also choose the colors Abaqus uses to represent values that exceed the limits you have specified for the plot, if any. By default, Abaqus displays such values in shades of gray. (For tick mark contour plots Abaqus displays the contour curve itself only within the limits you have specified.) For more information on limiting the range of the plot, see “Setting contour limits,” Section 44.5.7.
To customize contour colors:
Locate the Spectrum options.
Select Options
Contour from the main menu bar or click 
in the toolbox. Click the Color & Style tab in the dialog box that appears; then click the Spectrum tab. The Spectrum options appear.
To choose the color of values within the limits of the plot, either select a spectrum name or click 
to create and use a new color spectrum. See “Creating a new color spectrum,” Section 44.5.11 for information about creating a new color spectrum.
Tip: Alternatively, you can choose or create a contour spectrum from the Results Tree. Click the Spectrums container to create a new spectrum, or click the name of any spectrum in the Results Tree to display the model using that spectrum.
To control the color of values that exceed the limits of the plot, do one of the following:
Click Specify; then click the Greater than max or Less than min color sample 
to open the Select Color dialog box. Select a new color, and click OK to close the Select Color dialog box and update the color sample. (For more information, see “Customizing colors,” Section 3.2.9.)
Or,
Click Use spectrum min/max to accept the minimum and maximum contour spectrum colors for such values.
Click Apply to implement your changes.
Contours in the current viewport change to the colors you have specified. The correspondence between contour colors and contour values appears in the contour legend, if active. For more information on the contour legend, see “Customizing the legend,” Section 56.1.
By default, your changes are saved for the duration of the session and will affect all subsequent contour plots. If you want to retain your changes for subsequent sessions, save them to a file. For more information, see “Saving customizations for use in subsequent sessions,” Section 55.1.1.
