Understanding blending modes
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The way that layers interact with other layers in the stack is determined by the blending mode of the upper layer. |
By default the layer’s mode is set to Normal, which causes the picture content on the upper layer to obscure the picture parts beneath, but Photoshop has many other ways to control how these pixels interact. Called blend modes, the different options provide a variety of ways to control the mixing, blending and general interaction of the layer content.
The layer blend modes are located in the drop-down menu at the top left of the Layers palette. Blend modes can also be applied to the painting and drawing tools via a drop-down menu in the tool’s options bar.
Blending modes are split into 6 different sections. The Basic ones replace the base pixels, the Darken ones darken the base pixels, the Lighten ones lighten them, the Contrast ones increase or decrease overall contrast, the Comparative ones invert the base colour and the HSL modes apply a specific colour component. Some blending modes need a bit of opacity tweaking in order to get the best effect. As with a lot of Photoshop’s options, experimentation is the only real way to get a thorough understanding.
To help you learn and understand how the blend modes work, I have provided a summary of all the blend modes currently found in Photoshop CS3 Extended. In the following blend mode examples the picture has two layers – ‘Top Layer’
and ‘Bottom Layer’.
In each example the blend mode of the top layer has been changed to illustrate how the two layers blend together.
Basic
Normal - The pixels in the top layer are opaque and therefore block the view of the bottom layer. Adjusting the opacity of the top layer will make it semi-transparent causing it to blend with the top layer.
Dissolve - Combines the top layer with the bottom using a pattern of pixels. There is no effect if the top layer is at 100% opacity. Reduce the opacity to see the effect. Example set to 80% opacity.
Darken
Darken - Compares the color of the top and bottom layers and blends the pixels where the top layer is darker than the bottom.
Multiply - Multiplies the color of the bottom layer with the top layer producing an overall darker result. There is no image change when the top
layer is white.
Color Burn - Darkens or ‘burns’ the image using the contents of the top layer. There is no image change if the top layer is white.
Linear Burn - Uses the same approach as the Color Burn mode but produces a stronger darkening effect. There is no image change when the top layer is white.
Darker color - is similar to the Darken mode, except it works on all channels instead of working on a per-channel basis. When you blend two layers together, only the darker pixels on the blend layer will remain visible.
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Comments
Well explained , isn’t math involved in blending but i think we don’t have to care about rgb math stuff since we can understand it in words anyway we have to experiment with values before getting the right results ,,,this way is better can you make printer freindly version for it
Very cool tutorial, it’s always very useful to see these laid out with some great example images (which yours are.) Some other tips about blending modes, if you want a more subtle effect you can reduce the opacity of the top layer to even it out. On the reverse side, for a more dramatic effect you can duplicate the top layer, and play with the opacity again from there.
I’ve been using Photoshop for 15 years - for the first time, thanks to your great tutorial, I FINALLY understand blending mode!
Many thanks,
Dave
Fantastic!! thankyou for that perfectly clear and concise explanation of the effects. The demo pics are perfect illustrations of the possibilities without getting too fancy, keep the info coming!!
The brief but clear instructions accompanied by their respective illustrations accomplished the objective of the tutorial. Thanks.
That´s really great, i used to look to all this blendering options and think “wtf i´m gonna to do now?”.
i´m glad i found this tutorial.
PERHAPS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE AND ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE OF BLENDING MODES IN PHOTOSHOP.
Thanks A Zillion from me and from all those who don’t bother to comment even if they immensely liked it.
Thanks a lot for this tutorial, very instructive.
Where do you find your bottom layer please ? i love it !
NICE TUTRIAL. IT EXPLAINS THE WORK OF EACH BLENDING MODE VERY WELL. THANKS FOR SHARING.