In this article I would like to talk about the various blending modes available in photoshop and other programs that support raster graphics such as figma, procreate and after effects.
All blend modes except hue, saturation, colour and luminosity work by manipulating the RGB values of the pixels in the two layers (top and base layers). Values range from 0 to 1 representing black and white respectively.
It is a standard blend mode wherein colours in the top layers are not mixed with colours in the layer beneath it.
In this blend mode random pixels are taken from both layers. No anti-aliasing (is a technique for minimising the distortion artifacts when representing a high-resolution image at a lower resolution) is used, hence the final result may look grainy and harsh.
Simple darkening by comparing each RGB value of the pixels in the two layers. The darkest value (minimum as it is closer to black which is 0) is selected and a new colour is formed.
This blend mode takes the RGB values from 0 to 1 of each pixel in the top layer and multiplies it with values for the corresponding pixel from the bottom layer.
Whenever either layer is brighter than black, the composite is darker as the values can range only between 0 to 1. Since each value is less than 1 their product will be less than each initial value.
This blend mode divides the RGB values of the inverted bottom layer by the top layer and then inverts the result. This darkens the top layer increasing the contrast to reflect the colour of the bottom layer. The darker the bottom layer, the more its colour is used.
Blending with white produces no difference.
This blend mode sums the values in the two layers and subtracts 1. Blending with white leaves the image unchanged.
The result is darker than multiply but less saturated than Colour Burn. It produces the most contrast in the darker colours than any other blending mode in the darken category.
This blending mode is similar to Darken except it compares the values of the top and bottom layer and keeps the darkest of the two.
Simple lighting by comparing each RGB value of pixels in the two layers. The lightest value (maximum as it is closer to white which has a value of 1) is selected and a new colour is formed. The concept is similar to darken.
In this blend mode, the RGB values of each pixel in the two layers are inverted, multiplied and inverted again. The result is the opposite of multiply, wherever either layer was darker than white the composite is lighter.
This blend mode divides theRGB values of the bottom layer by the inverted top layer. It lightens the bottom layer depending on the value of the top layer, the brighter the top layer the more its colour affects the bottom layer.
It produces results that are brighter than Screen with saturated mid-tones and blown highlights. Blending any colour with white gives white whereas blending with black does not change the image.
This blend mode simply sums the RGB values in the two layers, and hence it is also called additive blending. In case the sum exceeds 1 white is displayed.
Blending with white gives white, whereas blending with black does not change the image.
This blending mode is similar to Lighten except it compares the values of the top and bottom layer and keeps the lightest of the two.
Overlay combines multiply and screen blend modes where when the base layer is light the top layer becomes lighter and when the base layer is dark the top becomes darker. When the base layer is mid grey the top is unaffected.
Soft Light is closely related to Overly producing a subtle result (softer version of Overlay without the harsh contrast) and is similar to Hard Light only in terms of the name.
Hard Light combines multiply and screen blend modes where when the top layer is light the result becomes lighter and when the top layer is dark the result becomes darker. It is similar to Overlay except it uses the top layer to decide if it has to multiply or screen.
This blend mode combines colour dodge and colour burn and increases the perceived contrast. Dodge applies when values in the top layer are lighter than middle grey and burn applies to darker values.
This blend mode combines linear dodge and linear burn and decreases the contrast. Dodge is applied when the value on the top layer is lighter than middle grey, and burn when the top layer value is darker.
It is a blend mode that performs darken and lighten simultaneously. This can result in patches and removes all mid-tones.
Adds the RGB values of the top layer to the bottom layer resulting in an image that can have only red, green, blue, black, white. In the case of CMYK it is cyan, magenta, yellow, black, white.
It subtracts the base layer from the top layer or the other way around, to always get non-negative values. Blending with black produces no change as subtracting a value from 0 leads to the same value. Blending with white inverts the picture.
Subtract double the product of each channel from the sum of each channel. Blending with white inverts the base colour while blending with black produces no change.
This blend mode sums the value in the two layers and subtracts 1 or in simpler terms it subtracts pixel values of one layer with the other. In case of negative value black is displayed. Unlike linear burn blending with white affects the image.
Similar to Colour Dodge except blending with white does not change the image.
Simply divide pixel values of one layer with the other. It is useful for brightening images if the colour is grey or less. It is also useful for removing a colour tint from an image.
It produces an output by taking the hue value from the top layer and the luminance and saturation from the base layer.
It produces an output by taking the saturation from the top layer and the luminance and hue from the base layer.
It produces an output by taking the hue and saturation of the top layer and the luminance of the base layer.
It produces an output by taking luminance of the top layer and the hue and saturation of the base layer. It is the inverse of colour mode.
