Creating Effects with Blend Modes in Photoshop

You’ll see them called blend modes, painting modes, brush modes, layer modes, calculations, or just plain modes. They are usually referred to as blend modes or layer modes when used with layers and painting modes, and brush modes when used in conjunction with a painting or editing tool. But whatever you call them, the 24 blend modes determine how the colors in different layers interact with each other. Blend modes can produce a multitude of interesting, sometimes even bizarre, effects. And what’s more, you can easily apply, change, or discard blend modes with no permanent damage to your layers.

The options in the Blend Mode pop-up menu (located under the Layers tab) in the Layers palette are the same as those found on the Mode pop-up menu in the Options bar, with the exception of two modes. Behind and Clear are found only in the Options bar because they are only available for use with painting and editing tools. I urge you to pick an image with a few layers and apply each blend mode to get a good handle on what the various blend modes do. In fact, try a few different images, because the effects may be subtle or intense depending on the colors in the image. Throw in some different opacity percentages, and you’re on your way to endless hours of creative fun.

General blend modes
You’re probably very familiar with the Normal blend mode by now. It is the default and lets each pixel appear in its very own unadulterated state. The other three can be used only in certain circumstances. Behind and Clear can be used only when you have a painting or editing tool in hand. And Dissolve can be used only with a layer that has an opacity setting of less than 100% — the lower the opacity, the more intense the effect.

Blend modes that darken
Overall, the blend modes in this category all produce effects that darken your image. However, one of my favorite uses for the Darken blend mode is a little different. Scan a handwritten letter or sheet of music and layer it over an image. Apply the Darken blend mode to the letter or sheet music layer. The white areas of the paper become transparent, and only the letters or musical notes display, creating a nice composite image.

Blend modes that lighten
If you have blend modes that darken, well, it just makes good sense to have those that lighten. So if you have the need to throw some digital bleach on your brightly colored pixels, try out a couple of these blend modes.

Lighting blend modes
The Hard Mix blend mode is the lone newcomer to the repertoire of lighting blend modes. Some of these blend modes, like Overlay and Pin Light, are reserved for the occasional wacky special effect.

Blend modes that invert
If the preceding blend modes are a tad too tame for you, you may want to check out the “Inverters” — Difference and Exclusion. These blend modes invert your colors and can produce some interesting special effects.

HSL color model blend modes
These blend modes use the HSL (Hue Saturation Lightness) color model to mix colors. My favorite blend mode in this group is Color, which allows you to apply color to images without obscuring the tonality.