Blend modes

Blending modes are mathematical equations that blend layers based on their hue, saturation, luminosity, or a combination of these components. Blending modes are an excellent way to create nondestructive effects.

In this Article

Blend Modes Usage

Available Blend Modes

How to apply Blend Modes

Usage

You can use Blending modes to apply overlays, textures, or target adjustments to specific areas of your image without creating layer masks. The blend you apply does not change pixels, only the visual output. You can always change or remove the Blending mode.

Blend Modes

• Normal. Color is placed on top of the color of the layer below.
• Darken. It compares the colors of the blending layer and the base layers and keeps the darker colors.
• Multiply. Multiplies the colors of the blending layer and base layers, resulting in a darker color. This mode is useful for coloring shadows.
• Color Burn. Named after the photography film development technique of "burning" or overexposing prints to make colors darker. This blending mode darkens the colors and increases the contrast of the base colors, then blends the color of the blending layer.
• Light. It compares the base colors and the colors of the blending layer and keeps the lighter color.
• Screen. It inverts the base colors and multiplies them with the colors of the blending layer. This creates the opposite effect of the multiply mode. The resulting colors will be brighter than the original colors.
• Color Dodge. It lightens the colors of the base layers and reduces the contrast. This results in saturated mid-tones.
• Overlay. Behaves like the Screen mode in bright areas and like the Multiply mode in darker areas. With this mode, the bright areas will look brighter, and the dark areas will look darker.
• Soft Light. This effect depends on the density of the superimposed color. Using bright colors on the blending layer will create a brighter effect, like the dodge modes, while dark colors will create darker colors, like the Burn mode. Any color placed above white areas will appear white.
• Hard Light. It depends on the density of the superimposed color. Using bright colors on the blending layer will create a brighter effect, like the Screen mode, while dark colors will create darker colors, like the Multiply mode.
• Difference. Subtracts the colors of the blending layer from the base colors, keeps the resulting value and combines it with the original base colors.
• Exclusion. Similar to the Difference mode. Blending with white inverts the base color values, while blending with black produces no change. However, blending with 50%, gray produces 50% gray.
• Hue. It keeps the blend color's hue but preserves the base color's luminosity and saturation.
• Saturation. Applies the blend color's saturation to the base color's hue and luminosity.
• Color. Applies both the hue and saturation of the blend colors to the luminosity of the base colors.
• Luminosity. Applies the luminosity detail of the blend colors to the base color's hue and saturation.

How to Apply Blend Modes

1. Open Your Design.
2. Select the type of Element you want to apply the blend mode. You can choose from
   • Text.
   • Image.
   • Shape¹.
3. From the Tooltip, select Color/Fill.
4. Choose the blend you want for your Element using the dropdown menu.
5. Adjust the Opacity and/or Color to your needs.

Note¹: You can apply a Blend mode only to the following shapes:

           Line.
          Circle.
           Square.
           Round Square.